IBM ends 'patronising' Hack a Hairdryer campaign after facing backlash from women in tech

IBM apologised for the campaign, which was designed to get women into science and tech, saying it 'missed the mark'

IBM pulled the campaign less than a week after it was introduced (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Technology company IBM has discontinued a campaign that was called "patronising" and "sexist" for trying to encourage women to get into science and tech by getting them to 'hack a hairdryer'.

The Hack a Hairdryer campaign was meant to encourage women to get involved in the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and to "blast away" the barriers that women face in these industries.

In a page for the campaign on IBM's website (now deleted), it said women could take part by creating interesting new inventions and innovations through modifying ordinary hairdryers.

However, the company was accused of playing on lazy gender stereotypes to promote the campaign.

Many women who work in these fields criticsed IBM online. Astrophysicist Katie Mack wrote on Twitter: "FYI IBM and everyone else - you can promote women into science without ALWAYS relating it to cosmetics and hair care."

Another Twitter user wrote: "IBM, no one is asking male scientists to hack beard trimmers."

Others jokingly questioned how many women were on the team that came up with the name for the campaign.

IBM have now announced they are discontinuing the campaign less than a week after it was launched, writing on Twitter: "This was part of a larger campaign to promote STEM careers."

"It missed the mark and we apologise. It is being discontinued."

The technology industry has long been accused of having a problem with the representation and involvement of women. Despite being slightly over half of the population, women only make up around a fifth of the technical staff at huge Silicon Valley firms like Facebook and Google.

IBM is far from the first company to receive a backlash for a poorly thought out 'Women in Tech' campaign - in October this year, EDF Energy was accused of patronisingly 'girlifying' a campaign to get more women into STEM by naming it 'Pretty Curious'.