I'm more than a dress! Axosoft's #ItWasNeverADress campaign goes viral

Breaking down barriers of perceptions of women is something Axosoft, a technology company, is doing with their #ItWasNeverADress campaign.
The company launched their campaign at the Girls in Tech Catalyst conference in Phoenix aiming to shift perceptions of women in technology, politics, or any industry to more of a superhero. The symbol is a radical transformation of the female bathroom vector and turning that dress into a superhero cape. Local arts activist Tania Katan joined Axosoft as Curator of Code and is leading the movement.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/7EKlCrLNu8Y[/youtube]

Tania Katan & Sara Breeding, Axosoft, on AZTB Periscope

“To me it’s about shifting perceptions and assumptions about women,” Katan said. “#itswasneveradress will provide a forum to share stories, indignities, celebrations and juxtapositions between the realities of what it means to be a women in any space.”
CEO Axosoft, Lawdan Shojaee said, “This campaign is to shine light on the women in tech and give them the voice they deserve.”
When building out this campaign, Katan’s initial thought was to address the gender gap in the tech industry. According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology, 1.2 million computer-related jobs are expected to open by 2020. In 2013, 18 percent of women held computer science degrees. The more concerning stat is that six percent of CIOs are women.

Tania Katan axosoft itwasneveradress photo credit Blythe Vrindavana Rymer — Tania Katan, Curator of Code – photo courtesy of Axosoft

However, this symbol, this mission, is bigger than the tech industry, Katan said. “This is why people are responding to it. I’m a woman and I’m more than a dress,” Katan said.
The campaign has lit up on Twitter with women around the world rallying behind the hashtag and symbol that signifies a new way to view women. Even Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and other outlets and notables are picking up on the movement. As of this post, Keyhole.com analytics has the hashtag “itwasneveradress” reaching over 1.6 million people on Twitter; Instagram has over 100 posts referencing the campaign.

When we see women differently, we see the world differently – Tania Katan