Category: Diversity

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Where are the (emoji) women?

Earlier this year, I was pleased when my phone offered me the option of assigning different skin tones to the tiny faces I often include in text messages. Score one, I thought, for diversity in digital culture.

What I missed, though, was another subtle bias in this fast growing communication tool: There are very few emojis depicting professional women. As Mic’s Sophie Kleeman points out:

Women who want to use something other than a neutral female emoji have the following options to choose from: a princess, a bride, twins that resemble Playboy bunnies, a dancer in a red dress and a series of “information desk person” characters… Men get the “serious” professional roles, and women get the “girlie” ones.

As Kleeman goes on to explain, this isn’t the most pressing feminist issue out there – but I still think it’s important. Emojis are becoming a bigger part of our digital lives, and it’s problematic if they don’t allow us to properly express a full range of female experiences. Or at least as full a range as is possible with itty-bitty cartoons.


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See the gap

Here’s an impressive  -and depressing – interactive graphic that shows the extent of the racial and gender inequalities at the top levels of American media.  The project was commissioned by Stratch and includes some impressive research into the leadership history of big-name publications. Do give it a read and spend a few minutes clicking around.

 

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This month’s goal: $12,000 for JAWS

Updated 7/3/2014: Thanks to dozens of generous donors, this project was a huge success. We raised nearly $9,500 during the month of June, and we’re confident we’ll reach the $12,000 mark by the end of the summer. Running the campaign was a lot of fun — but also a lot of work, which is why things have been quiet around here for the last month. I’ll be back to my regular blogging habits after Fourth of July weekend. — MH 

Crowdrise_logo_151x48-1For the next 30 days, I’m leading a crowdfunding campaign to send 10 early-career female journalists to a conference organized by the Journalism & Women Symposium. Our goal is to raise $12,000 — enough to provide these talented women with several days of mentorship, networking opportunities and leadership training.

Programs like this are crucial to newsroom diversity, and newsroom diversity is vital for telling accurate stories about all segments of our society. Although women are the majority of entry-level reporters, they are far less likely than their male peers to rise to management positions. Supporting emerging female journalists is one way to counter that trend.

I gave $25 to the campaign this morning, and it’s my goal to convince 10 people in my social and professional networks to do the same by the end of this week.

Please visit our CrowdRise page, watch our fantastic video and consider supporting this important cause.