Self-regulation of sex-role stereotyping: Educating the advertising industry

An analysis examines the amount of access and exposure to the Sex-Role Stereotyping Guidelines of the Canadian Advertising Foundations among a sample of individuals who produce and approve advertising, and analyzes the relationship between access and exposure to the Code and attitudes toward the regulatory process and use of the Code. The data for the analysis were obtained from a survey of advertising decision-makers in Vancouver. It is found that even though a massive education campaign has been conducted, knowledge about industry standards for self regulation of sex-role stereotyping among one group of Canadian advertising practitioners is very low. However, the data suggest that awareness and access to industry standards, once achieved, yield a more positive orientation to self-regulation.