I was walking through the town centre the other day when I spotted a new shop. I browsed its window display to see if it sold anything worthwhile and was confronted with this example of casual sexism (see pic below).

The contents were such an odd mix that it was obvious that the colour was designed to be the main selling point. As if women will buy something purely because it is pink (admittedly a con that many have already fallen for and/or bought into), or will be put off buying unless it is pink.

I would have been less annoyed had the tool selection been well thought out, but it was yet another crass money-maker rather than a ‘practical but pretty’ set. It included kitchen scissors, hammer, spirit level, tape measure, long nose pliers and an adjustable screwdriver that seemed to have a set of particularly obscure/useless heads.

I’ve had a tool bag since I left home and added to it over the years and none of the contents of ‘Her Tools’ were high on my list of priorities. It took me ten years to get to the point where I needed to buy a hammer, but my screwdriver set and adjustable spanners have regularly come in handy.

In the grand scheme of sexism this tool kit obviously scores low on the list of things we need to worry about, but at the same time it struck me as an example of the insidious nature of our culture which continues to quietly slip in these little suggestions that women aren’t equal and manages to do so mostly unchallenged.

Have you come across any examples of casual sexism while out shopping? What (if anything) did you do about them?