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Jaguar Land Rover and Getty Images combine to promote women in engineering

Jaguar Land Rover and Getty Images combine to promote women in engineering Jaguar Land Rover and Getty Images combine to promote women in engineering Jaguar Land Rover and Getty Images combine to promote women in engineering
JLR & Getty Images collaborate to create perception changing imagery of women in STEM careers.

What's the news?

While both the perception and the reality of the business of designing, building and selling cars being a 'man's world' has changed, it has not changed much. There are women in positions of high influence and seniority in motoring, most notably Mary Barra at the top of General Motors and Linda Jackson in charge of Citroen, but sadly still they are the exception. Look around the halls of the Geneva Motor Show and most of the car company staff you will see are men.

Women are often still relegated to a secondary, or worse still, decorative role. It seems ridiculous that in 2017, when women are elected to the pinnacle of high political office and a woman runs one of the biggest car companies on Earth that scantily, or at least slinkily-clad women are still used as decoration on the motor show stands. Look up an image of someone working on the design or construction of a car, and you'll most likely find a photo of a man.

Jaguar, Land Rover and Getty Images - which supplies file photos to newspapers and media organisations around the world - want to do their bit to change that, starting with the image. The three companies have combined to produce sets of photos showing real women engineers and designers working in real situation, partially in response to a 526 per cent growth in online searched for the phrase 'women in STEM.' That need to encourage girls at school to take up science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) has never been greater, and outside of politics, is possibly the best way for the next generation of women to change the world for the better.

Fiona Pargeter, Jaguar Land Rover Global PR Communications Director, said: "We have always championed women in the car business and are committed to inspiring more girls and women to consider careers in engineering and manufacturing. Our female workforce has grown from nine to 11 per cent over the past four years due to our focused STEM initiatives. But this is still far too low - businesses being proactive about using realistic imagery is one of the many ways that we can attract the bright minds we need into STEM careers."

The Jaguar Land Rover and Getty Images collaboration sees a set of images for editorial use, as the partners work towards building a body of imagery, which authentically depicts female engineers at work.

Rebecca Swift, Director Creative Insight at Getty Images, said: "We are a passionate advocate for the realistic representation of women through imagery and are proud to be leading the visual industry in the creation and promotion of powerful, relevant imagery which celebrates diversity and authenticity in every area of life.

"Over the last year we have seen a dramatic spike in interest for imagery showing female engineers at work. Images have the power to make and break gender clichés so the demand for these images is both indicative and important. We have an opportunity to change the visual language around STEM for the better, so we are excited to be partnering with Jaguar Land Rover, who are also committed to expanding the availability of images representing the realities of a modern day engineering career for women."

Michelle Mortiboys, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, said: "Here at Jaguar Land Rover we need the diversity of skills that women bring to ensure we thrive and maintain our competitive edge for years to come. It is well known that gender diversification in business is not just healthy culturally but also propels progressiveness and innovation. Our partnership with Getty Images is not just about recruiting women into engineering, it's a small part of the work that needs to be done to upscale female employees in the automotive sector as a whole."

Maybe then we can have an image of women in serious roles in the motor industry, and not just as decoration for a motor show stand.

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Published on March 14, 2017