in the iconic language

  • Ensuring fair representation.
  • Ensure that in the selection of images - when a community or a group of subjects is represented - women and men are equally represented, in order to guarantee the quantitative representativeness of both female and male subjects.
  • Avoid the use of the man-as-default.
  • Do not use images depicting only male subjects if the message is neutral or when addressing all genders indiscriminately.
  • Verify the relevance of the images to their context.
  • Ensure that the way subjects are represented is relevant and consistent with the context. For example, avoid the use of female figures for mere decorative and attractive purposes.
  • Ensure a non-discriminatory representation of roles.
  • Promote the representation of the multiplicity of roles, for example by choosing images depicting women and men in unconventional roles and professions so as not to feed clichés, making sure to include, when possible, representations of women in top positions.
  • Foster forms of representation that do not imply gender-based hierarchies.
  • Do not use depictions that implicitly convey hierarchical relationships of women's inferiority to men. The main elements to be checked in the case of images depicting more than one subject concern:
  • [A] QUANTITATIVE BALANCE

    Refers to the numerical representativeness of women and men (e.g. in depictions of groups, check that there is an equal number of female and male subjects).


    [C] DIMENSIONAL RATIOS

    Refers to the depiction of female subjects that are dimensionally smaller than male subjects (e.g. when using pictographic figures of men and women, ensure that there are no unjustified dimensional dissimilarities).

    [B] SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS

    Refers to the positioning of subjects in space (e.g. take care that when depicting groups or couples, female subjects are not always in the background or 'behind' the male ones).


    [D] ACTION PERFORMED

    Activity and passivity of the subjects depicted. It concerns the roles and actions performed by the subjects so that there is no prevalence of passive/active behaviours in relation to gender.

  • Avoid reinforcing dominant aesthetic ideals.
  • Give preference to images whose subjects have heterogeneous physicality and traits, in order not to disseminate standardised and idealised images of women and men. When selecting images, give more importance to the role of the subjects rather than their appearance.
  • Avoid depicting women and men in ways that reinforce their status quo.
  • Consider, for example, the elements characterising the subjects within an image - posture, expressions, gestures, attitudes and clothing - as potential vectors of sexist social models. From the opposite perspective, these elements can be positively exploited to convey values of fairness and inclusion.
  • Promote the use of heterogeneous and non-stereotypical colour palettes.
  • Choose colour palettes that are not polarised according to the canons: pink=female/blue=male. If it is necessary to identify or mark the two genders chromatically, choose palettes that do not respond to conventional pink/blue codes.
  • Opt for images that move away from visual clichés.
  • When using symbolic depictions in referring to gender, avoid stereotypical associations such as, for example, lipstick or high-heeled shoes to designate the female gender or a tie for the male gender.

in the iconic language

  • Ensuring fair representation.
  • Ensure that in the selection of images - when a community or a group of subjects is represented - women and men are equally represented, in order to guarantee the quantitative representativeness of both female and male subjects.
  • Avoid the use of the man-as-default.
  • Do not use images depicting only male subjects if the message is neutral or when addressing all genders indiscriminately.
  • Verify the relevance of the images to their context.
  • Ensure that the way subjects are represented is relevant and consistent with the context. For example, avoid the use of female figures for mere decorative and attractive purposes.
  • Ensure a non-discriminatory representation of roles.
  • Promote the representation of the multiplicity of roles, for example by choosing images depicting women and men in unconventional roles and professions so as not to feed clichés, making sure to include, when possible, representations of women in top positions.
  • Foster forms of representation that do not imply gender-based hierarchies.
  • Do not use depictions that implicitly convey hierarchical relationships of women's inferiority to men. The main elements to be checked in the case of images depicting more than one subject concern:
  • [A] QUANTITATIVE BALANCE

    Refers to the numerical representativeness of women and men (e.g. in depictions of groups, check that there is an equal number of female and male subjects).


    [B] SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS

    Refers to the positioning of subjects in space (e.g. take care that when depicting groups or couples, female subjects are not always in the background or 'behind' the male ones).


    [C] DIMENSIONAL RATIOS

    Refers to the depiction of female subjects that are dimensionally smaller than male subjects (e.g. when using pictographic figures of men and women, ensure that there are no unjustified dimensional dissimilarities).


    [D] ACTION PERFORMED

    Activity and passivity of the subjects depicted. It concerns the roles and actions performed by the subjects so that there is no prevalence of passive/active behaviours in relation to gender.

  • Avoid reinforcing dominant aesthetic ideals.
  • Give preference to images whose subjects have heterogeneous physicality and traits, in order not to disseminate standardised and idealised images of women and men. When selecting images, give more importance to the role of the subjects rather than their appearance.
  • Avoid depicting women and men in ways that reinforce their status quo.
  • Consider, for example, the elements characterising the subjects within an image - posture, expressions, gestures, attitudes and clothing - as potential vectors of sexist social models. From the opposite perspective, these elements can be positively exploited to convey values of fairness and inclusion.
  • Promote the use of heterogeneous and non-stereotypical colour palettes.
  • Choose colour palettes that are not polarised according to the canons: pink=female/blue=male. If it is necessary to identify or mark the two genders chromatically, choose palettes that do not respond to conventional pink/blue codes.
  • Opt for images that move away from visual clichés.
  • When using symbolic depictions in referring to gender, avoid stereotypical associations such as, for example, lipstick or high-heeled shoes to designate the female gender or a tie for the male gender.