Despite all of the new Bentley branding initiatives happening around us, there have been a few things that have stayed the same – the general look of the Bentley website being one of them.
However, this month, the homepage has a new image, which many have mixed views about. The image (screenshot below) promotes the Bentley Global Business Ethics Symposium by showing the image of a businesswoman crossing her fingers behind her back and a businessman shaking her hand. The statement, “doing right, when everyone else is doing wrong” is written on the image.
Some people, both within the Bentley community and outside, don’t see anything wrong with the image and think it is not unusual.
Others feel that the image represents a negative view about the current issues of sexism and a minority of women in the business world. (To clarify: from their perspective and in their opinion, the image shows the woman breaking rules while the male is doing “right”, unknowing of the woman’s poor ethical decision to lie in the exchange.)
Why is this picture and statement combo controversial to some and seemingly average to others?
How might individual’s views of the homepage change if the people in the image were of different social backgrounds? For example, of different races, levels of ability/disability, sexual orientations, or religions. What if the picture was of an African-American person crossing their fingers behind their back?
Things to consider about the image are that the businesswoman is very obviously shown as a feminine woman due to her perfectly manicured nails. What if the women did not have this cosmetic element to her look? Would those that saw the image with negative connotations for women still be affected by it?
Share your thoughts below in the comments section regarding this image and statement combo. What are your perspectives on the questions above?