Weeknotes 20 — Women in design
Today is International Womens’ Day. This is my first IWD as a business owner and self employed person. Setting up Joy will always be one…
Today is International Womens’ Day. This is my first IWD as a business owner and self employed person. Setting up Joy will always be one of the biggest milestones of my career so I’ve been thinking about the women who influenced my journey to this point.
I’ve always loved making things. My mum is a crafter. When I was growing up she would attend craft fairs and sometimes let me have a corner to sell the things I’d made. My Mum was the first woman to influence my design career. She encouraged me to bring my ideas to life… and helped me find a market for pipe cleaner snake pencil toppers!
Design became a career prospect for me about 20 years ago while I was doing my A levels and considering my options for university. Thinking back to that point, and then forwards over the milestones that came next, I was surprised to realise that very few women inspired the early stages of my career.
Is this surprising? Maybe not.
My art teacher was a man. My degree course was led mainly by male tutors and male technicians. Three of the ten staff members I remember were women.
The first company I worked for was run by two men. My boss was a man and most of my design peers in that job were men. We sat upstairs. Downstairs was account services. Most people downstairs were women.
The next two jobs I had were in New Zealand. Both of these companies were again run by men and my bosses were men.
You’re getting the picture.
It’s important to mention that many of these men did shape my career. Steve Burnett showed me the arrow in the FedEx logo and sold me on graphic design. Nick Rees, Matt Kerr and Gush Mundae gave me my first job. Will Jones and Adrian Turnham took me under their wing. Michael Roberton taught me the value of fine wine. Vijay Patel taught me the craft of design. Rahul Sharma was my partner in crime when it came to big ideas.
But it wasn’t until I moved from graphic design into service design that things started to change. Don’t get me wrong, I crossed paths with some amazing women during those formative years but I could probably count them on one hand.
Was this a sign of the times? Have things changed? Is there a difference in the gender balance in different design disciplines?
I’m lucky to have worked alongside and been inspired by some incredible women during my last eight years as a service designer.
Hanna Cops was the first of these women. She’s now heading up design at Transport for London and if I ever want to return to permanent employment I’ll be calling Hanna.
I met some incredible women during my time at Snook. Probably too many to name but I’ll have a go. Valerie Carr was my work Mum, Anne Dhir my sparing partner and Keira Anderson my facilitation guru. Maya Alvarado, Lucy Stewart, Charley Pothecary, Eve Georgieva and Marie McDermott were, and are, my friends. Friends I grew up as a service designer with and worked on some incredible projects with.
But it was Sarah Drummond who gave me a job when I hand wrote her a letter from a New Zealand hot tub! It was also Sarah who nurtured me, helped rebuild my confidence, allowed me to fail, let me cry and had my back — always.
It was these women who helped rebuild me after men broke me down. I will forever be grateful to these women.
More recently I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing female leaders. Laura Bunt demonstrated the potential of digital in a drug and alcohol charity. Nancy Willacy championed inclusion and diversity across user research in the NHS. Susie Day (who recently won a very well deserved award) stayed calm and focused in a crisis. Zoe Amar puts kindness at the heart of everything she does and Deborah Szebeko oozes creativity.
I also want to mention some amazing non-binary and trans women who have inspired me.
Lou Downe has done so much for service design that I would need a whole new blog to get into this. If you haven’t read their book, read it. On a personal level they have provided much needed support and encouragement for my writing and speaking that I am truly thankful for.
Tash Oakes-Monger was an amazing support during my time at the NHS when I was working to make the vaccine booking service inclusive and continues to fight for trans rights. Jessica Nichols is one of the many people who inspire me on Twitter every day despite us having never met. Jess I hope we meet in an exotic land one day. And to my Dad, for the continual support and encouragement.
So this is a thank you. To every women I’ve mentioned and every woman I haven’t who helped me find my way here. No matter how big or small a part you played I wouldn’t be here without you.
I hope the women out there currently choosing their degree courses don’t have to wait 10 years before women start really influencing their career.
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Please note: I’ve used the terms men and women throughout this piece to refer to people who identify as a man or identify as a woman. I recognise gender is not always binary for people. I also recognise those referenced from my past have not be consulted with regard to how they currently identify. Please get in touch if any of my terminology needs correcting.