MENLO PARK, Calif.—A new photography resource released today by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Getty Images Reportage provides more than 400 high-quality, editorial images of empowered women in sub-Saharan Africa. The collection includes photos of women in decision-making roles, earning income, and accessing reproductive health care information and services—creating a positive and authentic counterpoint to more common images of disease and deprivation.
The photos, which are from Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda, will be available—free of charge—to noncommercial users, as well as for licensing to Getty Images’ global customer base of creative agencies, businesses, news organizations, and other editorial clients.
The project is funded through the Hewlett Foundation’s global development and population program, which has a longstanding commitment to expanding women’s choices and recently announced that it will make grants to groups working in developing nations to improve women’s economic opportunities and their ability to control their income.
“We’re pleased to partner with Getty Images to tell the important story of women’s empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa through the powerful medium of photography,” said Hewlett Foundation Program Officer Helena Choi. “These high-quality images will help nonprofits working on women’s issues to tell their story more effectively, and they will educate and inspire people who are accustomed to only seeing the challenges facing women in Africa.”
Getty Images, the global leader in visual communications, is guided by the belief that imagery can change the world. Last year, the company launched an award-winning partnership with LeanIn.Org, focused on women, as well as a global Repicture campaign to challenge how the world is viewed and to change the paradigm around stereotypical imagery used to depict people and concepts.
“At Getty Images we know the unrivaled power of photography to educate, inspire, and to drive change—and we have a strong track record of advancing health and development initiatives,” said Getty Images Vice President of Photo Assignments and Editorial Partnerships Aidan Sullivan. “We are thrilled to work with the Hewlett Foundation to bring attention and support to their important work of empowering women.”
In addition to the full image set, Getty Images has published a narrated photo essay—I Decide: Bringing Opportunities to Women in Africa, by photojournalist Jonathan Torgovnik, about his on-the-ground experience documenting the lives of women in Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda.
“In community after community, I have witnessed first-hand the transformative effect on women’s lives when they have access to reproductive health services and can earn their own money,” said Torgovnik. “When women are able to make their own decisions, they gain respect, can improve the health and lives of their family and community, and are truly empowered.”
The images are available at imagesofempowerment.org, where they are licensed under Creative Commons.
Contact: Vidya Krishnamurthy, Hewlett Foundation, 650-234-4744, vidyak@hewlett.org
Colleen McCabe, Getty Images Communications, pressusa@gettyimages.com
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About The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation helps people build measurably better lives, concentrating its resources on activities in education, the environment, global development and population, performing arts, and philanthropy, as well as grants to support disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. On the web: www.hewlett.org.
About Getty Images:
Getty Images is the world’s leader in visual communication, with over 170 million assets available through its premium content site www.gettyimages.com and its leading stock content site www.istock.com. With its advanced search and image recognition technology, Getty Images serves business customers in more than 100 countries and is the first place creative and media professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital content. Its award-winning photographers and content creators help customers produce inspiring work which appears every day in the world’s most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and online media. Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of digital media in communications and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life. For company news and announcements, visit press.gettyimages.com, and for the stories, innovation and inspiration behind our content, visit Stories & Trends http://stories.gettyimages.com. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gettyimages , Twitter at https://twitter.com/GettyImages.
