I once worked for a newspaper where editors thought nothing of slapping a feature photo on Page One that depicted young black children (in the back of a wagon, as I recall it) happily munching on watermelon. They were baffled at my objection.
But day after day, we are exposed to sneakier outrages – images that reinforce stereotypes and suppress ambition, especially in young women.
I had the chance to talk to Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg about that this week at the Makers Conference in California.
Sandberg, whose book about women’s empowerment, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will To Lead,” has sold 1.5 million copies, noticed the image problem too. “Leadership looks white and looks male to most people, because that’s what history has taught us,” she told me.
