The picture above might seem rather pedestrian. After all it’s just women sitting at a conference table, with one in front of a computer. But in the world of stock photos, it’s a rare find: Not only does it have women instead of men in a technology-related setting, but it also shows women of color.
Those who need to prepare flyers, presentations, blog posts, or other forms of communication often have difficulty finding such images.
The photos come courtesy of #WOCInTechChat and are free for anyone to copy, distribute, and display if proper credit is provided under a Creative Commons (Attribution) license. Described as a grassroots initiative, #WOCInTechChat started as a chat on Twitter where women (and “non-binary” people) of color could connect and discuss issues, and later became a way for them to find and share jobs and skills-boosting opportunities.
One issue that emerged was the lack of images showing women of color in tech settings. So co-founders Christina Morillo (an information security architect) and Stephanie Morillo (a tech writer, among other things), both from New York, banded together with others for a recent photo shoot. Below is a sampling of the resulting pics. More can be found on Flickr.
This isn’t the only project attempting to address the many things missing from traditional stock photo offerings. One alternative focuses on images of progressively masculine men, for instance. Another offers pictures of everyday life in places like Iran and Africa. One by one such efforts are helping to create a more complete picture of the world.
Credit for the following images: #WOCinTechChat on Flickr, licensed under CC-BY-2.0.
