by Shelby Powers

A surprisingly poignant commercial for the hair care Pantene’s Philippines market has gone viral on the Internet the past week. Of course, the actors have the lush and beautiful manes typical of shampoo commercials, but the message rings true to many female viewers.

While a cover of the Tears for Fears song “Mad World” plays, the camera pans over a man and a woman performing the same actions, as adjectives that define the double standard for men and women in the business world are projected across the backgrounds. The words describing the man are “boss,” “persuasive,” “dedicated,” “neat,” and “smooth.” Paralleling this description are the words that describe the woman: “bossy,” “pushy,” “selfish,” “vain,” and “show-off.” The commercial ends with an inspirational girl-power message: “Don’t let labels hold you back. Be strong and shine.” I assume that they are referring not only to hair, but to all women oppressed by gender stereotypes in the business world.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and author of Lean In, a book about the dynamics of women within leadership and business roles,  gave the commercial a nod of approval, saying, “This is one of the most powerful videos I have ever seen illustrating how when women and men do the same things, they are seen in completely different ways. Really worth watching. Lean In prize of the day for sure!” on her Facebook page.

This ad was likely aimed at Filipino women because of their high statistics of involvement in high-level business programs. A Salon article reports that 97 percent of all Filipino businesses have women executives and 50 percent have female senior executives. Filipinas are also graduating college at a higher rate than their male counterparts, a trend seen in the United States as well. Despite these advances, the Philippines is not exactly a feminist paradise; the largely Roman Catholic nation prohibits abortion, stigmatizes divorce, and discourages contraception, leading to larger families.

Worldwide, as more women than ever graduate college with high level degrees and enter the business world, they must shatter the glass ceiling and with it these age-old double standards, and it will take more than an empowering shampoo commercial to do so.