I’ve got a right bee in my bonnet about this, so please excuse the forthcoming rant.
A lot of websites or companies will use images like this…
or this…
…to illustrate things like unity, collaboration, and diversity.
Needless to say, I’m not into the hands.
Why? They’re cliché, they don’t really say anything, they’re just… there. How often are you huddling in a circle with your teammates and stacking all your hands together before cheering? Stock photos of hands shaking, cheering, high-fiving, or God forbid, jazz hands-ing, do not illustrate diversity and/or inclusion in an effective way.
Also, at some point we need to discuss whether we should still be using stock photos of hands or people touching (COVID-19, anyone?).
Let’s focus on the matter at hand (pun 100% intended): This speaks to a larger problem in the diversity stock photo world.
In my experience in content marketing, I always struggled to find powerful, appropriate depictions of diversity that weren’t corny or forcibly diverse. I’m sure you’ve seen the stock photos of an almost impossibly diverse team – and they’re always laughing for some reason? (side note: do you think stock photo models are constantly smiling in their regular lives? How terrifying.)
My favorite depictions of diversity are often abstract illustrations.
Like this one from Utrecht University’s Diversity & Inclusion Award:
Or this one:
Building blocks aren’t less of a cliché than the hands, but they are a much more accurate representation of the work diversity and inclusion takes.
“Achieving” diversity, equity, and inclusion is a process. It’s slow, painstaking, ambiguous work.
I’m not saying diverse stock photos are the solution, but I do think they are a pretty good indication of whether a company cares about diversity. They’re just one of those building blocks in working toward a culture that values inclusion and diverse representation.
In my experience, using original images of the people in your company is the best solution. And if you don’t see different skin colors, ethnicities, ages, genders, or body types represented in those photos – you have a bigger problem ;)
Diverse stock photo sites
I’m not a fan of slapping diversity into photos as a form of tokenism, but if you’re struggling to find diverse stock photos, here’s a nice selection of (free) sites:
AllGo (focus: plus-size)
#WOCinTech (focus: women and non-binary people of color in tech)
Nappy (focus: people of color)
The Gender Spectrum Collection (focus: trans and non-binary)
Jopwell (focus: people of color in the workplace)
Disability:IN (focus: disability inclusion)
Canva Natural Women Collection (focus: underrepresented women)