IBM has discontinued a campaign encouraging women to get into technology by asking them to “hack a hairdryer” after widespread criticism from women in the industry.
The company admitted the campaign “missed the mark for some” and apologised.
The campaign, which dated back to October and was part of a wider effort by the company to promote STEM careers, called on women in science and technology to “reengineer what matters in science”.
A video posted on IBM’s YouTube account showed a number of experiments involving hairdryers as a voiceover encourages women to take part:
You, a windblaster and an idea, repurposed for a larger purpose, to support those who believe that it’s not what covers your cranium that counts, but what’s in it. So hack heat, re-reoute airflow, reinvent sound, and imagine a future where the most brilliant minds are solving the world’s biggest problems regardless of your gender.
While seemingly well-intentioned, the campaign backfired after IBM sent some tweets re-advertising it on Friday 4 December. Women working in STEM professions showed their disapproval for #HackAHairDryer by tweeting what they actually do in their day-to-day working lives:
That's ok @IBM, I'd rather build satellites instead, but good luck with that whole #HackAHairDryer thing. https://t.co/n3vp0grbEP
— Stephanie Evans (@StephEvz43) December 7, 2015
I leave hairdryer fixing to the men, I'm too busy making nanotech and treating cancer. https://t.co/fX7tDPsJXr
— Upulie Divisekera (@upulie) December 7, 2015
Hey @IBM - Margaret Hamilton was too busy writing code to get us to the moon to f*ck w/ a hairdryer. #HackAHairDryer pic.twitter.com/MCaA7Gh4iV
— Trepanning For Gold (@reubenacciano) December 7, 2015
Sorry @ibm, won't be helping you #HackAHairDryer. Too busy milking spiders to find novel therapeutics. https://t.co/cP4mWbeRQc
— Maggie Hardy (@DrMaggieHardy) December 7, 2015
@IBM shame I don't use a hairdryer. I guess that's the end of my career in STEM. Brb quitting my astrophysics PhD. #HackAHairDryer
— Jessica V (@ThatAstroKitten) December 7, 2015
Others pointed out that the campaign misses the mark somewhat:
@IBM no one is asking male scientists to hack beard trimmers. #womenintech #womeninSTEM
— RebeccaDV (@della_rebecca) December 7, 2015
And since when did @IBM start making hair dryers? Why don't they ask women hackers to break into their server instead? #HackAHairDryer
— Judy Melinek M.D. (@drjudymelinek) December 7, 2015
It's clear there are great intentions in the #HackAHairDryer campaign... but I have serious qualms about both the message and the project.
— annmarie thomas (@amptMN) December 6, 2015
Then there were those who found a video of a hairdryer on fire to add to the mix:
IBM's current status #HackAHairDryer pic.twitter.com/uOUI8KvAXa
— Artisan GIF-maker (@amanicdroid) December 7, 2015
Inevitably, the hashtag was flooded with women mocking it:
Once I used a hairdryer to heat up a freezing dorm room at a cosmology conference when the heater was down; does that count? #HackAHairDryer
— Katie Mack (@AstroKatie) December 7, 2015
Sorry @IBM i’m too busy working on lipstick chemistry and writing down formulae with little hearts over the i s to #HackAHairDryer
— Jennie Rosenbaum (@minxdragon) December 7, 2015
Here, @IBM. My lady brain came up with this for #HackAHairDryer. Kuhn would declare it paradigm shifting, surely. pic.twitter.com/QTfWwnFolB
— Jo Alabaster (@joalabaster) December 7, 2015
Even the London Fire Brigade had something to say:
We're staying out of the sexism debate, however we'd suggest that it's generally a bad idea, & possibly a bit dangerous to #HackAHairDryer
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) December 7, 2015
A spokesperson for IBM said: “The videos were part of a larger campaign to promote STEM careers. It missed the mark for some and we apologise. It is being discontinued.”
According to Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE), women make up 14.4% of all people working in STEM occupations in the UK. Various campaigns have attempted to tackle the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields – and IBM’s is not the first to hit problems.
This is not the first campaign attempting to get women into tech which has backfired this year. EDF was criticised in October for a campaign named “Pretty Curious”.
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