03-27-2005, 06:04 AM
Swedish-based home furnishings giant IKEA has been strongly slammed by a Scandinavian leader for being sexist in its self-assembly manuals. The company has been told by Norways Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik, to stop using so many images of men in its instruction leaflets.
He reportedly rejected the company's argument that it did not want to offend Muslims by depicting women building beds, sofas and bookcases. "This isn't good enough," he told a local paper. "It's important to promote attitudes for sexual equality, not least in Muslim nations."
"They should change this," he said. "There's no justification for it," the Norwegian premier added.
IKEA has about 2,000 products that need diagrammed instructions to assemble, and not one of these sheets shows a woman dealing with the problem of putting Swedish flat-packed furniture together, Verdens Gang newspaper reported.
"We have over 200 warehouses around the world and have to take cultural considerations into account. In Muslim countries there is a problem using women in instructions," IKEA's information chief Camilla Lindemann told Verdens Gang.
I'm amazed.
As if these politicians don't have anything better to do.
He reportedly rejected the company's argument that it did not want to offend Muslims by depicting women building beds, sofas and bookcases. "This isn't good enough," he told a local paper. "It's important to promote attitudes for sexual equality, not least in Muslim nations."
"They should change this," he said. "There's no justification for it," the Norwegian premier added.
IKEA has about 2,000 products that need diagrammed instructions to assemble, and not one of these sheets shows a woman dealing with the problem of putting Swedish flat-packed furniture together, Verdens Gang newspaper reported.
"We have over 200 warehouses around the world and have to take cultural considerations into account. In Muslim countries there is a problem using women in instructions," IKEA's information chief Camilla Lindemann told Verdens Gang.
I'm amazed.
As if these politicians don't have anything better to do.