Recruitment ad about makeup draws rebuke from general

Forces take down Facebook ad after misfire

Canada’s top soldier has apologized after a Facebook recruitment ad about women wearing makeup in the military drew fire for what some are calling a negative portrayal of females.

The ad for the Canadian Forces featured a young woman asking the question, “Can I wear makeup in uniform?” The response in the ad was that while wearing makeup was indeed possible, “Canadian Armed Forces members are ambassadors for Canadian society, so a minimalist approach is the standard.”

That was interpreted by some women online as a suggestion that females who wear more makeup are bad reflections of Canadian society.

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance took to Twitter Monday to post a message calling out his own organization for its ad. He wrote that the ad was a “very unfortunate attempt” to respond to a frequently asked question about joining the Forces. “We focus on the value in excellence that women bring to the Canadian Forces and our ads shoulds (sic) reflect this.”

Some on Twitter pointed to the ad as further evidence the Canadian Forces is out of touch when it comes to recruiting women.

Others, however, said the question about makeup was a legitimate one, similar to questions asked by men about whether they are allowed facial hair if they join the military.

Vance also faced some pushback on his Twitter account, with an individual questioning why he was apologizing for the Facebook advertisement. The rotating Facebook ads are based on frequently asked questions the military hears from recruits.

Those questions are outlined on a Canadian Forces webpage called Women in the Forces – You Ask. We Answer.

That webpage with the questions is still up. But the Facebook ad campaign, which pushed the questions out to Facebook users, has been temporarily stopped, Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Tuesday.

“While these types of questions tested well with our target audience, we recognize that the ad in question did not resonate with everyone the same way,” Le Bouthillier said. “We have received significant and diverse feedback that allows for the refinement and improvement of our recruitment advertising efforts.”

He did not know how long the campaign would be put on hold.

The Canadian military has been struggling for years to boost the numbers of women and visible minorities in the ranks.

Vance acknowledged in a recent interview with The Canadian Press that there has been only a small increase in the number of women in the ranks over the past two years.

He stated three years ago that his goal was to have women comprise 25 per cent of all military personnel by 2026. At that point, the number of females was around 15 per cent. That figure has increased to only 15.7 per cent, the Department of National Defence has noted.

The Forces has also faced criticism over its treatment of women in the ranks and how cases of sexual assault and misconduct are investigated. In an April 30, 2015 report, former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps found that not only was sexual misconduct “endemic” in the Canadian Forces, but it was condoned by military leadership.

During her yearlong investigation, Deschamps interviewed hundreds of military personnel as well as commanding officers, military police, chaplains, nurses and social workers.

The interviews pointed to what she described as a “hostile sexualized environment” in the military, particularly among recruits and the junior ranks. Vance has condemned such behaviour and has launched an initiative dubbed Operation Honour to put a halt to the misconduct problem.

Although he has acknowledged that sexual misconduct is a problem in the Canadian Forces, Vance has also blamed the news media for reporting on such incidents, saying it has created a “toxic” narrative about the military.

THE AD IN QUESTION DID NOT RESONATE WITH EVERYONE ...