A missing link: women and industrial design

Abstract

The industrial design process is notable for its absence of practising women designers. It is likely that there will be little change in the future. Currently, there are no initiatives to encourage women to be more involved in the design process as either professionals or as informed consumers. Consequently, the ‘tacit knowledge’ of women is not applied in the design process and artefacts are often inappropriate for the needs and concerns of women users. The ‘tacit knowledge’ of designers entails assumptions about women's needs and roles in society and reinforces and reproduces these. Proposals for developing the skills and ‘tacit knowledge’ of women and making these central to the design process include, in the shorter term, post-experience design courses for women, awareness compaigns aimed at employers to recruit women designers, design competitions for girls, awards for female designers and supporting networks of women designers. However, to be successful in the longer term, a change in the design process and male and female roles has to be addressed.