Where have all the women gone? 👀
How we can support, empower and help female creatives grow within the design industry
🤔 Are there more men working in design, or is it just me?
I often found myself asking as I was making my way through my career at various agencies. It seemed like I was one of the few (if any) women in the design department in some places. In comparison to men, women were a rarity.
📖 I could talk numbers and statistics. But instead, I’ve decided to tell you a story about Jane. In some aspects she represents parts of us–or a younger version of us that hasn’t had the space to develop yet–our experiences, fears, thoughts and feelings.
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It’s Monday morning, 8.47am. A young woman gets on the train, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, a black tote bag on the other.
“Am I good enough?”
“Will I ever get there?”
“Am I even in the right industry?”
Her mind is a tired jumble of thoughts. Mostly negative thoughts. She pushes them away and puts her headphones on.
She’s considered quitting so many times. Every day she walks in the studio and doesn’t see any leadership figures she can identify with, she feels a bit more frustrated. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to. Anyone really. It seems like all the guys have a friend but she’s just not quite one of the gang.
She’s tried to fit in, to find common ground, but she always feels like she is other. As if there was no space for her to grow, no position to occupy, no way to progress.
She feels stuck. Restrained. Alone. She pushes it down and smiles. Always.
It’s as if she is–constantly–fighting a loosing battle.
She looks at the station sign coming into focus as the train slows down and she takes her right headphone bud off. “Please mind the gap” comes on the usual announcement before she steps out into the platform…
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A lot of female designers are having or have had similar thoughts. Our industry is suffering because there is a gap, we are–unconsciously–marginalising women. It’s hard when you are the one who stands out by default. The one clients assume is in the meeting room to get their coffee order. The one who’s either too emotional, or too distant, because you never seem to strike a balance that pleases everyone. The one who’s too bold, too girly, or just not very talkative. Your voice is tolerated but not fully considered. You feel like you always need to prove yourself, because unconsciously, some people still view you as a softer version of your peers. As someone to approach with precaution.
These are experiences and thoughts I’ve gathered from many female creatives. The things we never talk about in front of our team, in fear of being seeing as emotional, or simply because we are not sure if these feelings and thoughts are valid. We agree that there is a divide because of how things are in the wider spectrum of society, but we can’t quite figure out how to change things around, how to bridge that gap.
Why is it that, even though we are aware there are issues in our industry, we are not addressing them? How can design still be so disproportionately male? Women make up the majority of design students, yet they are underrepresented in leadership roles (such as creative directors), still earning less on average than their male counterparts.
How do we change these numbers?
Studio culture
Studio culture, across a lot of the agencies I’ve worked for, favours working late. This has a massive impact on women. As women are often the ones who take on a leading role in household (social standards come at play here), caring for relatives or children, working late affects their ability to do so. Women are also less considered for roles because of the belief that these require longer working hours, and there’s an assumption that they’re not up to it. I have to say I’ve heard a lot of toxic statements against hiring women in leadership positions out of concerns that motherhood needs or maternity leave costs will impact their performance. These views are heartbreaking and very difficult to witness.
Women are required to make more sacrifices to get to leadership positions. Because of the way society is currently structured, because we are still adhering to dated gender stereotypes, because we’ve created a ‘norm’ and stuck to it for centuries. A lot of creatives are not ready to have children until much later in life. They feel they need to achieve a certain level in their career before it’s “safe” for them to do so.
Maybe it’s time to break down this dated culture. We can focus on working smarter rather than longer. We can be extremely productive when we start to treat your team as individuals with their own needs. People work best at different hours of the day. By allowing more flexibility and people to choose their productive hours, leveraging their creativity at its best, will give us better results rather than an enforced culture of late nights. It’s time to allow for some flexibility around working hours and make sure that everyone’s needs are equally considered and catered for.
The confidence gap
Most women are enforced into a pre-given, social “role” from a young age. They are repeatedly told that they shouldn’t be too loud, or aggressive, or overly confident. We don’t always use these exact words, but we all hold a level of unconscious understanding that there is a place for women in society. Their potential of becoming a mother comes with certain attributes–and therefore we proceed to measure both their success and “femininity” on those. A general idea that has been brewing around from all female creatives I’ve met is that no matter what they do, they are “never enough”. Feeling inadequate is somehow the default. And we are reinforcing it every time we expect women to act a certain way because they are women.
I’m interested in the way women feel, because it affects the way we act. It takes courage and confidence to push for a role. In fact, women would rarely ask for a promotion or apply for a higher role until they are certain they are ticking all the boxes. In contrast a lot of men would demand or apply for that role, before they are entirely ready. There is a significant way in which gender seems to play a role in our perception of worth.
We can’t change the way we feel and act overnight. There’s no magic pill for that. It’s going to take time and collective effort. What we can do, as an industry (and that includes all of us), is consider women’s growth more. Nurture the younger generation of creatives so they learn not to apologise just for existing, or voicing their opinion. Teach them that their ideas matter. That they matter. Make space for them to grow and find their confidence.
I still often catch myself before an unnecessary apology comes out. It took twelve years and a Design Director position to reverse that habit. I’m naturally polite, but I’ve also learned the hard way that being too apologetic is the fast track to being considered as unimportant. To all women out there reading this: weight your apologies and make sure you are using them at the right times. Don’t feel the need to apologise for simple acts. Teach other women not to apologise when they present their work, when they voice opinions, when they suggest ideas.
Conscious inclusivity
Pushing for more inclusivity is the only way to shift the industry forward. More diverse teams will be stronger, their ideas will be more considerate to a wider audience and subsequently, the design sector will grow. Contemplate the people you are hiring, see that they are nurtured and able to grow within the industry. Simply hiring more women won’t fix the problem. We need to consider their needs and create a new standard of working that feels welcoming to everyone.
Obviously there are other issues that come to play. But I won’t dive into every single one today. Instead, I’d like to invite all my male readers to consider how you would feel if the scales were inverted? Try to empathise by putting yourself in their shoes.
A lot of times, bias comes unconsciously. This is a reminder to be mindful of it. A first step to turning things around.
If we work together, we can be the change we want to see.
Female empowerment
🎨 Intrigued by How to be a Renaissance Woman, a history of cosmetics and female creativity.
💡 Design by Women aims to celebrate and showcase women and gender non-conforming creatives, currently working in the industry.
❤️ I invite you to read this interview that is challenging the gender of creativity with Rebecca Sutherland, Sana Iqbal, Gill Thomas, Ruth Sykes, Lucy Davidson and Katherina Tudball.
