A women’s network logo widely mocked for its phallic shape has been withdrawn by the Australian prime minister’s department.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet issued a statement on Tuesday that the logo had been “removed” from its website “pending consultation with staff”.
The logo consisted of a cursive W with a domed protuberance, which women’s groups and social media users complained resembled male genitalia.
Critics included the National Older Women’s Network, which described it as “either thoughtless or an insult”:
I thought this was satire, but it is either thoughtless or an insult. Public money was spent getting a graphic artist, choosing the designing, selecting colours, approving, printing and publishing this logo for the Prime Minister's and Cabinet's Women's Network.
— National Older Women's Network Australia (@OlderWomenNetAu) March 13, 2022
Poor messaging. pic.twitter.com/jDYKNdMCkg
Scott's own government department, the Women's Network, has a logo that is...a little phallic. 🤯
— Women for Australia (W4A) (@Women4Aus) March 13, 2022
You couldn't write this!#auspol #womensnetwork pic.twitter.com/cmKw6DhA31
I really thought this logo for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinets womens network was fake but uh.. do they know?https://t.co/d4qCybvVFV pic.twitter.com/x2YwQ4g4zT
— FuckingKangaroos (@FckingKangaroos) March 12, 2022
The department said the logo was the result of a 2019 rebrand of staff diversity networks “to establish a consistent look and feel” between insignia for groups including the women’s network.
“The Women’s Network logo retained a ‘W’ icon which staff had been using for a number of years,” it said.
“The rebrand was completed internally, using existing resources, and designs were consulted on widely. No external providers were engaged for this work.”
“The prime minister and the prime minister’s office were not part of this logo design.”
The Morrison government has come under fire for its handling of women’s issues since early 2021 when a historical allegation of sexual assault against the then attorney general, Christian Porter, was revealed, which he denied.
This month prominent women, including the former Australian of the year Grace Tame and the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, launched a fresh call for the Morrison government to implement significant policies to protect women and children from violence, harassment and discrimination.
In February Scott Morrison, along with other political leaders, apologised for the “terrible things” that happened in parliament workplaces and acknowledged that a culture of bullying, abuse, harassment “and in some cases even violence” had built up over decades.
The prime minister’s apology followed a landmark review by Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins, in 2021 into federal parliament’s culture.
