BTW, I've spent my entire adult life working in photography, and I've noticed that nearly all of the equipment and material suppliers have been represented by by white males. It is my impression that this is your line of work, and I wonder if you have any insights into this. Does this business try to exclude women, or is there another explanation? Perhaps women, for the most part, don't want to be alone in unsavory neighborhoods, or perhaps have a harder time carrying heavier sample cases, or the like? Or perhaps women have been discouraged from gaining background experience that is necessary to do such sales work. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, as you seem to be something of an insider, and seem concerned about such things.
It is a sad state of affairs. The public reps for companies on this forum represent almost entirely the world of "business" or "retail" photo. Its enough to visit a show like PPE or Photokina to see it first hand. Go to something like the "photographica" show, and its even more extreme because almost everyone is OLD.
Ever since i started working in this industry, this has been an issue, and a topic raised as often as possible.
There is nothing to it, other then plain old misogyny and sexism. This is simply the result of years and years in which the only players (for any reason you can think of) were white men. Women were and are excluded as a matter of fact, even if subconsciously, because for many years, it was inappropriate for women to all kinds of things, and this type of exclusion was completely socially acceptable. Hey, some people were not considered human until a few decades ago and womens voting rights was something women had to fight for, as it was not commonly acceptable that it was their "inalienable" right as it pertained to men.
It is very daunting and unpleasant to walk into a conference or room filled with old pharts who spend most of the down time telling each other stupid sexists jokes, making remarks on the "why are they nude" models which used to be so prevalent in camera shows in up until very recently (and in some cases still today), and other such deplorable behavior.
This is something which is endemic in society and has nothing to do with photography, but as we all know it was once socially acceptable to pat a women on the behind, this type of homogeneous all white male composition was nothing of note at any point in time in history, and even in todays "de-segregated" US we often have to point out to reps and PR people that not every one in the world is a white European, let alone that not all customers are men. The result was a very unwelcoming environment for women by default, regardless of the intentions of the people working in it.
That perhaps will never change until this generation of old folks retire or pass on. The sad state of things, is that they nurtured and raised an entire new generation of similar minded people in their stead.
Now, we have all been in these rooms, where all men talk this way, but how many of us stopped to think about how a women might feel in that environment? Thats the one and only reason.
That is not to say a thick skinned persons, who is willing to go through that crap and smile at the end of the day might make it, but i can tell you, its no fun at all.
Sigh. Good luck to all those who think there is no gender wage gap, or that women are not discriminated against. Its all easy to say and do when you are a white guy, perhaps if you repeat it enough times it will be the reality of things.
ps, I'm not able to see the originally referenced articles, so I don't have any idea what's in them.
Go the first post and click the links (or google the titles, i am sure you will find them).