Sitting at my microscope all day, I listen to a lot of radio. Since the reception in my office is poor for the public radio station and since I don’t have a satellite receiver, most of that time is spent listening to good old fashioned terrestrial commercial radio. So I hear a lot of ads. On the sports channel they are aimed at young males, on the high brow rock station the baby boomers get the pitch.  Most of the spots go right past me, just background noise between Beatle songs and Bears’ rants. But recently I was in the market for a new wireless printer, so I paid attention when I heard talk of toners or ink.

The ads I was hearing most frequently were for the new Epson printer with their EcoTank ink technology. No need to refill ink for two years! And to let us know just how long two years is, Epson was running two different commercials. The first, with a male voice, was telling us that in two years you could fly to Mars. And the second commercial, using a female announcer, told us that two years is enough time to have babies. Twice!!

I may not be the most sensitive guy. I may still have some of my 1950’s-1960’s gender prejudices intact. But even I know it doesn’t sound right telling men to be astronauts and women to be mommies. I know Silicon Valley is a Big Boy’s Club, but didn’t Carly Fiorina crash that microchip ceiling when she became CEO of Hewlett-Packard? I know it didn’t last long, and that eventually Candidate Trump had his way with her, but shouldn’t the tech companies, or at least their ad agency, have progressed from the Neanderthal age?

In an effort to set Epson straight, here are a few things women have done in the two years it took to empty out one of those long lasting print cartridges:

• Win over 65 million votes for President of the United States.
• Be Chancellor of Germany.
• Be one of more that 20 CEO’s of Fortune 500 Companies.
• Prepare for that flight to Mars.
• Get behind the wheel of a Nascar racecar.
• Qualify for a national spelling bee.
• Chair the Federal Reserve.
• Make Music.
• Make More Music.
• Assume the Iron Throne.
• and yes if she wants, have babies!

Because there shouldn’t be anything a woman can’t do!

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