Myntra takes on workplace discrimination against pregnant women

Radhika Apte and Shernaz Patel are a part of Myntra-Anouk ad which focusses on gender discrimination still rampant in the corporate world, especially against pregnant women.

They made a point when they released a short-film based on a lesbian couple. Now, fashion e-portal Myntra has come out with another film as a part of their ‘Bold is Beautiful’ ad campaign. This time, they’ve trained their narrative on workplace discrimination against pregnant women employees. Similar to its predecessor, ‘The Calling’ which features clothing brand Anouk, garnered mixed reviews across with social media, largely positive for their efforts to highlight the issue. Some, however, felt it missed the point entirely.

Radhika Apte’s commercial for Myntra raises important questions about gender discrimination in the corporate world.

The film revolves around a conversation between Shaheen, an architect (played by Radhika Apte) and her boss Uma. Shaheen is denied a promotion and her top clients are taken away despite being one of the firm’s assets. She gets straight to the point when she asks Uma, “You have a problem with my bump, no?” referring to her pregnancy. Angrily, she tells her boss how she has worked nights on a project which was now being judged based on her pregnancy and not her work.

The ad ends with Shaheen telling her boss that she would be starting off on her own, as the car driving the two stops in front of a swanky new office under construction. “I think I can manage both,” says Shaheen with finality to a surprised Uma.

The ad has, so far, garnered over 455,000 views on YouTube and the comments on it are wide-ranging. Some have lauded the brand for highlighting a very real issue faced by most working women, while others have criticised it for being a ‘make-believe commercial’ that fails to address the need for maternity leave. One user joked, “Thanks to this ad, now companies will not give maternity leave to women and say you can handle both.”