| Abstract: |
Advertising is an influential component of contemporary mass communication
because it does not only promote goods, services and ideas but also constructs and
circulates meanings about gender, identity, social status and acceptable behaviour.
This study examines gender equality in advertising, with particular emphasis on the
representation of women and men in media campaigns in South-South Nigeria. The
study investigates the extent to which advertising portrays women and men equally
in professional, domestic, economic, leadership and decision-making roles and
examines the persistence of gender stereotypes, sexualisation and objectification.
The study adopts a mixed-method approach comprising quantitative content
analysis and survey research. The population consists of adult media consumers and
selected advertising campaigns circulated through television, radio, newspapers,
magazines, billboards and digital platforms in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River,
Delta, Edo and Rivers States. The study is anchored on Social Cognitive Theory,
Social Constructionist Theory, Feminist Media Theory and Agenda-Setting Theory.
Recent Nigerian studies indicate that women continue to be disproportionately
associated with domesticity, beauty, supportive roles and physical appearance,
whereas men are more frequently associated with authority, professional
competence and decision-making. For example, Omiunu (2023) found gender bias
and greater exposure of female body parts in Nigerian newspaper and magazine
advertisements, while a 2025 study in Bayelsa State found that audiences
commonly perceived female characters in Nigerian television commercials as
occupying stereotypical, passive and supportive roles. Recent evidence from Edo
State likewise reports perceptions that advertising frequently portrays women as
homemakers and objects of beauty and men as leaders and decision-makers. The
study argues that gender equality in advertising requires more than equal numerical
visibility; it requires equal dignity, agency, competence, authority and diversity of
representation. The paper recommends gender-sensitive advertising policies,
stronger regulatory monitoring, gender-diverse creative teams, periodic gender
audits and culturally relevant campaigns that portray women and men as equal
contributors to family, business, leadership and national development. |
| Keywords: |
Gender equality, advertising, gender representation, gender stereotypes, media campaigns, women, men, South-South Nigeria, advertising communication.
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