why?

Recently, there have been alarming amounts of grooming, and sexual assault within the modeling, and photography industry for decades by a large amount of photographers who abuse their privelige, and power behind the lens. The profession of “photographer” has been dominated by men in popular media and culture, with women making only 93% of what men make in the same industry, even though women make up more than 50% of the industry according to Zippa data science team. There are many reasons behind this, and while we could dive into topics such as “the glass ceiling” or how imposter syndrome affects women in executive positions at a rate of 75% or more, we are going to talk about resources. The sharing of resources, knowledge, and equipment alone fosters a sense of agency for these young women, making it possible for mothers, students, and freelancers to make as much money as they want, and form businesses with limited roadblocks. What this means for our future is that if more women are empowered to not just “exist” in an industry, but instead to thrive, we will see the dissipation of imposter syndrome, and a generational change that could place women as successful heads of household. Currently, female- headed households are more than twice as likely to experience extreme poverty due to sexism and racism, according to bread.org. It is up to us to change these numbers, and to allow women to thrive in creative fields such as photography. We need more incubation spaces for talented, and ambitious women, organized by women.