The women, presumably socialized to not rock the boat, choose to comply with the unfair situation with only some minor eye-rolling. One even hoists a baby carriage up the steps—with help from another woman who has come to her aid. The men, meanwhile, head up the escalators without hesitation, never stopping to ask about their fellow commuters, accepting their privilege without much thought. For them, the swift ascent is effortless, while many women, including many women of color, clearly endure a workout.

These days, London mayor Sadiq Khan and the UK capital’s city assembly are dedicating much of their public relations airtime to messages about women’s equality and the role women have played in London’s history. Earlier this year, the city launched its #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign, which has so far included the unveiling of a statue to honor British suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett.

The stairs-escalator video was made to introduce “Our Time,” a new program within the city’s public sector that will match high-potential women with sponsors, who tend to be more hands-on and proactive than mentors and can introduce them to the right people, or otherwise provide the kind of aggressive support that’s frequently needed for a woman to advance to leadership levels. Our Time, the press office reports, was inspired by sponsorship programs at two private-sector firms: Mastercard and Sky, the TV and broadband company.

“As a proud feminist, I want London to be a shining light in the fight for gender equality,” Khan said in a statement. He’s also challenging business leaders across the capital city to create their own similar programs.

For a government campaign, this one is particularly biting. The video draws attention to data that do not paint London in a flattering light. One statistic shown in the video says that maternal employment in London is 8% lower than in the rest of the UK; another says the city’s gender pay gap is the largest in the country. And the video notes that among companies in the FTSE 100, only seven of which are led by women (none of whom are women of color or of an ethnic minority), a CEO is “more likely to be called John than be a woman.”

When you’re called John, the ride is that much easier.

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