In February 2014, the Lean In Collection was released. This collection describes itself as, "a library of images devoted to the powerful depiction of women, girls, and the people who support them. Jointly curated by Getty Images and LeanIn.Org - the women's empowerment nonprofit founded by Sheryl Sandberg - the collection features over 2,500 images of female leadership in contemporary work and life" (Gettyimages.com). All of the images consist of stock photographs and are available for purchase on the Getty Images website.

For my research paper, I will perform a discourse analysis in order to investigate how Lean In Collection functions as an institutional apparatus that claims to empower women through stock photography. This claim of empowerment is problematic due to the nature of stock photography as a medium. I argue that although the Lean In Collection emphasizes empowerment, it makes particular subjects, objects, and practices invisible at the same time. In order to get a solid understanding of how it does so, I also look into how the Lean In Collection presents itself and is talked about the media.