Last night I was on a train from London St Pancras to Brighton and decided to pass the time by taking a snap survey of the gender balance in the charity posters in the four carriages. This is what I discovered:

• There were 8 different charities advertised
• There were 11 different charity posters on display
• There were a total of  19 charity posters
• There were 10 women, 4 girls and 2 men pictured in the posters
• Put another way, 9 out of 10 people pictured were women girls
• Where the charities referred to the gender of people they were trying to help, 12 out of 15 (80%) were female
• Where charities pictured the people they wanted to help, 100% were women and girls
• 100% of children referenced were girls (no boys were mentioned)
• Parents were referenced 9  times and 78% (or 7 out of 9) were mums
• Nine people pictured were fundraisers, again 78% (or 7 out of 9) were women

Is charity just for girls?

So what does this tell us about public attitudes towards men, women, boys and girls? Big charities aren’t stupid. They know what sells. The top 1,000 charities in the UK raise £11.5 billion every year in voluntary donations. Charity is big, BIG business and big business knows that all of us, men and women, are collectively more tolerant of the harm that happens to men and boys. If you want to raise money, you’ve more chance of doing it if you tell people women and girls are suffering.

And what message does this send to men and boys? That we are less valued by society, that we are not cared for as much as women, that we are not as vulnerable, that we don’t need the help of others, that we are tough and strong and should “man up” and get on with our lives and not expect help when we face problems in life. Is it any wonder that men are less likely to access help and support when they need it, when the constant message that we give to men and boys collectively is that we don’t need and don’t deserve help and support from others?

I’m not going to pretend that this was a thorough, scientific survey but it has long been my experience  that charities favour women and girls in their advertising and this quick count confirmed that suspicion. Here’s a bit more information on some of the posters that were on display:

Combat Stress: Pictures the mother of a veteran impacted by combat stress, because it’s easier to sympathize with a soldier’s mum, that a big, strong male soldier.

Concern: asked us to stop hunger for children like Halime, who they made clear is a girl! Because starving boys can save themselves.

Macmillan: showed cancer sufferer Colleen and her friends raising money and encouraged others to do the same.