If a picture says a thousand words, then an emoji says a million. That’s why we were so excited when Google announced its newest addition to the Unicode emoticon universe: emojis depicting women in seemingly every career under the sun, including a mechanic, a farmer, and a rock star (but of course).
As it turns out, we weren’t the only ones jazzed for Google’s creations. The group of professional-women emojis has been nominated for a Beazley Design of the Year Award by the Design Museum in London. Yes, you may applaud for the emojis now.
The line of 11 emojis was created last year by Google employees Agustin Fonts, Rachel Been, Mark Davis, Nicole Bleuel, and Chang Yang. When the company first announced the new kickass lady emojis, Google said they were created to represent “a wide range of professions for women and men with a goal of highlighting the diversity of women’s careers and empowering girls everywhere.”
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And that they did. A few others in the group include a businesswoman, doctor, nurse, scientist, graduate, software engineer, and a tech worker. Before these adorable and empowering images were available, emoji keyboards were under harsh scrutiny for only showing girls engaging in gendered activities, like being a princess or dancer. While there’s nothing wrong with a good tiara or tutu, it sent a limiting message to young women and girls. “We believe this will empower young women (the heaviest emoji users), and better reflect the pivotal roles women play in the world,” Google said of the debut.
The emojis were nominated in the digital category for the Design of the Year Awards. While they face some pretty tough competition (Pokémon Go is nominated in the same category), there's no denying how game-changing they are.
The winner of best digital design will be announced on January 25, 2018. According to the Design Museum’s website, public voting will begin in October (you can vote, too!), and a vote from design professionals will follow to determine the winner. We’re rooting for these empowering little ladies to take home the prize!
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