New emojis will include woman in hijab, gender-neutral face, and vampires

The Unicode Consortium has announced the 69 new emojis that will be released later this year, with a clear focus on promoting diversity and inclusivity. The new set includes, among many others, a gender-neutral face, a woman wearing a hijab, and a mother breastfeeding. These are mixed in with fantasy creatures like mermaids, vampires, and dinosaurs.

Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia and a member of Unicode’s emoji subcommittee, especially highlighted the new gender-neutral figures:

“If you don’t feel strongly one way or the other (about your gender)," Burge said, “It’s nice to have an option in the middle.”

The new faces will  be released with five different skin tones, an initiative that the organization started in 2015 in order to be more racially diverse. The new emojis are expected to launch in June, with individual vendors making them available to consumers throughout the second half of the year.

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