International technology company Semcon Global pride themselves on developing products which focus on the needs and behaviors of human beings. Their recent desire to draw attention to existing stereotypes within job image searches has led to the inspiring video “Re-Search: Now You Can See It.” In an attempt to smash current occupational stereotypes, Semcon has introduced a way for individuals to obtain a balanced job image search engine result.
What does a photographer look like? Whoever does an image search on a photographer quickly notices that the people in the pictures are almost always men. According to search engines and stock photography companies, film directors are also mostly men, while dancers and preschool teachers are mostly women. Content creators such as stock photographers identify the people in their images with their genders using keywords, and in addition to this, thousands of stereotypical images uploaded by photographers and videographers trigger this "online" inequality in such ways. But Semcon found a solution for this by releasing their browser extension: Re-Search.
When searching for a job-related image, Re-Search will recognize what gender is being underrepresented in the search results and will open a new window directly below the original search containing images of that gender in the specific chosen job role. This seeks to provide a clear comparison between the search results we are offered and the search results which we could have (and are not currently able to easily access). This innovative new extension not only smashes current occupational gender stereotypes, but also acts as a catalyst in the company’s ultimate desire to inspire young people and allow these images to serve as role models.
The video opens with the poignant message, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” These words aptly portray the power of visual imagery and its effect on people and what they think can be achieved. The video makes a point of reinforcing the fact that there are male nurses, female football players, and female photographers out there. Re-Search identifies over 65 professional jobs and acts as a visual weapon to counteract the gender defined stereotypes of modern day. Re-Search can be found on the Semcon website, and updates for the extension open source can be accessed on GitHub.
This is how stupid society has become...
Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just search for "female photographer" or "male dancer"? To me, it seems kinda insulting, as if they think people don't know how to search for what they're looking for or don't know what they should be looking for.
I think the point isn't helping people make more precise gendered searches, but rather highlighting disparities in gender representation in the generic constructs of these professions as represented by gender-neutral searches.
I'm not so sure about that. Wouldn't someone have to knowingly install or activate Re-search, which would indicate an existing awareness of the "problem"? I can't imagine you would install anything without knowing what it does. Well...except for the plethora of Spyware / Viruses / Trojans out there! :-)
As an aside, if the bulk of search engine results for "photographer" returns men, I guess photographers (the people taking the photos) are unaware that women can be photographers in which case, the bulk of photographers really ARE men, so the "improved" results would be misleading. ;-)
I don't think installing it necessarily implies an understanding of the problem or at least a complete understanding of its depth so much as a desire to learn about the aforementioned things.
...in which case, you probably aren't really looking for photographers, film directors, dancers or preschool teachers. People usually find what they're looking for.
I can't even.. :)
I hope no one installs this, after going through through their site some red flags, in my mind are popping up.
Also I think they are a data mining PR firm with hidden agendas.
If I want stock of a female football player I can just search it, get this spyware bs out of here.