Flipkart faces backlash for women's day message promoting kitchens appliances offers

E-commerce platform Flipkart on Wednesday apologised for a marketing misfire while promoting kitchen appliances on Women's Day.

In a message promoting women's day, Flipkart focussed especially on kitchen appliances deals, something that has offended several customers who received the message.

"Dear Customer, This Women's Day, let's celebrate You. Get Kitchen Appliances from ₹ 299 [sic]," read the message. The message reinforced negative stereotypes about women belonging in the kitchen, many social media users felt.

Flipkart evidently did not see the problem in promoting kitchen appliances on Women's Day, but Twitter users certainly did and called the company out for it.

One Twitter user shared a screenshot of the message and wrote: "Can you spot the problem here?" Their tweet blew up with nearly 5,000 'likes' and hundreds of comments.

The message drew social media's ire as many pointed out that Flipkart's marketing strategy was offensive in equating women with cooking and kitchens.

Several Twitter users also slammed Flipkart for perpetuating gender roles.

As backlash around the Women's Day message grew, Flipkart tweeted an apology. "We messed up and we are sorry," the e-commerce company wrote on Twitter. "We did not intend to hurt anyone's sentiments and apologise for the Women's Day message shared earlier," it added.

Meanwhile, Flipkart was just one of many companies that missed the mark with its Women's Day message. Twitter users also shared examples of several others that perpetuated negative gender stereotypes.