2023: This is Gender (In)Equality 

Gender inequality marks one of the most pervasive and persistent patterns in the distribution of power. We see evidence of this, nearly invisible and overt, everywhere. Around 2.4 billion working-age women live in countries that do not grant them the same rights as men, and this inequality appears to be worsening. 


In 2022, around the world, countries collectively adopted the fewest gender-related reforms in more than two decades while some governments made legal changes to strip women of existing rights, including freedom of movement and their ability to get a job. It will be nearly three centuries before women and girls are equally protected around the globe. Wars, famines and natural disasters have also had more severe impacts on the well-being of women.

The most recent report from Global Health 50/50, Workplaces: worse for women shows that despite progress on gender equality in organisations active in global health, male leadership pervades.

This is gender 2023 (In)Equality questioned, can we reframe and reimagine gender equalities and inequalities through visual media – and envision what it means to be human and to be equal? Where moments of true equality exist – how can we capture them and enable these moments to flourish? 

The winning entries showcase diverse representations of gendered power, relationships, and experiences, from intimate household spaces to the highest levels of political decision-making.

(In)Equality at work 

Zoë, a nurse who, like many others, has been tirelessly working during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a moment of rest from the hectic pace of her daily work.
TAKE A BREAK ZOE, (UK, 2020), Maisie Broadhead.
This picture depicts the daily struggle of women who balance their work and family even when they are at their office.
FREE CHILDCARE, (Pakistan, 2023), Mehreen Zain.
In the bustling city, at the peak of the workday, a ritual unfolds. Women, immersed in the masculine-dominated public spaces of the city, pause to give lunchtime instructions to those caring for their children at home, often other women.
LUNCHTIME DIRECTIONS, (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2019), Cynthia Eisenberg.
The room is filled with individuals wearing suits, their eyes fixated solely on profit. The western male business attire, eyes looking all ways, a central, single female, all framed by roses, all bring different points of view.
EYES ALWAYS LIE, (Spain, 2018), Silvia Viana.
Men, seated on director's chairs, turn back to gaze at us from behind a shoulder, while graveyards loom in the background.
IT’S NOT A MOVIE. STAND UP!, (Milan, Italy, 2023), Gaia Giongo.
Captured from above, six women clothed in bright fabrics fish with nets in a circle. Their cheerful clothing sets them apart from the muddy flats of low tide and the man in the boat who watches over them.
FISHING BY WOMEN, (Canning, India, 2022), Abhraneel Chakraborty.
A school teacher leads her students on a tour and takes a collective selfie of them standing together by the seashore.
CHANGE THE THOUGHT, (Bangladesh, 2023), Shahriar Farzana.
12-year-old Michealle Naeku gazes directly into the camera with confidence.
THE RIGHT TO PLAY, (Enoosaen, Kenya, 2022), Lee-Ann Olwage.
In a room filled with determined women, the mission is clear: to make access to banking services more inclusive and attainable for women.
ACCESS W BANKING, (Lagos, Nigeria, 2023),
Aderemi Davies “AyaworanHO3D”.
A woman sits in the middle of a painting and looks directly at us, her face without a mark of expression. She finds herself encircled by men, each wearing a smirk.
A MAN’S WORLD, (Liverpool, UK, 2022), Seldjan Behari.

(In)Equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) 

A triptych of a woman in a black cloak holding a pearl within her hands.
/pəˈfɔːm(ə)ns/: A SILENT STORY TOL, A STATEMENT, A PERFORMANC, (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2018), Aljohara Jeje.
A cake made from IVF hormone treatments.
HORMONE CAKE, (Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, 2023), Chiara Luxardo.
Martha Arotingo serenely poses for a portrait in the lushness of her garden. In her arms, she cradles a colourful bouquet of plants and flowers.
WOMEN WHO BRING LIFE, (Quito, Ecuador, 2020), Karen Toro.
A woman curled into a ball lies face down surrounded by tubes and bags of blood attached to her exposed back.
HYSTERIA OR MISOGYNY?, (The Ruins of Central Aguirre, Salinas, Puerto Rico, 2020), Luanne Otero.
The woman waits, primed and groomed, ready for when a man comes to confer dignity.
WAITING FOR MARRIAGE II, (Lagos, Nigeria, 2023), Nnebuifé Kwubéi.
Four people facing away from the camera huddle together with their hair braided and their arms entwined.
Four people facing away from the camera huddle together with their hair braided and their arms entwined.

(In)Equality and planetary health 

A male and female face press together to support the stem of a lily. Both faces are required to keep the lily erect, reaching towards the sun
KABEH PODO, (Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2023), Faiz Pujo Jatmiko.
Two men stand closely in a pool during a hot summers day.
SUMMERTIME, (Midrand, Kyalami, South Africa , 2020), Ogorogile Nong.
In West Bengal, India, the arduous task of collecting drinking water falls primarily on women and girls, who often journey miles to newly dug sandpits for this vital resource.
THE UNEVEN BURDEN OF WATER, (West Bengal, India, 2019), Sudip Maiti.
In the flooded lobby of Chittagong Maternal & Childcare Hospital in Bangladesh, a mother and her child, wait to receive medical treatment. They sit and stand on blue plastic chairs that appear to hover over the swirling, muddy water.
HOSPITAL UNDER DEVASTATING FLOOD WATER, (Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2021), Ziaul Huque.
A woman tends to her chickens outside of her temporary accommodation on an embankment in Bangladesh. On one side of her a fall tree, on the other rising floodwaters. A canopy of dark clouds above creates a sense of claustrophobia and foreboding.
CLIMATE COST, (Bangladesh, 2020), Zakir Hossain Chowdhury.
The ghostly figures foreshadow the risks for these women working in such conditions.
PLASTIC WORKERS, (Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2018), Debdatta Chakraborty.
The grey skyline of high-rise buildings contrasts with a colourful staged setting depicting an enchanting forest, flowing river, and serene hill. This sombre juxtaposition reflects the diminishing green spaces in Dhaka city due to rapid urbanisation.
THE URBAN OUTING, (Bangladesh, 2023), Mithail Afrige Chowdhury.

THE JUDGING PANEL

We are grateful to our panel of Judges who helped shape the final collection. 

A word of appreciation belongs to Marion Lynch, a global health consultant and passionate advocate for gender equality, who steered the judging process, and Manisha Nepal, a volunteer who enthusiastically helped with the dissemination of the open call to ensure a wide range of submissions.

Zahra Joya, an Afghan journalist and a founder of Rukhshana Media

Marion Lynch, an expert in integrating the arts into health and enabling others to do the same

Prof Thirusha Naidu, Head of Clinical Psychology at King Dinuzulu Hospital and an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Public Health in Durban, South Africa

Altaf Qadri, an award-winning photojournalist based in New Delhi, India 

Explore our 2023 Global Report 

Dive into the visuals and data of our Global Health 50/50 2023 report: Workplaces: Worse for Women. 

Get the Long Exposure

Dive into the creative processes, visual ethics, and exclusive behind-the-scenes details of selected images in our Representation Matters series.

Need More Info or Have Questions? 

For inquiries about  This is Gender (In)Equality contact our curator Imogen Bakelmun at imogen.bakelmun@globalhealth5050.org.