When Isis Wenger, a 22-year-old platform engineer, was featured in a recruitment ad for her company OneLogin, a large problem arose. She started an uproar on various different platforms due to her appearance in the ad.
Without viewing the ad, many people’s first instinct is to assume that the photo was revealing or sexualized. However, the backlash began when people stated that she was “not a real engineer,” because she is far too attractive. Since when are attractive women not allowed to be smart, hardworking members of society?
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In response to the adverse reactions that she received from the ad campaign, Isis wrote a post on Medium that says, "I’m pretty blown away at the amount of attention my ad particularly has received. I am a passionate self-taught engineer, extreme introvert, science-nerd, anime-lover, college dropout, hip hop dancer, yoga teacher/hoop-dance teacher, really authentic friend and HUMAN(omg?!)." She carries on to say, “As for the comments about the ad… Is it so unheard of that I genuinely care about my teammates? Some people think I’m not making ‘the right face.’ Others think that this is unbelievable as to what ‘female engineers’ look like.”
In attempt to eliminate sub-conscious bias when it comes to diversity, Isis started a movement. She invited people in her field globally to join in on the non gender specific hashtag, “iLookLikeAnEngineer.” Her goal is to redefine the stereotype of what an engineer, or other people in a technical field are “supposed” to look like. Engineers across the world have contributed to this campaign by tweeting photos of themselves with the hashtag “iLookLikeAnEngineer.”
Isis hopes to break all stereotypes and change people’s thoughts through her campaign. Katie Couric, Chelsea Clinton and Arianna Huffington have acknowledged the hashtag. Take a look at what other’s have to say.
