No one can argue that original photography beats out stock photos every time – but sometimes stock photos just make sense. Unfortunately, until now – stock photography hasn’t represented professional women very well.
Search “working woman” on any popular stock photography site and you’ll get a whole bunch of stereotypes, and not much else. Women seductively pushing their glasses up as they peer over a typewriter, perfectly done up women in stiff pant suits holding a cell phone the size of a brick, and the occasional professionally dressed lady sporting a hard hat.
Getty Images and Sheryl Sandberg’s LeanIn.org have partnered to produce a refreshing new collection of images that represent women and families in more empowering ways. Sure, there’s a pant suit or two to be found but you’ll also find the photos included below – and that’s certainly a step in the right direction.
The Lean In Collection has more than 2,500 images “celebrating powerful images of women, girls and the communities who support them,” Getty says in a statement. “The collection will serve as a resource for marketers, advertisers and media for use in their campaigns and communications. It arrives in time for Women’s History Month and the one-year anniversary of the publication of Sandberg’s best-selling book Lean In.”
While stock photography may seem like a non-issue, Sandberg notes, “You can’t be what you can’t see. In an age where media are all around us, it is critical that images provide examples that both women and men can emulate.”
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