It’s man’s world, James Brown once famously sang. Only now, mercifully, it’s a lot more of a women’s one too. Including those plying their trade in the digital image editing services industries. As well it should be.
At long last everyone’s voices are being equally heard. Well, almost. Despite the Suffragettes first highlighting the injustices served to the fairer sex over a century ago. Subsequently making a prominent stand for the rights of women. Finally, women are moving and shaking in sectors where historically they were overlooked in favour of male counterparts. Irrespective of their obvious and overwhelming experience, skillset and natural talents.
And we’re not just talking about in the digital image editing services sector, neither.
It’s Permanently Women’s Hour Here at DT. Although the Male Contingent Do Sometimes Get a Word in Edgeways….
Nowadays an increasing number of female politicians are making their voices heard louder and clearer than ever before. Elsewhere, society is witnessing women heading-up large metropolitan police forces. We’ve even seen the long overdue debuts of the fairer sex making their mark in age-old male-only sporting strongholds. Think, professional darts and Premier League football (where they work in tandem with referees).
And would you believe that even that most male of bastians, the TV motoring show, elected to recruit a female racing driver to the role of ‘The Stig’. Albeit in The Grand Tour‘s facsimile’d Top Gear guise.
Indeed, these days even the sky doesn’t limit the reach of womankind. Now we can observe female astronauts orbiting dot-like ‘mankind’ beneath them.
From Thunberg to Sherrock, More Women Are Asserting Their Authority in Traditional Male Domains Than Ever Before
Women made waves (and headlines) like never before during 2019. Yumi Ishikawa, Fei-Fei Li, Greta Thunberg and Fallon Sherrock, to name but a few. All riding the crests of their respectively prominent ones. And further empowering women. Not just being well received. But being instantly identifiable when championing their own individual causes. And at whatever polar opposite ends of the spectrum they were making their presence felts in.
In more everyday life we’re privy to change too. New heroines are assuming a lot of roles once seen as the occupational preserve of men. These include the likes of test development engineers, train drivers, automotive sales, architects, butchers and vehicle mechanics. While broadly in terms of industries, agriculture, manufacturing, transport and logistics and construction are attracting greater volumes of women applicants than acknowledged at any point previously.
More Power to Womens’ Elbows in the Creative Industries Called For
Of course, some areas remain steadfastly male-dominated. And despite the best will in the world, can’t always be overcome. Although vocations which for decades barely registered the contribution that women made in contrast to that of men, have slowly tickled much-needed change. Photography being noted as one.
Between 2012 and 2017, the New York Times cited a meagre 15% of the entries to the World Press Photo Awards compiled of women. Three years on, the landscape has chnaged for the better. Now the majority of students in undergraduate and graduate photojournalism programs are women, according to The Guardian newspaper.
The sphere of digital image editing services is of course a sector which women could just as readily carve out a successful career in as much as men. Yet statistically-speaking, the industry remains largely populated by a core male demographic. For no just reason it would seem.
Women Employed in Creative Fields Not Always Credited to Same Degree as Men. For This Also Read Digital Image Editing Services
However the photo retouching sector isn’t alone when it comes to being poorly accounted for by the presence of women holding down key positions, as we alluded to above. Computing, graphic design, digital art and (the aforementioned) photography are equally creative work environments where women are still under-represented.
Not only that. Recent research conducted by a leading creative publication has found even more damning evidence. To suggest that the strides already taken, are not great enough in some quarters. And that head counts alone don’t tell the full, often unreported story.
In as much as that on balance (and when quoted in comments and articles), women working in the creative sector were more likely to be presented according to the ‘sounds they made’. As opposed to being recognised for their achievements.
As a point in question, one authority highlighted analysis of comments made by both men and women. Which, staggeringly, depicted women being mentioned in terms of ‘laughs, giggles’ and ‘cries’. Together with counts of non-verbal reactions such as ‘grins’ and ‘smiles’. Within a similar context, their male creative counterparts were associated in the printed word. With strong, actionable verbs, nouns and adjectives. Including ‘performed, designed, directed, founded’ and ‘managed’.
In other words, terms which implied levels of achievement and leadership.
So as you can see, much work still has to be done. More hurdles negotiated as women continue to seek parity with men across the board.
So, Why Aren’t More Women Working in The Digital Image Editing Services Sector?
A very good question. Yet sadly one we’re not able to answer fully. Not in the space of a blog, anyway.
Although one theory might be as follows.
Back in the 1980s young men showed far more interest in computing than girls did. Whether from the programming angle or the design elements. Therefore a greater percentage (possibly, as we’re summising here) went on to study graphic design, let’s say. Potentially sparked by – and thus utilising – this early learning knowledge and thirst for all things newly computing. And retouching, less we forget, is a more specialist offshoot of graphic design.
So this pontification might go some way to explaining why there’s been a dearth of female talent entering the profession over the years. Basically, boys were just ahead of the girls, digitally-speaking. Yet the girls possessed the design prowess, when all’s said and done.
Still, what we can do is flag up some of the primary advantages of being a woman working in the arena of professional photo enhancing. Establishing why they’d find themselves in the digital image editing services industry driving seat. If and when they chose to pursue it as a career.
Female Clients Prefer a Fellow Female’s Sensitive Approach and Understanding of Certain Personal Digital Image Editing Services Briefs
One predominant plus point to being a woman working in this sector is the subject of trust.
Out of Focus Group Photo
I contacted Digital Touch in desperation. A very important end of year group photo I had taken at my daughter’s school was out of focus.
Jilly, using her amazing skills was able to bring out sufficient detail to make the photo usable. I am extremely thankful for the high quality service she provided.
Nav Mann – client review, via Trust Pilot
It probably won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that women tend to prefer other women to handle their family images. Specifically ones which feature their children.
And we’re sorry guys, but also for the most part, women possess a deeper understanding of the importance of presentation. In many areas of life, not just anything creative. They have a habit of spending more time on things too. Displaying greater levels of patience. They also appreciate that the devil is essentially in the exacting details.
Women are also more reliably equipped to complete subtle beauty photo retouching briefs. The key word here being ‘subtle’. A woman knows what another woman wants. Instinctively what she’s looking for within a particular shot. Or conversely, what they want a digital image editing services professional to remove.
Discreetly.
Pictures of a sometimes intimate or sensitive nature need to be handled/retouched with the sort of tactility and considered approach only women can really bring to the table.
Final Thoughts….
So there you have it.
Just a few bulletproof reasons why hiring a woman to do what might have been historically viewed as a man’s job, makes perfect sense. And why women are today being recognised as the gender which can be implicitly trusted to get the job you want, done.
OK, just a little shameless (yet harmless) self-promotion to editorially bookend the whole female perspective thing.