Whose job includes ensuring a company’s imaging is not sexist?
Externally, probably be the marketing team. Internally…human resources?
A friend who recently started a new role in HR at a large retail bank complained to me that she found images in the welcome pack extremely sexist. From an all-woman team at a reception desk to multiple photos of older men helping younger (clearly subordinate) female coworkers, she worried over the connotations for new hires of such images plastered across the bank’s internal communications.
When she mentioned it over lunch to her boss, he nonchalantly brushed aside as “no big deal.†Pressing the issue, she was told these were stock photos authorized for use by executives in the C-suite – so nothing could be done. Plus, he said, “it doesn’t really matter; nobody pays much attention to those images anyway.â€
Ultimately, that attitude – combined with the lack of corporate oversight over internal imagery – signal a larger problem regarding diversity and inclusionOpens a new window : By not actively tackling our subconscious biases in business from within, such as in the images brands and companies use to represent themselves to their staff or in the workplace languageOpens a new window , we encourage the persistence of institutional discrimination.
In contrast, marketers invest significant thought on how external audiences might perceive a specific photo – that is, how it could be interpreted. Marketers are wary to cover their bases and ensure the brand image remains untarnished by negative, unconscious biases in messaging.
But who polices the images used internally? Say, for instance, that internal marketing material is produced with an image infused with sexist undertones – for example, a reception desk staffed exclusively by women – whose job is it to raise the red flag? More importantly, what does it say to employees?
Most companies have no process or policy in place for such a scenario, but they should. We believe that “a picture is worth a thousand words†for a reason: because it’s true. Indeed, the photos a company publishes, for example, on the recruitment page of its website or in internal newsletters can communicate a lot to employees and prospects about the organization’s  values.
At a time when diversity and inclusion are increasingly hot button topics, business leaders must make this non-bottom-line issue more of a priority.
The unconscious bias issue
Think I’m blowing a non-issue out of proportion? Consider damning evidence specifically about unconscious bias in images appearing across the internet.
Analyzing Google images, a 2018 study conducted by Pew Research CenterOpens a new window  found that women were heavily underrepresented in the search results relating to certain jobs and fields.
Similarly, two prominent AI-powered image-recognition softwares – one of which Microsoft and Facebook helped develop – were found to reflect predictable gender biasesOpens a new window in their interpretation of images. They made strong links to women in images of shopping and washing, while coaching and shooting were tied to men. This occurred because researchers developing the software accidentally and unconsciously injected these biases into the programs.
Meanwhile, Chavie Lieber pointed out in a 2015 article for RackedOpens a new window that sexism is a pervasive problem in the stock photography sector.
My point is that unconscious sexist biases are often reflected in the photos used by many companies can reinforce stereotypes regarding the difference between ‘men’s work’ and ‘women’s work.’
From a corporate standpoint, the issue needs an internal champion – and that buck should stop at HR, whose leaders must own and raise awareness of the issue, getting support from senior leaders to help change the company’s internal representations.