There are many reasons why people might have their cameras off, the main one that comes to mind is that it generally overly impacts women where there is a general (stupid) societal expectation that they have to look 'a certain way' (makeup , hair done etc). Having cameras off can mitigate this.
I personally like cameras on, but it isn't good for everyone, and is not a clear cut decision by any means.
Mixed feelings on this. My issue with cameras off were mostly entirely with men, not women. I do not refer to a call out of the blue, but rather, a scheduled in advance team business meeting with multiple parties present. Men have no excuse here. They are always presentable if they have shaved. I didn't, and don't understand why men would not always agree to be seen.
Women, I grant that there is much more effort required on their part.. but here is the thing.. if it's a scheduled business meeting in the calendar, if it was on the physical premises, they would be spending the time anyway on their appearance. So, this is not additional time they would need to spend but already allocated time. So if they are at a remote site, they should still be presentable because they are in the workplace.
There are many reasons why people might have their cameras off, the main one that comes to mind is that it generally overly impacts women where there is a general (stupid) societal expectation that they have to look 'a certain way' (makeup , hair done etc). Having cameras off can mitigate this.
I personally like cameras on, but it isn't good for everyone, and is not a clear cut decision by any means.