Google proposes new set of female emoji

A team at Google has put together a proposal for a new set of emoji to better represent women in the workforce.

The 13 emoji, according to the team of four, depict "a wide range of professions for women and men, with a goal of highlighting the diversity of women's careers and empowering girls everywhere." Included in the set are emoji for chefs, scientists, industry workers, educators, and rock stars, among others.

The team has presented this emoji set to the Unicode Consortium, the body that approves and standardises emoji. It cited a New York Times op-ed called "Emoji Feminism" as capturing the motivation behind its work.

It quoted: "Where, I wanted to know, was the fierce professor working her way to tenure? Where was the lawyer? The accountant? The surgeon? How was there space for both a bento box and a single fried coconut shrimp, and yet women were restricted to a smattering of tired, beauty-centric roles?”

“This was not a problem for our male emoji brethren. Men were serving on the police force, working construction and being Santa. Meanwhile, on our phones, it was Saturday at the Mall of America —? women shopping while men wrote the checks."

The team hopes that it can get the new emoji standardised by the end of 2016.