French pen manufacturer, Bic has been forced to apologise for a promotional image which it uploaded to coincide with Women's Day in South Africa.

It encouraged women to, "look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a boss," and was followed by the hashtag - #HappyWomensDay.

The company argued that the slogan was borrowed from a 'Women in business' blog and that it was meant "in the most empowering way possible and in no way derogatory towards women."

Bic issued an apology through its South African Facebook page, it read: 

"Hi everyone. Let’s start out by saying we’re incredibly sorry for offending everybody — that was never our intention, but we completely understand where we’ve gone wrong. This post should never have gone out. The feedback you have given us will help us ensure that something like this will never happen again, and we appreciate that."

Users were quick to create parody versions of the image...

This isn't the first time that the company has been accused of being sexist. It was widely mocked and criticised in 2012 when it brought a “for her” pink pen which was designed for women - “to fit comfortably in a woman’s hand”.

The product was lampooned in a segment on The Ellen Show:

The pen's negative Amazon reviews went viral - but Bic stood by the product, saying:

"It is great to see people having fun with the product and we’re delighted to have brought a bit of much needed glamour to stationery cupboards everywhere."