App fills world with virtual statues of notable women

Helping tell a more complete story of history, crowdsourced app The Whole Story adds virtual statues of notable women to any location in the world.

Acting as a counterbalance to the many statues of men that fill cities and towns around the world, The Whole Story asks citizens to help commemorate the remarkable work of women. Remarkable work that is, unfortunately, missing from far too many places. Available from Google Play and the App Store, The Whole Story maps in the app indicate the locations of the virtual statues.

When a visitor holds up a smartphone as if taking a photo, the statue will appear in the position and location designated by the creator. To add a statue to the app, users are asked to add their design via their Facebook account and then anchor it in a precise real-world location.

Gender inequality manifests itself in many ways, and the creative solutions calling attention to it do so as well. A bakery in Romania used edible pie charts that topped sweet treats with iced statistics (including the salary gap and rate of startup exclusion) to highlight the country’s inequalities. A New York City pharmacy reminded customers of the practice of gender pricing and general wage disparity by charging a seven percent man tax to its customers. How can innovators use such creative awareness raising initiatives to amend or build social and political policy?