Gender Roles in Vocational School Advertising Appeals

Introduction: Gender and Vocational School Advertising

Advertisements for technical and vocational schools abound in local newspapers and on television. Their target audiences include new high school graduates as well as middle- to lower-income individuals, because consumers of technical and vocational education most likely do not already hold advanced degrees. The advertisements usually appeal to young adults, although age is less of an issue than gender. Technical and vocational schools target men and women differently, and the content of ads changes depending on the department or program being promoted. These differences often reflect traditional gender roles and norms.

For example, a recent advertisement for DeVry University promoted its nursing program with three photos of females from different ethnic backgrounds. The absence of male models clearly played up the stereotype that nursing is a female profession. By contrast, an ITT Tech advertisement promoted its School of Information Technology programs with photos of women surrounded by electronic gadgets, implying that technology fields are gender neutral. Both DeVry and ITT Tech offer vocational training and degree programs, but each school's advertisements capitalize on gender roles and norms to appeal to their respective target groups.

Traditional vs. Nontraditional Gender Imagery

The DeVry advertisement for the Chamberlain College of Nursing uses imagery of females in traditional gender roles, whereas the ITT Tech advertisement uses imagery of females in nontraditional gender roles. Females have been systematically guided into the helping professions — such as nursing — rather than toward medical school. The Chamberlain College of Nursing hopes to attract female consumers based on their traditional values. The advertisements appear in local newspapers to encourage females with traditional social values to pursue a career in a field that has long been accepted for their gender.

Vocational and technical schools sometimes direct their ads at target groups in ways that appeal to more progressive gender roles. The ITT Tech advertisement appeals to young females with progressive gender identities. Because the advertisement shows three females working with advanced technologies, the school appeals to women who want to work in traditionally male-dominated professions. The advertisement speaks to women who believe that gender roles are changing and that careers in science and technology do not need to be male-dominated. In this way, ITT Tech presents itself as a progressive institution. It will attract female consumers who are put off by ads like the Chamberlain one. The ITT Tech advertisement essentially suggests that female consumers can do or be anything they want with the school's help, while the DeVry Chamberlain School of Nursing advertisement suggests that its female consumers can achieve traditional goals within a traditional framework.

The Need to Achieve as a Core Appeal

Of the fifteen basic appeals of advertising identified by Jib Fowles, both vocational school ads rely heavily on the need to achieve. In fact, both advertisements use the word "achieve" somewhere in their text. Females are the primary target group for both advertisements, and the needs to achieve financial security, independence, or freedom from traditional gender roles are expressed in the DeVry and ITT Tech campaigns alike. Phrases like "You can become…" introduce the consumer to the idea that enrolling in the private school can change who they are. The need to achieve is a powerful appeal because of our culture's strong emphasis on social status.

Conclusion

Technical and vocational schools like DeVry's Chamberlain College of Nursing and ITT Tech's School of Information Technology advertise by appealing to a wide range of needs. In the two advertisements examined in this paper, females were the main target audience. However, the two advertisements differed significantly in their use of appeals. The Chamberlain School of Nursing appealed primarily to females with traditional gender roles and norms, emphasizing the needs for nurturing, affiliation, autonomy, and especially achievement. The ITT Tech advertisement also targeted females, but those with nontraditional gender roles and norms. While the ITT Tech advertisement likewise appealed to the need to achieve, it did not emphasize the need to nurture; instead, it focused on the need to be unique.