• March 28, 2024

Why This Real Estate Agency Is Facing Backlash Over ‘Horrendously Sexist’ Advertisement

A real estate ad has working moms fuming. The ad was sent last week to hundreds of homes in Snoqualmie Ridge.

The ad was sent  by Costello and Costello Real Estate Group of Issaquah.

The ad shows Chase and Jeffrey Costello on one side dressed in suits, a mother with three children on the other. The mother with three children is tied up, while a daughter paints her face. There is a baby sitting on the floor with a colander on her head, and a duck standing in the disheveled room.

The wording on the ad says “Part Time Agent” next to the woman and her children, and “Full-Time Professionals” underneath the Costellos are dressed in suits. On the flip side, it lists what the Costellos can provide  balanced against what the woman can offer. For the woman with three children it says, “Available at THEIR convenience, not yours”.

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The ad is getting blasted all over Facebook and has women talking on Snoqualmie Ridge.
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“It’s so bad, it’s so bad,” said Robin Baldwin who has three children and works part-time, “I don’t know if there were no women in the office who could quality control that or not.”

“I’ve had some really chaotic days. I don’t think they’ve ever been that bad,” said Robin Soliday who told KIRO-7 she was saddened by the ad’s portrayal of women.

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Costello Real Estate Group got so many phone calls and comments about the ad they issued an apology Monday afternoon:

“There are thousands of professional agents working in our area who are also dedicated mothers, including several members of our team. Our original hope with this message was to show the value of having a full-time agent in a competitive market, but we completely failed. We have the utmost respect for moms and working mothers, and we know that the job of a mother is far more demanding than what we do as real estate professionals. Again, we are truly sorry.” – Costello and Costello Real Estate

Even after the apology women who saw the ad were reluctant to consider using the company.

“As a mom I probably would not want to use them professionally,” said Victoria D

Found at KIRO-TV

 

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