After looking through the books of over 70 leading commercial photography agents, we found that women accounted for less than 25% of those represented. This isn’t because of a lack of talent, or a lack of desire from agents, creative agencies or clients. It’s a structural problem that must be addressed with big collective actions, such as an industry-wide commitment to always include women photographers on the lists that clients and agencies select from.
Equal Lens is here to give women photographers an equal shot. Launching on International Women’s Day and run by a team of female advertising professionals, Equal Lens’ mission is to redress the gender imbalance in commercial photography.
We are calling for agencies to include women and men in every photographers list. We are encouraging clients and agencies to request and produce inclusive lists. And to make these lists easier, we are championing the work of women photographers on our website and beyond.
“I love working with all photographers. But time and time again I’ve seen women miss out on big commercial commissions. After seeing the incredible work that Free the Bid does to promote the work of women directors, we decided to set up Equal Lens to make it easier for agents and agencies to find talented women photographers. Advertising should reflect the world we live in, and our goal is to help the industry represent the lens of women and men 50/50. Because, be it cars, fashion or food, there’s no brief that women can’t do.” Jaki Jo, Equal Lens Founder & Integrated Producer, adam&eveDDB.
On International Women’s Day, we are launching the Equal Lens website, which will showcase the work of 100 established and up-and-coming women photographers including Julia Fullerton-Batten, Metz+Racine, Jo Metson Scott and Charlie Campbell. To call attention to the cause, we are also launching the #equallens social media campaign, which will introduce our mission to the world.
Redressing the gender imbalance in commercial photography is more than the right thing to do, it’s what we need to do. Excluding women narrows the pool of photographers and the creativity that our industry needs to thrive. And it robs photography of a much-needed perspective in a market where women shoppers make up to 85% of all consumer purchases.
Together, we can give women photographers an equal shot.
Equal Lens Team
Haylie Craig, Art Director / Designer, Google Creative Lab
Helen Parker & Tanja Adams, Founding Partners, Another Production
Jaki Jo, Equal Lens Founder & Integrated Producer, adam&eveDDB
Nici Hofer, Photographer & Art Director, Nici+Karin
Zuleika Sedgley, Senior Writer, Pentagram
