Yesterday, the United States nominated it’s first woman as the presidential candidate for a major political party.
Today, Kaspersky decided to celebrate that by releasing this ad:
Thanks @kaspersky – I forgot women were no good with computers until you reminded me. pic.twitter.com/XHNwLrSbtW
— Adam Hay (@antireality) July 29, 2016
Well, Kaspersky, you just made my decision for the security suite in my house a lot easier, since it was between one of two companies–and the other company didn’t release a sexist ad suggesting women know nothing about cybersecurity.
Edited to add: And no, the fact that Kaspersky was co-founded by a woman (who later left or was ousted, depending) does not make me want to support the company. The faux pas is even worse knowing that a woman helped found the company. Additionally, the leadership team today contains no women with the exception of the head of HR.
Women are not required to support organizations who have once had (or even currently have) women in positions of power, especially when that company shows its true colors. This ad had to make it through several layers of acceptance within the company and its ad agency before being released, so it’s not a small oversight.
