GENDER BALANCING SEARCH FUNCTION TOPS YOUTUBE.
The image shown of different professions on the internet is often unbalanced between men and women. This is what technology company Semcon wanted to change when they set about developing Re-Search, a browser extension that makes image searches more gender balanced. Within the first 24 hours after launch, the film that presents the solution had reached top ten on YouTube in the USA and a solid number one position in Sweden.
The aim of the campaign was to broaden the image of the engineering profession in order to make it attractive to more people, especially women, as women are under-represented in the technology sector. Re-Search also shows the skewed balance of a further 64 different occupations on the internet, such as journalists, pilots and preschool teachers. Several suggestions for additional professions have been provided through the online discussion and the tip function in Re-Search, for example: sanitation worker, game developer, football referee and oil rig diver.
Watch the film about Re-Search
Download the complete press pack including the FAQs
“This is a very important issue which is relevant to lots of people. I am very happy that it has been disseminated so widely. If we, as a technology company, can create a technical solution that makes the internet a little more equal and creates more role models for young people, that’s brilliant,” says Markus Granlund, president and CEO of Semcon.
About Re-Search:
Re-Search is a browser extension that changes a search engine’s image search results, so that men and women are given equal space when searching for images of different professions. When you perform an image search of a profession, a new window opens automatically that displays pictures from the underrepresented gender.
Facts from the first 72 hours:
- 640,000 views on YouTube
- Over one million reached on Facebook
For more information, please contact:
Per Nilsson, Corporate Communication and Marketing Director, Semcon
Tel: +46 (0) 739-737 200
Email: per.nilsson@semcon.com
Semcon is an international technology company that develops products based on human needs and behaviours. We strengthen our customers’ competitiveness by always starting from the end user, because the person who knows most about the user’s needs creates the best products and the clearest benefits to humans. Semcon collaborates mainly with companies in the automotive, industry, energy and life science sectors. With 3,000 specialised employees, Semcon has the ability to take care of the entire product development cycle, from strategy and technology development to design and product information. Semcon was founded in Sweden in 1980 and has offices in over 40 locations in nine different countries. In 2015, the Group reported annual sales ofSEK 2.6 billion. Read more on semcon.com
Tags:
