We all know the phrase: “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it,” used throughout modern history to express the importance of representation, particularly for minority groups. And while it has arguably become a bit of a token, the core of the message still stands.

Author Immy Humes’ book, The Only Woman, encapsulates the sentiment perfectly. In the pictorial investigation, Humes explores the as-yet undocumented, but very real, phenomenon of the ‘only woman’: portraits of otherwise all-male groups that include exactly one woman.

The Only Woman: this book celebrates the empowering visual history of the ‘only woman’ in the room