Cynthia Matuszek, computer science and electrical engineering, co-authored a study that found that Google image search results underrepresent female professionals, use stereotypes, and influence gender bias. Matuszek recently came to UMBC from the University of Washington, where her coauthors are based.

The researchers analyzed top Google image search results for over 40 professions and found that women were underrepresented when compared to data from the Bureau of Labor statistics. They also found that the image results affected perceptions of female representation in those occupations. “It’s part of a cycle: How people perceive things affects the search results, which affect how people perceive things,” Matuszek told The Washington Post.

Click here to read “What one simple Google search tells us about how we view working women” in The Washington Post.

Additional Coverage:

Be Careful What You Google (The Atlantic)
Google Image Search Has A Gender Bias Problem (Huffington Post)
Google Search thinks the most important female CEO is Barbie (The Verge)
On Google Images, the most influential woman CEO is Barbie! (The Economic Times)
Why gender bias in the workplace continues to exist (Human Resources Online)
Female CEOs under-represented on Google Image Search: Study (Tech2)
Who’s a CEO? Google image results can shift gender biases (Phys.org)
Barbie is the ‘top women CEO’ on Google Images (Times of India)
Is Google Search Biased Against Female CEOs? (Science 2.0)
Study puts Google image search results to the gender bias test (GeekWire)
On Google Images, the most influential woman CEO is Barbie! (NewKerala.com)
Who’s a CEO? Google image results can shift gender biases (UW Today)