Tech Giant Olay Unveils #DecodeTheBias Initiative, Displaying Perceived Skepticism Towards Technology
In the world of beauty, the quest for inclusivity and representation has been a long-standing issue. A recent public campaign by Olay, #DecodeTheBias, aims to address bias in search engine results for beauty-related terms, a problem that disproportionately affects women of colour.
Historically and currently, search results for beauty-related terms often perpetuate harmful stereotypes and underrepresent or misrepresent women of colour, mirroring broader societal and industry prejudices. Researchers at MIT Media Lab have found that algorithmic technologies struggle to accurately recognise gender and skin tone for women with darker skin, leading to skewed or inappropriate search results.
The fashion and beauty industry is a significant contributor to these biases, as it often promotes narrow beauty ideals that prioritise whiteness and Eurocentric features, marginalising or excluding women of colour. This systemic exclusion influences the content that is created, promoted, and made searchable, creating feedback loops that reinforce biased aesthetics both online and offline.
One glaring example of this bias is the search result for "black girls" on Google, which once predominantly returned pornographic content. While some corrections have been made, similar biases remain for other ethnic groups such as Asian women, suggesting systemic issues in search and content algorithms that feed and reinforce stereotypes.
The beauty bias extends beyond skin colour to include features such as hair texture or style, where natural hairstyles favoured by Black women are often discriminated against or underrepresented. In broader societal contexts, this is part of the "Beauty Bias" or "Attractive Bias," where perceived attractiveness based on culturally dominant standards affects opportunities and representation across many domains, including hiring and media visibility.
Social media, a major platform for beauty narratives, plays a dual role: while it can amplify diverse voices, it often reflects and magnifies existing biases unless actively challenged by users and content creators. Furthermore, growing consumer interest in cosmetic interventions may also reflect cultural pressures to conform to certain beauty standards shaped by industry-driven narratives.
Olay, a company that markets products for various skin conditions, finds itself in a paradoxical situation. While it aims to address the issue of search result bias, it continues to sell skin whitening cream, raising questions about perpetuating harmful forms of bias and discrimination. However, Olay's message is partially legitimate, as companies should consider how to improve the accuracy of their algorithms to remove bias.
The #DecodeTheBias campaign plans to send up to 1,200 girls to coding camp, one for every post on social media that uses their hashtag. This initiative aims to encourage more women, particularly women of colour, to pursue careers in tech, potentially leading to more diverse perspectives in the creation of algorithms and search results.
However, it is crucial to acknowledge that the lack of representation of women from the trans, queer, disabled, and plus-sized communities in beauty-related search results is not addressed in the campaign. Technology serves as a mirror reflecting society's biases, prompting a call to action to change society rather than blaming technology.
The campaign's irony lies in a cosmetics company criticising the technology, as the beauty industry creates and perpetuates harmful beauty standards. Naomi Wolf described over 30 years ago in "The Beauty Myth" that the cosmetics, fashion, and thinness industries create and perpetuate harmful beauty standards for women and girls.
In summary, the #DecodeTheBias campaign serves as a call to action to address the systemic biases in search results that disproportionately affect women of colour. While the campaign is a step in the right direction, it is essential to acknowledge the role of the fashion and beauty industry in perpetuating these biases and to address the lack of representation of diverse communities in these industries.
- Algorithms, often used in search engines, struggle to accurately recognize gender and skin tones for women with darker skin, perpetuating biases in beauty-related search results.
- The beauty industry, including technology companies, contributes to systemic exclusion by promoting narrow beauty ideals and underrepresenting or misrepresenting women of color.
- To challenge these biases, the #DecodeTheBias campaign aims to send girls from diverse backgrounds to coding camps, encouraging more women of color to pursue careers in tech and create more diverse perspectives in algorithm development.
- However, it is important to address the lack of representation of diverse communities beyond women of color in the beauty industry, as technology serves as a reflection of society's biases and requires societal change to address these issues.
