Author: Dr. Hesse-Biber

The latest Pantene Shampoo commercial has the answer to why women are disempowered. No,
it’s not about women who fail to “lean in” enough. No it’s not about whether or not they forgot
to add Pantene conditioner after shampooing forget that “shine.” Instead, Pantene probes the
inner failings of the feminine condition of apologizing too much!

So while we mock women in the workplace for being too assertive we equally hammer away at
those women who, for no good reason, take it upon themselves to routinely apologize for the
egregious behavior of others. The mission of Pantene Shampoo’s new commercial marketing
campaign is to get women to see the light and let it shine their way to empowerment!

Let’s check out Pantene’s latest commercial campaign that begins with a series of vignettes
depicting these tendencies acted out across a range of settings– from the boardroom to the
bedroom. One scene begins with an attractive-looking professional woman who enters the office
of male colleague unannounced. Before speaking, however, she apologizes for a seemingly
impromptu moment. Subsequent scenarios follow women in their daily work and family routines
with each scenario beginning with what seems to be an automatic series of apologetic behaviors.

This Pantene commercial is clear on the cause of women’s disempowerment and aims to clue
women into their dis-empowering tendencies and has found a cure! The Pantene solution is
simple– women need to avoid the “sorry” word. Women must stop undermining their own
authority and while they are at it they need a daily dose of Pantene to shine their way to
empowerment.

This type of Pantene quick-fix to women’s disempowerment gets society off the hook. It’s harder
to deal with the range of reasons why women are disempowered that stem from long
standing societal inequities. Women continue to earn less than men even when their
qualifications are equivalent to those of men. The gender wag gap has barely budged in 50
years! Where are those highly qualified Fortune 500 women candidates that fail to be hired?
Focusing on the deep societal roots of women’s disempowerment means getting out from under
our victim blaming mentalities whose solution ends in simplistic non- fixes for women’s
disempowerment.

When asked to reflect on Pantene’s new ad campaign, Boston College students were inclined to
look beneath the surface Sara Van Schaik:

“The Pantene ad claims to be empowering, but the portrayal of the women in the
commercial itself is disempowering. Despite taking Pantene’s advice and overcoming
the urge to give into the pressure and say sorry, the women still fall neatly into the secretarial,
working mother and affectionate lover roles that characterize the glassceiling limiting all women
with ambition.”

Lauren Simeo said,

“The Pantene ad blames women for institutionalized oppression, and it suggests that women
must alter their behavior in order to combat the power structure that treats women as second-
class citizens. But this notion is flawed. Why is the ad criticizing the actions of women, and not
men? Being less apologetic is not the solution to women’s oppression. The solution rests with
those who hold the power and privilege in our society – in this instance, men. This is not a
women’s issue. This is everyone’s issue. And eliminating the word “sorry” from women’s
vocabularies and encouraging us to buy a certain hair product is not going to improve anything.
Equality will be reached when we stop blaming women, and start holding everyone responsible.”

Points of lasting social change and empowerment for women must “lean on” those structural
“nerve points” within a society that continue to place barriers on women’s economic
advancement; those factors responsible for failing to reward women for returns on their own
human capital on par with men’s.

My message to Pantene and those other’s who seek to make a profit by leaning in on what they
see as women’s “failure” to shine needs a makeover. Promoting social change for women and
other oppressed groups means a focus beyond individualistic markers of women’s failed
behaviors.

Avoiding the term “sorry” won’t cut it.
And by the way, Pantene, did you know that you neglect to mention being sorry can also be a
sign of strength of character and conviction. All apologies don’t come in one size and shape.

So, the best counter suggestion I have to all those Pantene converts who are true believers in the
the power of not being sorry is to try it out for a week and see if you notice any empowering
moments in your life, any micro empowering changes to begin with and write them down and
let’s empirically test out Pantene’s theory of women’s disempowerment.

I await the results!