Search stock photo websites for “computer engineer” and chances are you’ll be exposed to a steady photo stream of men. Women are conspicuously absent from the mix. And although this may be the result of the under-representation of women in field, it’s fair to say stock photo companies have failed to give women their due.

Until now.

For International Women’s Day on March 8, Toronto-based software firm Plastic Mobile has recreated popular stock images using some real-life women engineers and uploaded them for all companies to use. The company hopes the effort will see more photos of women make it into the many presentations, websites and advertising campaigns that heavily rely on stock imagery.

“It was a late night of wrapping up the final version of a presentation when we started to notice that the majority of computer engineer stock photos were male-centric,” says Melody Adhami, COO and president at Plastic Mobile. “While it’s no secret that women make up a small percentage of computer engineers and that’s reflected in the workforce – including my own – changes need to start somewhere.”

Credits

Photos: Filip Mroz, design director at Plastic Mobile