Life is very clearly defined in the typical Indian television commercial: Men earn the money, work very hard, drive the car, buy insurance and even decide which color to paint the walls at home. But one ad in particular caught my eye: It’s about sharing the load (of laundry) and is staunchly feminist amidst all the clutter about “ma ke haath ki jaisi safai,” so I decided to dive into the world of Indian advertising (just as the last season of Mad Men was coming to an end in the US) and see whether the landscape was changing — away from everyday sexism — at all.

Here’s my piece for PRI’s The World.

You should listen. It’s a radio piece.

There was also a companion blog post I wrote – my thoughts about reporting this piece, on sexism, on Fair & Lovely and such like. I’d recommend reading it after you listen.

And on both pages, an excellent montage of ads. Watch, it’s fun.