This is how I feel about the ‘booth babes’ at CES 2012. Angry that the message about the powerful spending might of women is still being ignored, ashamed that the industry I have served for almost 20 years continues to use women’s bodies as decorative allures to sell products, and motivated to encourage anyone to learn how to connect to women in a functional way.

If you weren’t at CES 2012 and haven’t seen this brave video which became the most viewed stream on the day, made by the BBC here it is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16533289This behaviour is not just old, it is ancient and the refusal by many of these companies including CES   CEO Gary Shapiro to acknowledge the damage they are doing by the objectification of women is a major obstacle to growth and prosperity at a time when this should be our focus.

I know many women who read this blog clearly understand what I mean, but there are still men who read it who will laugh and snigger at the video. That is because for the moment, they are in positions of power. So for those I will put it in perspective.

Imagine that you were attending this Show as a highly paid heterosexual industry executive, and at booth after booth where you intended to do business, you were confronted with muscle bound men wearing Speedos (a la Tony Abbott emerging from the surf).

What would this say to you about those companies, and how would this make you feel on a personal level, particularly if your female colleagues and competitors had their eyes glued to those bodies?

Well, if you have been able to imagine this scenario, then you will have empathy with women such as myself, my reporters and the thousands of women who want to build a career within the consumer electronics industry and who are expected to endure such an experience in their working day.

If you feel that this is acceptable behaviour and are considering conducting a similar event to promote your products, then you are likely one of the dinosaurs who also thought that the selling or publishing on the internet “would never take off”. I have heard that plenty of times since I launch my Internet business in 2000.

Tip of the day: Show this video to your team at your meetings and use it as a teaching tool to educate them and to help to change these behaviours.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 9:01 pm and is filed under My Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.