where are the women women industrial ......figure 8.2 swot analysis of women in industrial design...

WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? WOMEN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS FROM

UNIVERSITY TO WORKPLACE

Catherine Anne Lockhart BA(Design) SCA

GradCertHEd UTS

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Creative Industries Faculty

Queensland University of Technology

2016

Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace i

Keywords

design career, design education, design profession, entrepreneurship, female

graduate, hurdles model, industrial design, women

ii Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace

Abstract

This thesis explores the experience of being a woman industrial designer, from her

circumstances and motivations to study industrial design (simply defined as the

creative activity of designing objects, processes or services), through graduation

from university and to professional life. It comprises an analysis of in-depth

interviews with 19 female graduates from the industrial design course at the

University of Technology Sydney (Australia), and a public exhibition of both their

work and their reflections on being female designers. Conceptually, this thesis draws

on a theoretical model developed specifically with designers; namely, Bruce and

Lewis’s (1990) model which identifies three hurdles: the completion of a design

degree, getting a design job and obtaining success. As this model was developed over

two decades ago, this thesis explores whether these (or any other) barriers were still

relevant for female Australian industrial designers. The central research question is:

how do Australian women experience their design education and career paths?

The first three papers focus on women’s experience of the first of Bruce and Lewis’s

hurdles: the completion of a design degree. Paper 1 (Chapter 4) documents why these

women chose to enrol in an industrial design degree, with all describing a strong

desire to design and ‘make things’ from early childhood. Typically, their parents

worked in design-orientated careers (as architects, builders and designers) and

supported their childhood aptitude for and interest in design. Industrial design was

often a serendipitous choice, with half identifying the university’s admission guide as

the main information source.

Papers 2 (Chapter 5) and 3 (Chapter 6) highlight how, overall, design education at

university was generally a positive experience. As the primary learning environment,

the design studio fostered skills and confidence in design thinking, creative problem

solving and communication. The workshop, for the making of models and

prototypes, was initially seen negatively as a foreign, gendered, noisy and dusty

environment, with assignments also often gendered and ‘easier’ for their male peers

(for example, designing car-jacks or power tools). The self-directed, major project in

Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace iii

the final year of the degree was seen as a highlight, enabling the women to

demonstrate mastery of skills required to be a professional designer in a chosen

project area that often also provided valued industry networking opportunities.

Paper 4 (Chapter 7) focused focuses on the second and third hurdles: getting a design

job and becoming a success. Most of the women drew on networks and networking

to secure their first jobs, particularly through their final year self-directed major

project. Yet, like many graduates, entering the profession is where these female

graduates encountered the highest hurdle: although they graduated with portfolios

and skill levels equivalent to those of the men, these women felt that potential

employers scrutinised them more negatively and appeared to evaluate their work

differently. Unfortunately, just over half felt that the ‘glass ceiling’ remained in their

workplace, describing sexism, male gate-keeping and stereotypical perceptions of

their skills and abilities. They battled an underlying assumption that women are less

able to make and produce the models required by this three dimensional, traditionally

masculine design discipline: as one explained, ‘I think you have got to be quite

strong, because I found it's a massive boys' club.’` For many, the contemporary

workplace (with its inherent sexism and restrictive 9am to 5pm hours) did not meet

their lifestyle needs, particularly when they started families. In response, nearly half

(42%) embraced their creative passion and entrepreneurial spirit to start their own

design businesses - designing, manufacturing and marketing a diverse range of

products, from eyewear, jewellery and accessories, headphones and footwear to

furniture and lighting. Thus, this paper identifies a new additional fourth hurdle,

labeled: Redefining Success.

Although the data highlighted a range of experiences, overall, it supported Bruce and

Lewis’s (1990) three hurdle model; the critical addition of a fourth hurdle illustrates

how contemporary female designers are redefining what success means for them in

their workplaces. They are embracing entrepreneurship as a means of creating and

maintaining their passion for design, yet ensuring that their careers fit in with their

lifestyle preferences. Based on these findings, I identify and discuss the limitations

and implications of this research, for designers, educators, the profession and wider

society.

iv Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace

List of Publications

Lockhart, C. & Miller, E. (accepted 12/05/14). Destined to design? How and why Australian women choose to study industrial design. The International Journal of Art & Design Education, in press. Lockhart, C. & Miller, E. 2015. Studying industrial design: Exploring the experience of female students. Industrial Design Educators Network (3): 11 - 25. Lockhart, C. & Miller, E. 2015, 'Women's experience of industrial design education: what worked, what didn't and where to in the future', paper presented to the ACUADS Conference 2014: The future of the discipline, Melbourne Victoria, 2 - 3 October 2014. Lockhart, C. & Miller, E., ‘How do women designers succeed in the workplace? Getting in and getting on’ this paper is unpublished, currently it is under review.

Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace v

Table of Contents

Keywords ................................................................................................................................... iAbstract .................................................................................................................................... ii

List of Publications…………………………………………………………………………...iv

Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... v

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………….vii

List of Tables…………………….…………………………………………………………viii

Statement of Original Authorship ............................................................................................. xAcknowledgements .................................................................................................................. xi

Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................... 11.1 Background – women in design ....................................................................................... 21.2 Women in Industrial Design – identifying the hurdles .................................................... 4

1.2.1 The first hurdle: qualifications ............................................................................. 51.2.2 The second hurdle: getting the first job ................................................................ 51.2.3 The third hurdle: success, promotion and awards ................................................ 6

1.3 Research question and aims ............................................................................................. 61.3.1 Scope .................................................................................................................... 71.3.2 Thesis Structure .................................................................................................... 7

Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................... 11Women .................................................................................................................................... 122.1 Gender theories: deficit theory, dominance theory, and difference theory .................... 152.2 The leaky pipeline .......................................................................................................... 162.3 Social-cognitive career theory (SCCT) .......................................................................... 172.4 Career path influences – society, family and teachers ................................................... 18Women in non-traditional disciplines ..................................................................................... 202.5 Medicine ........................................................................................................................ 212.6 Science and mathematics ............................................................................................... 222.7 Engineering .................................................................................................................... 242.8 Information technology .................................................................................................. 262.9 Architecture ................................................................................................................... 27Design ...................................................................................................................................... 302.10 History ........................................................................................................................... 302.11 Women in design .......................................................................................................... 312.12 Design in Australia ....................................................................................................... 342.13 Industrial design ............................................................................................................ 352.14 Industrial design in Australia ........................................................................................ 37

vi Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace

2.15 Industrial design education in Australian ..................................................................... 412.16 Creativity in design ...................................................................................................... 412.17 Entrepreneurship in Australia ....................................................................................... 432.18 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 45

Chapter 3: Methodology .................................................................................... 493.1 Phenomenological approach ......................................................................................... 503.2 The case study as a research strategy ............................................................................ 513.3 Case study of female industrial design graduates ......................................................... 52

Chapter 4: Design as destiny ............................................................................. 67Destined to Design? How and why Australian women choose to study industrial design. ... 67

Statement of contribution of co-authors for thesis by published paper in Ch 4 ........... 69

Chapter 5: Studying industrial design .............................................................. 90Studying industrial design: exploring the experience of female students .............................. 90

Statement of contribution of co-authors for thesis by published paper in Ch 5 ........... 92

Chapter 6: Reflecting on design education .................................................... 105Women’s experience of industrial design education: what worked, what didn’t and where to in the future ........................................................................................................................... 105

Statement of contribution of co-authors for thesis by published paper in Ch 6 ......... 107

Chapter 7: Succeeding in the workplace ........................................................ 119How do women industrial designers succeed in the workplace? Getting in and getting on 119

Statement of contribution of co-authors for thesis by published paper in Ch 7 ......... 121

Chapter 8: Discussion & Conclusion .............................................................. 149Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 169Appendix A .............................................................................................................. 189Appendix B .............................................................................................................. 195Appendix C .............................................................................................................. 196

Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace vii

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Four-hurdle model of influences affecting women ................................................. 8Figure 2.1 Research methods, publication and thesis structure ............................................. 12Figure 2.2 General causal model in STEM disciplines .......................................................... 14Figure 2.3 Social-cognitive career theory .............................................................................. 17Figure 2.4 Thematic map of Australian industrial design practice ........................................ 39Figure 3.1 Window of exhibition space ................................................................................. 59Figure 3.2 Exhibition space and opening night ...................................................................... 59

Figure 3.3 Exhibition catalogue ............................................................................................. 60Figure 3.4 Exhibited items ..................................................................................................... 61Figure 3.5 Exhibited items ..................................................................................................... 61Figure 4.1 Early influences for considering design as a career .............................................. 67Figure 5.1 Experience of studying industrial design .............................................................. 90Figure 6.1 Influence of design education ............................................................................. 105Figure 7.1 Elements for success in design ........................................................................... 119

Figure 8.1 Four-hurdle model of influences affecting women ............................................. 150Figure 8.2 SWOT analysis of women in industrial design .................................................. 165

viii Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Size of design businesses by discipline (2006/2011) ............................................ 38Table 2.2 Founder gender distributions from a firm-level perspective ................................. 45Table 3.1 UTS Industrial Design graduation 1990 - 2010 ..................................................... 53Table 3.2 Profiles of participants ........................................................................................... 54Table 4.1 Profiles of participants interviewed ....................................................................... 76Table 4.2 Predicting engagement in design - childhood aptitude and parents ...................... 79Table 4.3 Role of course information and 'practicality' in choosing industrial design .......... 82

Table 5.1 Navigating the design studio as a woman - design skills and the workshop ......... 97Table 6.1 Participants' socio-demographic profile .............................................................. 112Table 6.2 The industrial design course - perceived strengths and weaknesses ................... 114Table 7.1 Participants' socio-demographic profile .............................................................. 132Table 7.2 Breaking in - strategies for securing their first design job .................................. 134Table 7.3 Developing self-confidence as a designer - learning and growing in confidence 136

Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace ix

x Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace

Statement of Original Authorship

The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet

requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the

best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously

published or written by another person except where due reference is made.

Date: 16 May 2016

Acknowledgements

QUT Verified Signature

Where are the women? Women industrial designers from university to workplace xi

I would like to acknowledge the following people who contributed in varying ways

throughout my PhD journey.

To Mr Wilson, my dearly missed brother-in-law who laid the foundations of design

early in my high school education. To my parents for the continued support and

belief in me.

I am sincerely grateful to my supervisor Associate Professor Evonne Miller who

from day one brought an energy, passion and clarity to the research process that has

been sustaining and inspiring. I would like to thank the panel members from QUT’s

faculties of Built, Environment and Engineering and Creative Industries who

provided constructive feedback at critical points of the research development.

To the women who participated in the research, I am indebted to you for sharing

your stories, participation in the exhibition along with the continued conversation

and interest in this research.

Colleagues in the Faculty of Design Architecture and Building at the University of

Technology Sydney have provided constant support and encouragement for which I

am truly appreciative. In particular I would like to thank Professor Desley Luscombe

and Professor Lawrence Wallen for providing me with the time and space needed to

bring this research to a conclusion.

Professional editor, Deborah Jenkin, provided copyediting and proofreading services,

according to the guidelines laid out in the university-endorsed national ‘Guidelines

for editing research theses’.

Finally thank you to my partner Barry for his unending support, especially when I

needed it most.

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

Internationally, and in Australia, several high-profile women have recently focused

public attention on issues of gender representation and equity in the workplace. After

the Sony email hack in November 2014 revealed significant gender differences in

pay, Oscar-winning US actress Jennifer Lawrence spoke out about film industry

sexism and entrenched gender norms that she felt limited her ability to be a tough

negotiator1. In 2012, then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made her now

infamous Misogyny Speech2 (about hatred of and/or entrenched prejudices about

women) in response to alleged sexism from then opposition leader Tony Abbott. In

November 2015, as the first female jockey to win Australia’s Melbourne Cup,

Michelle Payne told her male jockey counterparts to ‘Get Stuffed’ in her victory

speech as she recalled some of the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-

dominated and often chauvinistic sport - in her own words, she said, ‘they think

women aren’t strong enough, but we just beat the world’3. Unfortunately, these

anecdotes illustrate how, despite increasing female participation and significant

advancements, women at the top of their respective fields (acting, politics, horse-

racing) still report experiencing both subtle and blatant sexism in their workplaces.

While female participation in the Australian workforce has steadily increased over

the past few decades (from 48 per cent in 1986 to 58 per cent in 2006 (ABS 2009)),

women remain significantly under-represented in some fields – especially the STEM

(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines (Farmer et al. 1995;

Fouad & Singh 2011; Hill, Corbett & St. Rose 2010). The most recent statistics from

the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (ABS 2012) highlight continuing gender

discrepancies, with more women working in the areas of health care and social

assistance industry (79% female), education and training (70% female) and retail

trade (55% female). Conversely, other industries - such as construction (88% male)

1 See: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34516084 2 See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogyny_Speech 3 For more on Michelle Payne’s Melbourne Cup win, see: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/spring-racing/michelle-payne-had-her-moment-yesterday-and-it-wasnt-winning-the-melbourne-cup/news-story/e6cd9e62d95922400ba1b4e4fbf5ea29

2 Chapter 1: Introduction

and manufacturing (74%) - are dominated by males (ABS 2012). There is little

gender equality in senior leadership levels of the workplace either, with women

representing only a quarter of politicians in Australia (25%) and less than a tenth of

business executives in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX 500) in 2012

(Australian Human Rights Commission 2012). Women are graduating from business,

medicine and law courses in equal numbers as men (or greater), but this not reflected

in senior leadership positions. For example, over half of all law graduates in

Australia are female (61%), yet women hold fewer than a quarter of the most senior

positions in law firms (22%) and occupy just over a tenth of the seats on the Federal

Court of Australia (16%) (Australian Human Rights Commission 2012).

A significant body of academic literature has explored the potential reasons for these

continuing gender discrepancies, identifying a complex array of individual,

sociocultural and contextual (for example, cultural, social, psychological, economic

and political) factors (for example, see Ceci, Williams & Barnett, 2009). The ‘leaky

pipeline’ metaphor is often used to explain the differential sex-based loss or ‘leaking’

of women in the career trajectory, as at all stages of the pipeline (from secondary

school to university to a job) women ‘leak out’ from the field more than men

(Blickenstaff 2005). To date, however, research has tended to focus on women in

STEM fields, with very little research exploring the experience of women in design

fields. The gender mix of the student population in the industrial design courses in

Australia has been changing over the past ten years, with a notable increase in the

number of women graduating. However, to date, this gender change has not been

reflected in the profession. Anecdotal evidence suggests that very few women

designers are acknowledged or even evident in the country’s major award program,

the Australian International Design Awards. This gender discrepancy in the higher

levels of the profession thus raises the central research question guiding this thesis,

specifically: how do Australian women experience their industrial design

education and career paths?

1.1 BACKGROUND – WOMEN IN DESIGN

Although exact statistics on the number and proportion of women in design are

patchy and difficult to obtain, the available data generally demonstrates lower levels


of female participation, retention and success in industrial design. Notably, in recent

years, there have been significant advances in terms of female participation in design

at both the secondary school and undergraduate levels, where girls and women now

comprise approximately half of the student cohort. At secondary schools in NSW in

2014, 43% of the students undertaking the Design & Technology exam in the Higher

School Certificate (HSC) were female, and of the fifteen reported top places 73%

were awarded to girls (Board of studies teaching & educational standards 2014). In

2015, in relation to the HSC results, the Education Minister reported that ‘it is about

a 70/30 split in terms of girls who have topped courses as opposed to boys’ and

further that ‘we have girls topping what would be historically, but fortunately no

longer, male-dominated courses including subjects like agriculture.’ In the same

year, the president of the NSW Board of Studies noted that ‘in STEM males still

dominate, but the gap is closing and […] you cannot say there is a subject that is

inherently better suited to females or males.’4 At one Sydney university, for example,

a count of graduates shows that women comprised 15% of industrial design

graduates in 1990; in 2010, they made up 50%5. Yet women remain seriously under-

represented as practising designers in Australia and have been described as

‘invisible’ in the profession of industrial design (Bruce 1985, 150). Occupational

data indicates that in 1996 women constituted 18% of full-time professionals in the

fields of Design, Engineering, Science and Transport; by 2009, this grew by 4 per

cent to 22% (Bell 2009, 8). There are also gender discrepancies at the very highest

level of the field, with very few women designers acknowledged or even evident in

the country’s major award program, the Good Design Award (previously the

Australian International Design Awards6). Bruce (1985, 150) highlights two

immediate consequences of women’s invisibility in the industrial design field: that

women’s ‘tacit knowledge’ is not utilised; and that designs and markets are

underdeveloped in relation to the needs of women.

4 See http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/hsc-results-2015-girls-outperform-boys-in-traditionally-male-subjects-20151215-glnzhn.html

5 This is drawn from my analysis of recent graduates at UTS (see Table 3.1 in method chapter). 6 For example, in 2011 as an observer, my observational gender analysis counted that only 14 of 97 recipients of awards (teams and individuals) were made to women.


While statistics are difficult to obtain for the industrial design discipline, the

requirement for professional registration in Architecture means there is more

available data. This illustrates a significant increase in female participation over the

last few decades: in 2004, 14.3% of registered architects were women; by 2012, this

had increased to 21% (Matthewson 2013b, 9). A recent Australian research project

exploring equity and diversity in the Australian Architecture Profession (see the

Parlour initiative, http://archiparlour.org/) has drawn on an ethnographic study of the

architectural workplace, analysing data from surveys, the Australian Bureau of

Statistics and professional registration to raise awareness about women’s

participation, progression and representation in architecture, particularly their under-

representation in senior management. Many of these findings were summarised in

the September 2014 issue of Architecture Australia on gender equity in architecture,

with the researchers explaining that Australian ‘women enter the architecture schools

in nearly equal numbers to men, where they perform just as well and graduate in

comparable numbers’ (Stead 2014, 53). The issue, however, becomes more complex

upon graduation and entering the workforce where, positively, they generally feel

respected and report low levels of explicit discrimination although, negatively, a

large proportion experience high levels of stress and disillusionment that often lead

to their leaving the profession (Stead 2014). Throughout their careers women are

more likely than men to take multiple career breaks and to move in and out of private

practice; in addition, they are more likely to be employees than employers, less likely

to be in senior positions and likely to earn less (Clark 2014). This combination of

issues often results in women sidestepping the profession into aligned disciplines that

offer more flexibility.

1.2 WOMEN IN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN – IDENTIFYING THE HURDLES

Given the lack of research focussing specifically on women in industrial design, this

thesis purposely selects and draws on a theoretical model grounded in design: Bruce

and Lewis’s three hurdle model. In 1990, Bruce and Lewis questioned the

consequences of low visibility and engagement of women in the industrial design

profession and posed a three-hurdle model of issues affecting aspiring women

designers. Comparing the careers of men and women in industrial design and graphic


design, they found very low numbers of women graduating from product or

industrial design courses (only 6 women, compared to 58 men 1984-1988), although

they did ‘graduate in other areas of three-dimensional design, such as furniture,

ceramics and interiors’ (Bruce & Lewis 1990, 114); the numbers of male and female

graduates in graphic design were almost equal (169 women, compared to 162 men

1984–1988). To explain this gender difference, Bruce and Lewis (1990, 117)

speculated that the greater number of women in graphic design was due to female

‘role models’ having a greater presence in that industry. In particular, they propose a

model of three hurdles that ‘a similarly talented man’ would not experience: hurdle

one is the completion of a design degree, hurdle two is getting a design job and

hurdle three is obtaining success in a design job.

1.2.1 The first hurdle: qualifications

That women receive university and college qualifications is now a societal norm, at

least in Western cultures. In Australia, over a third of 20-year-olds attend university

or other tertiary institutions (32.6% in 2006, 36.6% in 2011), with female students

outnumbering their male counterparts since 1987: in 2014, the sex ratio for higher

education students was 80 men per 100 women (Parr 2015). This compares to 1970,

where there were 269 men per 100 women (Department of Education Employment

and Workplace Relations 2014). However, women remain under-represented in the

STEM, architecture and building disciplines. While it is estimated that women now

comprise approximately half of Australian industrial design graduates, and it could

be said that they have passed the first hurdle of receiving the qualification, to date

little is known about their experience with studying a discipline that is traditionally

perceived as ‘dirty’, ‘industrial’ and ‘technical’ (Bruce 1985, 153).

1.2.2 The second hurdle: getting the first job

In 1990, Bruce and Lewis argued that the scarcity of women graduates made it hard

to assess how they fare in the workplace, where traditionally, industrial design is

seen as a ‘job for the lads’ (Bruce & Lewis, 1990, 118). Potentially, gender

stereotypes may still permeate the industry and the influence of the ‘old boy’

network may mean that a good portfolio may not be enough to secure the first job.

However, very little research has explored how designers (male or female) secure

their first jobs.


1.2.3 The third hurdle: success, promotion and awards

As noted anecdotally earlier, contemporary female industrial designers are not as

visible as they could be in national Australian awards. Within two design fields,

Bruce and Lewis (1990) compared industrial design to graphic design; women were

more visible in graphic design, winning more industry awards and heading up more

companies. In explaining this difference, they argued that the ways in which women

work, tending to be task-orientated rather than career orientated, works against them,

as does their lack of understanding of the politics of the company - often gained

through social interaction of drinking after work or playing sport with colleagues,

activities which may come more naturally to male than female employees. Indeed,

other literature suggests that due to the nature of the development of many creative

industries, having been established and shaped by men and often highly competitive

and requiring significant skill at self-promotion, it is difficult for women to break

into them and succeed (Windels & Wei-Na 2012).

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION AND AIMS

To date, there has been no published peer-reviewed research on the experience or

expectations of female industrial designers. Thus, this dissertation will fill this

knowledge gap. The fact that women designers are not well represented in the annual

national awards program raises questions about the motivations, experience and

achievements of young women graduates, whether industry has gendered perceptions

about appropriate work and if tertiary education needs to engage with industry to

address any barriers or misconceptions.

Using the hurdles model as a conceptual guideline, this research explores the

experience, reflections and career progression of female graduates from the Industrial

Design (ID) course at University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Specifically, the

research seeks to identify and understand the individual, situational, societal and

institutional characteristics that contribute to female ID graduates’ success or lack

thereof in their chosen profession. The central research question is: how do

Australian women experience their design education and career paths? There

are three main aims:


1. To explore the drivers and motivations of women who choose to engage in

Industrial Design.

2. To understand the aspirations, experiences and actual career paths taken by

women graduates from Industrial Design.

3. To identify possible actions to improve the experience of women in industrial

design, from education to practice and leadership

1.3.1 Scope

This research focuses on female graduates from one industrial design course from

one university in a major city (Sydney) in Australia. The researcher is an academic at

the university and previously worked in the industrial design profession. This course

was selected and studied for pragmatic, professional, geographic and resource

reasons. UTS is a practice-based university that has strong links to industry through

the use of practitioners for teaching, partnerships and links for research and their

involvement in strategic direction within faculties. The Industrial Design course

(commencing in 1979 and now called Integrated Product Design) maintains high

student demand and enrolment numbers; for example, the first year intake in 2015

was 115 students. Other Australian industrial design courses are also located in

universities in major cities, so this study should provide a context of experience that

would be applicable and relatable to other female graduate cohorts. This inquiry did

not look at the experiences of male graduates. However, with the changing nature of

the profession, an understanding of their perspectives and experiences is an

important task for future research.

1.3.2 Thesis Structure

As well as meeting the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) requirements

for a Thesis by Publication, the structure of this thesis captures the journey

undertaken by the participants and the researcher in order to fully comprehend the

experience of being a female industrial designer. As a Thesis by Publication, the

structure of the thesis is different to a traditional thesis; notably, there is no single

results chapter. Chapter 3 details the methodology, while Chapters 4-7 give the

findings of the research through four separate papers on specific issues (with their


own introduction, method, results and discussion sections). Chapter 8 then unites and

discusses the research findings together. A summary of the papers, and their

connection to the hurdles (including a new fourth hurdle: Redefining Success), is

visually illustrated in Figure 1.1 below.

Figure 1.1 Four-hurdle model of influences affecting women

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 2 is a comprehensive literature review on the subject area. This literature

review outlines the development, changes and challenges involved in being a female

industrial designer and highlights learning from research exploring the experiences

of women in other non-traditional careers (specifically STEM, medicine and the

creative arts).

Chapter 3: Methodology

Chapter 3 summarises the methodological decisions, approaches, considerations and

processes. It outlines the rationale for a qualitative approach, the chosen case study

and details of the recruitment, research and analysis strategies.


Chapter 4: Design as destiny

This paper analyses why women choose to study industrial design, exposing three

key themes: childhood aptitude and exposure; significant experiences and people;

and design as a serendipitous choice. The findings emphasise the importance of early

exposure to design as a potential career choice, highlighting the critical role played

by parents, teachers, professionals and social networks.

Chapter 5: Studying industrial design

Focussing on hurdle one (the completion of a design degree), this paper explores the

experience of women studying industrial design at university. The analysis identified

four key themes: navigating the design studio; learning through making; the design

workshop experience; and design skill development. In reflecting on their

undergraduate educational experiences, this cohort of female industrial design

graduates openly discussed the highlights and lowlights they experienced.

Chapter 6: Reflecting on design education

This paper explores how being a designer (and studying design at university) could

be a uniquely gendered experience; it notes how simple things might negatively

impact on women’s educational engagement and participation, with the workshop

environment perceived as intimidating and assessment items often focussed on

masculine topics (e.g. redesign a car jack or tool). The findings highlight what

pedagogical aspects best developed the skills base and confidence of these emerging

female designers.

Chapter 7: Succeeding in the workplace

Hurdle 2 (getting the first job) and Hurdle 3 (becoming a success) are the key themes

in this paper. The focus is on strategies for success in the workplace, with four key

themes identified: breaking into the industry; once in the door; gender hurdles; and

the move to entrepreneur. This paper identifies and conceptualises an important new

fourth hurdle (redefining success), which provides important insight into how the

male patterned and dominated industrial design field is pushing many of these

women out of the mainstream and into entrepreneurial activities (42% of this sample

are now self-employed, running their own design business).


Chapter 8: Discussion & Conclusion

This chapter unites all of the findings. It draws together the research findings to

discuss the overall theoretical and practical implications for female industrial

designers, for families, for educators and employers, and for the wider community.

Chapter 2: Literature Review 11

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Across the design industry, it is widely accepted that there are fewer women

practising than men, especially at the most senior levels. To date, however, despite

consistent anecdotal reports suggesting that women are less visible than men in

design, there is a paucity of research explicitly exploring the participation, retention

and success of women in design. This thesis is designed to address this knowledge

gap, focussing specifically on the experiences of women designers in Australia.

Utilising the discipline of industrial design as a case study, this thesis explores the

barriers and facilitators to increasing the participation, prominence, visibility and

influence of women designers.

This thesis will need to touch upon many areas of literature, as there is no one single

body of information for this topic and there is only a small and slowly growing body

of literature around women in design. Fortunately, the use of the general term

‘design’ allows for the inclusion of a broad range of outcomes and processes, thus

providing a larger resource base and allowing an understanding of specific design

disciplines as well as the views of professional bodies that exist nationally and

internationally – Design Institute of Australia (DIA), International Council of

Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), Australian International Design Awards

(AIDA), Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), and Design Council UK.

This literature review is divided into two sections: women and design. The section on

women looks at relevant gender theories and literature addressing the theme of

women in non-traditional disciplines. The design section provides a historical and a

contemporary overview of the discipline. Figure 2.1 shows the relationship between

the main data collection strategies, the publications that have resulted and the thesis

structure.

12 Chapter 2: Literature Review

Figure 2.1 Research methods, publication and thesis structure

WOMEN

To begin to explain gender disparity in industrial design, the exploration of other

discipline areas where women are also in the minority provides basic insight into the

potential barriers, facilitators, and issues that may be applicable to women in

industrial design. It is important to understand why women do choose their career

paths, especially in areas that are dominated by men, their experiences and the

relevance for women in design. At this juncture, it is important to acknowledge

gender terminology, with sociologists and feminist theorists emphasizing the sex/

gender distinction: ‘sex’ focuses on the physical, biological features of human

females and males (e.g., chromosomes, sex organs, hormones etc), whereas ‘gender’

How do Australian females experience industrial design education?!What are the career paths of female industrial designers?!

Female perspective !based on experience!

Qualification!

First job!

Females in non-traditional!fields – models of experience!

Females in design,!opportunity!

Success!

Redefine success!

Gender disparity!theories !

Other discipline!Medicine!Architecture!Science & Maths!Engineering!Information Technology!

Australian context!

Des

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and

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Stud

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ex

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Wom

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w

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How

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Get

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pape

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The exhibition!!!!The Forum!

Analysis - Discussion!

Conclusion - Recommendations!

RESEARCH METHOD!

PUBLICATIONS!


refers to gender socialisation - the social and cultural characteristics traditionally

expected from women and men (e.g., masculine and feminine roles, positions,

behaviors, identity etc). A further exploration of the sex/gender distinction is beyond

the scope of this thesis, which focuses on women in industrial design and, more

broadly, other non-traditional careers (Mikkola 2012).

The increased participation by women in the workforce over the last century has led

to the development of many theoretical models exploring the implications of

women’s participation in the workforce. To understand the imbalances across

professions, propositions of status, position, gender and stereotyping (Beatty 2006),

and implications of credentials in professions (Crompton 1987; Witz 2013). Early

engagement, after the Second World War, in the workforce for women was often

through part-time employment around family care obligations. Women tended to

have low levels of education or qualification resulting in low paid, low skilled and

status types of work such as secretarial. Even when employed in the same occupation

as men (e.g. teaching) they would have lower status and job advancement

opportunities (Crompton & Sanderson 1986). The types of work in the areas of white

collar and managerial have increased and the trend for difference in pay gap of the

genders is decreasing. Despite these significant changes gender differences still play

a role in career success. The belief of expectations of behaviour and abilities of

gender often shape roles and reinforce stereotypes (Beatty 2006). Women being

often stereotyped as emotional, nurturing and communal and men as assertive,

independent, competitive and analytical result that these traits are used to justify

position opportunities and unequal distribution throughout occupational structure

(Beatty 2006; Witz 2013).

Career success is being seen as a gendered experience with women’s own definitions

of success revolving around a sense of personal achievement, integrity and balance

compare to corporate criteria of men’s focus. Demonstrating that women’s careers

are embedded in women’s larger life contexts often focusing on integration of family

and career, being open to a more complicated and diverse career pattern (O'Neil,

Hopkins & Bilimoria 2008). Analysis of the career patterns and feelings of success

of women presented three career types for women: achievers, navigators and

accommodators. The achievers typically believe in personal responsibility for the


direction and achievements of their career path. Navigators believe that others or

luck are responsible for career success. Adapters believe also that other and luck are

significant to their career paths while remaining flexible, moving in and out of

organisations in combination with non-work related priorities. The adapters tended to

be less satisfied with their career success than either the navigators or achievers

(O'Neil, Bilimoria & Saatcioglu 2004).

There are a number of models exploring the complexity of women working based in

other disciplines that are applicable when looking at women in industrial design.

Figure 2.2 illustrates, at a very general level, the type of issues that face women in

science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields (Ceci, Williams &

Barnett 2009). It highlights how the problem of under-representation of women in

these fields is multi-dimensional, encompassing a wide array of individual,

sociocultural and contextual (for example, cultural, social, psychological, economic

and political) factors. While the issues outlined in Figure 2.2 are based on STEM

fields, and not all of them may be relevant or applicable to women in design, the

model provides a good starting point for conceptualising this space.

Figure 2.2 General causal model in STEM disciplines

(Ceci, Williams & Barnett 2009)


General theoretical and conceptual approaches to the issue of the under-

representation of women in most scientific and technical fields attribute this to

discrimination, differences in ability or choice (Rosenbloom et al. 2008), with an

array of theoretical and conceptual explanations postulated for such gender-

differentiated participation. The most well-known are: gender theories (deficit,

dominance, difference); the ‘leaky pipeline’ metaphor; and social-cognitive career

theory.

2.1 GENDER THEORIES: DEFICIT THEORY, DOMINANCE THEORY, AND DIFFERENCE THEORY

In exploring the role of gender, Goodwin (2008) argues that major gender theories

can be divided into three categories: deficit theory, dominance theory, and difference

theory. Deficit theory (which is widely rejected) implicitly or explicitly assumes a

‘deficit’ on the part of women, arguing that women lack the skills needed to

understand and succeed in these fields (Phipps 2008). Dominance theories focus on

relations of power between the genders, especially on how men exert power over

women. Difference theory argues that men and women constitute two separate

groups that are psychologically different (Goodwin 2008).

Gender theories are generally positioned within the context of feminist agendas,

which can be broadly defined as seeking to ensure the equal rights, opportunities, and

treatment of women (Lorber 2005). Although an in-depth analysis of the different

definitions, approaches and uses of feminist theories is beyond the scope of this

thesis (Beddoes & Borrego 2011), the feminist movement is responsible for the

significant shift over the past thirty years in the types of education and work

available to, and considered ‘appropriate’ for, women. However, this wider

availability of choice has not always translated to engagement or presence in a

discipline. As Pinker notes, ‘more women are studying engineering, physics, and

computer science than ever before, but they are not exactly falling over themselves to

enter those fields the way they have in medicine and law’ (Pinker 2008, 12). In

explaining why this might be, Pinker suggests that women’s interest and motivation

create different priorities when making their career choices. They are ‘interested in

working with people and living things, more men are interested in working with


inanimate objects and physical processes’ (Pinker 2008, 85). As Kinzie (2007) notes

of women in science, despite nearly thirty years of attention and activism driven by a

feminist approach, the unfortunate reality is that women still remain under-

represented in STEM fields:

Are the doors to a major in science that were once closed to women now open? Had career opportunities expanded so that more women were entering and persisting in traditionally male-dominated fields? If women’s participation rates remain unchanged, what is the source of the problem? Had the expansion of educational equity and promise of women’s liberation reduced the hurdles and off-ramps for women on the science career track? (Kinzie 2007, 82)

2.2 THE ‘LEAKY PIPELINE’

The second explanation of the under-representation of women in certain industries is

the ‘leaky pipeline’ metaphor, which argues that there is a differential sex-based loss

or ‘leaking’ of women in the trajectory from secondary school to university to

employment. This pipeline leaks women at various stages: from initial subject choice

at school and university, to completion of a degree and subsequent career choice. At

all stages of the pipeline, women ‘leak out’ from the field more than men

(Blickenstaff 2005). Indeed, Cronin and Roger (1999) describe the absence of

women in STEM fields as both progressive (farther along the pipeline there are fewer

women) and persistent (despite interventions, the problem has not gone away). These

patterns of under-representation have also been described as horizontal segregation

(where women are concentrated in particular subjects) and vertical segregation

(where women are under-represented in more senior levels of organisations) (Glover

2002).

Unfortunately, although there has been an increase of women engaging in STEM

subject areas at university, this is not translating to the professions – especially at the

higher levels within the professions. For instance, in the UK, women have accounted

for half of biology graduates for the past 30 years, yet hold only 9% of full

professorships (Dewandre 2002). In Australia, higher education data (Bell 2009)

also illustrates low levels of female participation, retention and success in the

engineering and IT fields; for instance, occupational data indicates that in 1996

women constituted 18% of full-time professionals in the field of Design,


Engineering, Science and Transport. By 2009, this grew by only 4 per cent to 22%.

Similarly, there is also less representation by women in senior and leadership levels:

women constitute only 7% of Fellows in the Academy of Science, 6 % of Fellows in

Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and 8.5% of Australian

Research Council Federation Fellows.

2.3 SOCIAL-COGNITIVE CAREER THEORY (SCCT)

Social-cognitive career theory (SCCT) (Lent et al. 1994) provides a useful

conceptual schema for understanding career-related choices and the role of internal

and external influences. As Figure 2.3 illustrates, SCCT argues that three social-

cognitive variables are critical in career development: self-efficacy (belief about

one’s own ability); outcome expectations (anticipated results from actions); and

goals (decisions made to achieve goals). As well as identifying critical individual-

person variables (for example, self-efficacy, career goals, interests), SCCT highlights

the role of both distal and proximal ‘extra-person’ social, environmental, and cultural

contextual factors that enhance or constrain career progress. Proximal factors shape

interests and self-cognitions (gender role socialisation; opportunities, exposure to

specific tasks/role models; emotional and financial support) whilst distal factors are

the structural barriers that influence critical career decisions and choices (for

example, discrimination; networking). In applying SCCT to understanding male and

female participation in STEM disciplines, three related constructs have been

incorporated into the framework: interest in STEM field; presence of social supports;

and presence of anticipated barriers (Lent et al. 2005). Figure 2.3 Social-cognitive career theory

(Lent et al. 2005)


2.4 CAREER PATH INFLUENCES – SOCIETY, FAMILY AND TEACHERS

The under-representation of women in STEM fields has been a long-standing

concern of both educators and policymakers, who point to the wide array of factors

and influences to consider when investigating how a person chooses a particular

career path. Establishing the direction of a career path can be challenging,

particularly with a growing need to establish the direction earlier in life in order to

enable the correct foundational subjects to be engaged in at high school. A number of

factors have been identified that help to influence the choices being made by

adolescents, which include family expectations, peer pressure, familiarity with the

profession, grades and aptitude, self-concept, experience at school and university,

perceptions about job characteristics and pay, and opportunities. Of course, gender

affects these experiences.

At a general level, gender stereotyping continues throughout society in many ways

and is still evident in career options. From an early age, through socialisation,

children develop an understanding of how their society defines the roles of men and

women. This often reinforces a divide in the development of interests and activities,

and the subsequent categorisation of occupations as male or female (Gadassi & Gati

2009). Children become aware that certain jobs have been traditionally dominated by

women (colloquially termed ‘pink collar’ occupations, such as teacher, secretary,

administrator, sales assistant, child carer and beautician), while others have

traditionally been filled by men – the STEM and design professions. Over the last

three decades, the definitions have been broadened resulting in an opening of more

career options for women; however, the skills associated with ‘women’s work’ are

often under-rewarded and there are still clusters of occupations that are

predominantly populated by women and that continue to attract lower wages (Cohen

and Huffman 2003). Indeed, research shows a gender difference in work preferences,

with women placing greater importance on working with people, flexibility or

predictable working hours along with use of creativity; this is in contrast to men, who

value income first, along with enterprise and high level analytical and numerical

skills (Gati, Osipow & Givon 1995).


Children and adolescents have been the focus of many studies, in which attitudes

towards and influences upon careers, particularly STEM professions, have been

evaluated. This research has shown that parents, dependant on their age, education

level, occupation and attitudes, often reinforce the societal norms in discussion of

career options with their children. The ways in which parents talk about different

career paths have a significant influence on the attitudes developed by adolescents

and can result in confidence to explore a specific vocation (Bregman & Killen 1999).

For example, Tenenbaum (2009) recently evaluated parent and child conversations

about career path options and found that parents influenced what subjects their child

chose through their perceptions of success possibilities in the area. The language

used by parents differed for daughters and sons, so that daughters generally received

more discouraging language usage for all disciplines. Even although both genders

reported equal actual academic achievements, parents displayed gender stereotypical

patterns of expectations of the boys being good at maths and science subjects and the

girls being better at English and language based subjects. In interpreting these

findings, (Tenenbaum 2009) suggested that parents behaved in this way in order to

socialise their children into appropriate gender roles. Teachers also play a key role in

the discussion of career options and expectations formed by students, along with

influencing decisions regarding the focus of higher education studies (Brown, Ortiz-

Nunez & Taylor 2011).

Investigation into children’s perceived level of competence in particular areas has

also been identified as influencing career path choices (Herbert and Stipek 2005;

Ginns, Stein & McRobbie 2003). These studies demonstrated that, from quite an

early stage of their education, girls started to rate their competencies in maths lower

than boys although their teachers rated them equally. Parents also supported the trend

of rating the girls’ competence lower. In considering literacy abilities, all groups

were more accurate in their assessment with the higher girls’ competency being

supported by teachers and parents.

Subject choices start to determine when men move towards maths and sciences and

women to education, arts and humanities. Interest plays a role in these choices with

women often more interested in artistic and social fields whereas men tend to be


interested in the realistic, investigative and enterprising fields (Gadassi & Gati 2009,

904).

Clearly, a wide range of subtle and cumulative reasons have been suggested to

account for this persistent gender gap, with researchers exploring experiences at

home, in schools, universities, graduate education and workplace environments, and

the role and impact of societal values and norms. Fortunately, the number of studies

exploring women’s experiences has been steadily growing and enhances our

understanding of how women are treated, and how they engage and succeed (or not)

in these traditionally male professions. Understanding the experiences of women in

disciplines that are not directly related to design enables the identification of key

similarities and difference of experience, thus helping us identify whether there are

larger societal issues at play or if discipline specific issues might pertain too.

WOMEN IN NON-TRADITIONAL DISCIPLINES

By examining other discipline areas that are non-traditional for women or are male

dominated provides a deeper understanding of how the disciplines are gendered and

the types barriers that may be experienced by women (Sang, Dainty & Ison 2014;

Conor, Gill & Taylor 2015; Fiorentine & Cole 1992). Additionally exploring the

issues and motivations of women who do break in and find a place within these types

of discipline. Furthermore understanding the influences on their decisions to follow

this path and at what point in their education they made the choice (Smyth &

Darmody 2009; Hill, Corbett & St.Rose 2010; Ginns, Stein & McRobbie 2003).

There are many disciplines that could inform this section as the analysis of women in

the workplace grows, as a starting point the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

ANZSCO (2006) Australian & New Zealand classification of occupations was used

to narrow the options. Industrial design being aligned with technical commerce as a

designer plans things for construction, manufacture or production to a set of

requirements usually set by others to achieve commercial aims. ANZSCO (2006)

includes the occupations of design, engineering, science and transport professionals

includes architect, designers, planners, surveyors, fashion, industrial and jewellery

designers, graphic and web designers and interior designers (Robertson & Design

Institute of Australia 2013).


2.5 MEDICINE

Over two decades ago, Fiorentine and Cole (1992) explored why fewer women were

becoming physicians in the United States. They considered a number of possible

barriers, including ‘structural barriers’ (due to discrimination limiting opportunities),

‘normative barriers’ (where a young woman may consider her aspiration for a high-

status career not appropriate due to the impact on future family and relationship

expectations) and ‘cognitive difference’ (where perhaps a woman does not see role

models or receive support from family or community, so does not have the

confidence to take on these roles).

Fiorentine and Cole concluded that the barriers are similar for male and female

students and that the major difference occurs in attitudes to the pursuit of a career:

women will balance the costs of achieving a high-end career differently and may

consider some elements too high and avoid them whereas ‘men are more likely to

pursue career success at “any cost”’ (Fiorentine & Cole 1992, 493). To what extent

this difference reflects individual choices or societal norms is unclear, but research

exploring the content of 312 letters of recommendation for medical faculty hired at a

large medical school in the United States has documented clear gender differences in

terms of the words utilised. Trix and Psenka (2003) found that letters for women

(compared to men) were shorter, were more likely to contain doubt raisers (24% vs.

12%), used gender terms more frequently (10% vs. 5%; ‘intelligent young lady’,

‘insightful woman’, etc), and used more stereotypical (compassionate vs

accomplished) and fewer standout (excellent, outstanding) adjectives. Such findings

highlight the ways in which implicit gender norms and biases (particularly

perceptions of stereotypically male versus female traits), and the subtlety of these

distortions, enable biases in career hiring and advancement decision-making

processes that may hinder women’s career progression.

Elston (2009) carried out an investigation into the position of women in the medical

profession, which was prompted by media reporting of an interview with Professor

Dame Carol Black that generated such newspaper headlines as: ‘“The medical time

bomb”, “Too many women doctors” and “Influx of women will harm medicine”’

(Elston 2009, 105). The question that Dame Carol had been considering was what


would occur if the proportion of women to men changed in the profession and the

impact on the organisation and position in society. Elston, utilising literature

searching, analysis of statistical data and qualitative data sourced through discussion

with individuals and seminars, evaluated the impact on the medical profession of the

increased engagement of women from entry into education through to the differing

career paths. Elston (2009) demonstrated that although there had been a significant

increase in the number of women studying medicine, this was not at the expense of

male applicants. However, he concluded that the increase would have organisational

and economic implications.

In particular, Elston (2009) identified four key themes to frame the research: entry to

the profession; specialty preferences and choices; modes of working in medicine; and

advancement and leadership within medicine. In the UK in 2007 women made up

57% of both applicants and acceptances for medical schools, 40% of all doctors, 42%

of general practitioners and 28% of consultants in the National Health Service. The

medical profession offers diverse distinctive career paths, with Elston (2009)

reporting that specialty areas are attracting fewer women in part due to working

conditions. Specifically, the options around work and modes of working were

identified as significant to women where more women opt for part-time work or

flexible working hours and are more likely to take career breaks generally for the

reason of childrearing.

2.6 SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

A large body of literature has documented the experience of girls and women in

science and mathematics, illustrating that the attitudes and beliefs of teachers are

very significant in predicting girls’ engagement with these ‘non-traditional’ subjects.

Research documenting the classroom experience has found that teachers often

display, both consciously and unconsciously, gender-stereotyped attitudes and

expectations regarding girls’ performance. For instance, Warrington and Younger

(2000), utilising data from 20 schools in eastern England, found that traditional

approaches taken to the teaching of science subjects continues to frame them as

‘male’ subjects, with girls feeling alienated and believing their teachers have lower

expectations of them. In particular, girls reported that the behaviour of boys in class


was disruptive, requiring the teachers’ full attention to manage, and thus negatively

affecting the girls’ ability to learn. In a study of girls and boys at Year 6, Ginns et al.

(2003) found they take different approaches to problem solving and design and that

these differences could be perceived as reflecting different capabilities and

opportunity for success. Whereas the boys focus on the technology and manufacture,

wanting to jump into making without needing a deep understanding of the context of

the problem, the girls take a different approach. They look at the problem

holistically, considering the aesthetic and the user and seeking deeper clarification

from the teacher throughout the design process. Ginns et al. (2003, 307) argued that

these differences in approach could be interpreted as a ‘lack of confidence and

ability’ in the girls, unlike the boys who worked more ‘independently’, which is

associated with higher ability. The combination of negative stereotypes, different

learning styles and the learning environment has significant influence on girls’

achievements and interest in science and maths. The immediate flow-on effect of

these patterns and assessments is that fewer women have the confidence to choose to

engage in the more technical or mathematically based courses (Herbert & Stipek

2005). Yet, if told they can expand their knowledge and understanding of maths

through experience, girls are more likely to be successful and continue to further

study (Hill, Corbett & St. Rose 2010).

Although there are now more similar numbers of girls and boys studying both maths

and science (the preparation subjects) in school, this is not transferring to higher

education and there is a further decline in women’s engagement in STEM fields on

completion of their degree. Focussing on science education, Kinzie (2007) argues

that we need to understand and identify the characteristics of girls and women who

choose and persist in non-traditional STEM careers and those who leave, as

understanding these critical decision points will facilitate the creation of appropriate

educational practices and policies. Kinzie (2007) found that math achievement,

science grades and beliefs about self in science and math were key predictors of

majoring in STEM fields, and defined four distinct pathways: ‘nevers’ (not interested

at twelfth grade in pursuing a science degree and did not major in STEM at

university); ‘departers’ (interested in science in twelfth grade but selected non-STEM

university major); ‘“joiners”’(did not declare an interest in science in twelfth grade

but later majored in STEM at university); and ‘persisters’ (interested in science in


twelfth grade and majored in STEM at university). She argued that more research is

needed to understand where, how, when and why women disengage from STEM

professions, the specific mechanisms that could engage and reengage women with

the field and the circumstances and characteristics that might distinguish ‘departers’

from ‘persisters’.

Fox (2001) explored the hierarchical nature of the science profession in academia for

women. Fox notes that the number of women receiving doctoral degrees in science

has increased significantly over the past twenty years. As a result of this trend it was

thought that it was a ‘matter of time’ and the gender equity would right itself.

Unfortunately, this has not proven to be so. Fox considers that the organisational

structure of graduate education has a significant impact, combining ongoing issues

such as lack of role models, difficulties in returning to a fast moving field after career

breaks and challenges in integrating home and work life in a male-orientated

workplace. Even role models may not be enough; if women succeed by conforming

to the image of a stereotypical male scientist, then other women may find that

unachievable, unappealing or even actively off-putting (Blickenstaff 2005). Indeed,

although women obtain nearly 30% of the doctorates in chemistry in the United

States, the current reality is that ‘the further you go up the ladder of prestige and

seniority, the less encouraging are the numbers’ (Cavallaro, Hansen & Wenner 2007,

21). An extensive report for the National Science Foundation (USA) has also shown

that although there has been an increase in the number of women participating in

science and engineering, it is not at the same pace as men, particularly ‘at the upper

levels of these professions’ (Hill, Corbett & St.Rose 2010, 15).

2.7 ENGINEERING

Fouad and Singh have carried out a longitudinal study starting in 2009 for the

National Science Foundation in the USA; by the beginning of 2011 over 3,700

women had completed their survey. They initially approached 30 universities and

gained access to the female engineering alumni through email and postcards. Access

to alumni from other universities grew through media and colleagues. Their results

highlight that although there has been an increase in the number of women studying

engineering, this has not been at the same rate of increase as in other traditionally

male dominated fields (for example, law, veterinary science and medicine), and


women are still under-represented at entry level engineering: almost 20% of

graduates are women, but only 11% of professional engineers are women (Fouad &

Singh 2011).

In explaining this discrepancy, Fouad and Singh (2011) found that the workplace

climate for engineering graduates was a significant influence in determining their

engagement in the industry. Women who left explained that it was mainly due to the

workplace conditions, pay and lack of opportunity to spend time with family,

explaining that they experienced very negative treatment and attitudes towards them

in their workplaces such as belittlement and patronising. Those who did not enter the

field after graduation perceived they would not like the conditions and were

concerned that the work environment would be inflexible or not supportive of

women, whilst another group admitted that they transferred their skills to other areas

or fields successfully. Women felt that staying in engineering required a combination

of factors, including organisational climate, key supportive people, value and

recognition (Fouad & Singh 2011). As Fouad and Singh explained, ‘there are

personal costs to choosing to leave a career for one which has trained long and hard

for. There is also a societal cost to losing the potential of, or the investment in, a

trained workforce’ (Fouad & Singh 2011, 11).

Schreuders, Mannon and Rutherford (2009) also considered the attitudes,

motivations and interest of 969 male and female engineering students through an on-

line survey, focussing on implications for recruitment and retention. They found that

motivations and interest can lead to differing choices of pathways, arguing that

‘women are more interested in dealing with people and men more with things’ and

that women do not see that engineering provides this opportunity, and thus reject it as

a career choice (Schreuders, Mannon & Rutherford 2009, 98). The ability to engage

and feel comfortable with using computers, tools and machines is seen as a

contributing factor to the pursuit of a career in engineering. Men rate their comfort

levels much higher than most women. When this is paired with a lack of self-

confidence in maths and science, these factors may be seen as one explanation for the

lower representation of women in engineering.

In fact, the theory of the ‘pipeline’ feeding women into further education in

engineering unprepared is now being questioned, as most students entering university


have had similar levels of education in maths and science from high school and

women are actually slightly more likely than male students to complete an

engineering degree (Schreuders, Mannon & Rutherford 2009). Indeed, Ayre (2001)

has looked at women in engineering and their levels of satisfaction; she found that

although women do enter the field immediately on graduation they tend to leave after

a few years of experience.

2.8 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Rosenbloom et al. (2008) explored why the numbers of women in Information

Technology (IT) have not increased, focussing on issues of discrimination,

differences in abilities and choice through a survey of 567 IT and non-IT

professionals in the USA. They found that men were simply more interested in the IT

field and that priority and perceptions of job characteristics were different for men

and women, resulting in fewer women participating in the field.

Turner, Bernt and Pecora (2002) evaluated the career paths of women in IT, utilising

an informal listserve group designed for technical women in computing from 38

countries and an online survey. From the 275 responses, predominately located in the

USA, they explored the role of a range of possible influences including first

computer use, parents’ occupations, significant people, academic paths, external

influences and motivations. They found that the impact of the school environment is

significant, as many respondents were first introduced to computers in this

environment and identified high school teachers and careers counselors as having

significant influence on their choice of path (whether it was encouraging or

discouraging). Fathers having a technical job resulted in a positive influence on

women’s choice to follow an IT career. A variety of paths were used to move into

IT; only half of those surveyed had directly studied in the area at undergraduate

level, whereas others had studied related areas (such as engineering, math or science)

and a further group had gained entry through on the job experience (with support or

mentoring from someone in the field).

In the UK, focussing on one higher education institution, Clegg, Mayfield and

Trayhurn (1999) compared students’ experiences in IT courses and design courses in

order to identify the factors that might explain the consistent gender differences. The


IT courses were consistently more popular with men and centred on business, with

an industry focus such as information management and information systems. The

design courses, consistently more popular with women, covered the areas of product

design, furniture, interior and graphic design. They argued that, due to a continuing

low level of female engagement in both of these discipline areas, they have been

‘resilient to equal opportunity initiatives’. Utilising this comparison of IT and design

disciplines, a clustering of women can be seen at the ‘soft’ end of the disciplines

while they are under-represented at the ‘hard’ end (Clegg, Mayfield & Trayhurn

1999, 44). Clegg, Mayfield and Trayhurn established that both areas involved a

significant level of highly gendered terms due to the technical competencies

required, which had an impact on the choice patterns of men and women. This was

typified by the use of a workshop with tools and machines, usually a central

workspace for product and industrial design courses, which creates a technical space

that is at the ‘hard’ end of design. Further, these spaces most often have male

technicians or supervisors and the women students described experiencing far greater

scrutiny to prove their abilities to use the space than the male students did. The male

students also felt that the men enjoyed the course more due to the ‘technical things’

and ‘that the women were more attracted to the soft furnishings and decoration’

(Clegg, Mayfield & Trayhurn 1999, 50).

2.9 ARCHITECTURE

There is a slowly growing body of research in some other design related disciplines,

such as architecture, that has begun to look at the engagement of women in the

profession. The patriarchal assumptions about women’s role and position in society

from before the nineteenth century play a significant role in women’s acceptance into

professions such as architecture. Until the end of the nineteenth century generally

upper class women demonstrated and contributed to the field through philanthropy

and an amateur interest. It was most often confined to the domestic environment with

a focus on decoration or the design of grottoes, these being considered appropriate

for female sensibilities. A church or chapel, especially if designed for a family

member was also considered suitable employment as it supported the position of

women’s supposedly superior moral and spiritual nature, and caring disposition.


Women looking to gain financial independence through employment in the architect

offices in the late nineteenth century were given the low paid, boring and repetitive

task of plan tracing considered the equivalent of domestic embroidery requiring skill

in attention to detail and accuracy (Walker 1998). This designation of task and status

within the office continues today where women entering the profession report

receiving less pay than men doing the same job. Initial findings from the UK Women

in Architecture Survey (2012) highlight the concerns of women architects. Of the

over 500 female respondents to date, of whom nearly half (45%) were fully-qualified

architects, the majority (73%) claim to have experienced or witnessed sex

discrimination during their careers in architecture and 10% say they directly suffer

from discrimination at least once a week. Nearly half believe they would be paid

more if they were male (48%) and feel that men get paid more for doing the same job

(46%).

The small body of research suggests that this gender-differentiated experience is

evident in design education as well as in the workplace. Juries are frequently used for

assessment and feedback to design students, and this is also a common practice in

architecture. Studies evaluating this practice suggest that, depending on the gender

and race of the participant, student or juror, treatment can be different and deter

students’ continued engagement in the area. One example is that often women ‘in

small groups do not receive a fair hearing’ in a study carried out by Frederickson

(1993, 38), he verified this through observation of the juries across a number of

schools, where the women most often spoke for a shorter duration than male jurors:

‘the female students received more interruptions to their presentations than other

students and that their juries are briefer than average’ (Frederickson 1993, 41). The

women were also observed to be more docile during their juries at the schools where

there were no female faculty.

Caven (2006) utilised a career life history approach to explore the working patterns

of 37 women architects and investigate whether non-standard working arrangements

constrained their careers. Her participants felt that they had been able to follow a

career, but on certain terms, explaining how the time commitment required to

become an architect was a strong motivation to maintain a professional identity.

More recently, in an edited book and travelling exhibition, Brown (2011) has


captured the perspectives and viewpoints of female designers (primarily architects)

in an attempt to raise awareness about how feminist methodologies influence design

and the built environment.

A recent Australian research project exploring equity and diversity in the Australian

architecture profession (see the Parlour initiative, http://archiparlour.org/) has drawn

on an ethnographic study of the architectural workplace, and analysed data from

surveys, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and professional registration to raise

awareness about women’s participation, progression and representation in

architecture, particularly their under-representation in senior management. Many of

these findings were summarised in the September 2014 issue of Architecture

Australia on gender equity in architecture, with the researchers explaining that

Australian ‘women enter the architecture schools in nearly equal numbers to men,

where they perform just as well and graduate in comparable numbers.’ (Stead 2014,

53). As with some other disciplines, it is difficult to identify the experience of

women and develop a clear understanding of their representation in the architecture

profession in Australia. Until recently membership of the Australian Institute of

Architects was not centralised, making it difficult to establish the gender distribution

across the profession; registration is also not required if working under someone who

is registered and is often seen as costly and providing little value. Analysis of data

for registered architects and members of the Institute of Architects and the number of

female university graduates both illustrate a low level of engagement in the

profession. Female graduates averaged 41% from 2000-2010, and women constitute

21% of registered architects across the country and 28% of Institute members

(Matthewson 2013b).

In two recent surveys of women and men, gendered trends have been identified in

which women are entering the profession but not staying beyond their thirties and

forties, resulting in few women in senior leadership roles and providing little

mentorship or career modelling for younger women. There was a notable salary

discrepancy, with the women earning less although many of the respondents were in

junior roles, and more women were working part-time, while still perceiving this to

be detrimental to their careers. Finally, the women reported less satisfaction with

their career progression and expressed greater uncertainty about remaining in the


profession. Like other creative disciplines, the range of activities in which architects

engage is diverse and changing but the profession is not necessarily acknowledging

this which may further alienate women. The balancing of work and lifestyle is

becoming a universal challenge although for women in can be particularly acute

(Matthewson 2013a).

The results of the research carried out as part of the Australian Research Council

Linkage Project Equity and diversity in the Australian architecture profession:

women, work and leadership (2011-2014) are extensive and provide valuable

relatable context for women in industrial design in Australia. A set of

recommendations or guides to equitable practice has been published through Parlour

that was developed through this research (Clark et al. 2014). The guides identify

eleven workplace issues that may impede or slow women’s careers and provide

strategies to develop different, more equitable work practices. The issues covered

include pay equity, long hours culture, part-time work, flexibility, recruitment, career

progression, negotiation, career break, leadership, mentoring and registration.

DESIGN

2.10 HISTORY

The history of design can be considered from various positions. Fry (1988), for

example, has proposed ‘connoisseurship; canonisation; the object in space; the

common object (social history of design); design as culture; design and gender;

design as economy’ (Fry 1988, 21). One of the first key publications on the history of

design is Pioneers of Modern Design by Nikolaus Pevsner (1936) in which he takes a

teleological approach to considering the purpose of products, an approach Fry would

classify as ‘canonisation’. This is where the history focuses on what the individual

has produced and how that has worked within a movement. Pevsner (2005) is

frequently cited as having had a significant influence on how we understand the

development of modern design and identification of movements. A major flaw in this

influential text is its omission of any women and the contribution they have made to

the development of the styles or periods he addressed, from William Morris to

Walter Gropius. Is it appropriate to just insert women into the Pevsner male-

dominated format, which could have occurred in the revised and expanded edition of


2005, or is there an opportunity to do it in a different way (Buckley 1986)? Gorman

notes the lost opportunity in her review of the exhibition and catalogue of Women

Designers in the USA, 1900-2000, curated by Pat Kirkham (Gorman 2001). Kirkham

took a very traditional art history format with a very broad definition of design that

included craft. The exhibition then focused on the individual and what they have

achieved, attempting to make them ‘heroes’ just as Pevsner did.

2.11 WOMEN IN DESIGN

To date, the history of design in the main has been told from a male perspective. Due

to prevailing social conditions and norms, women were excluded from engaging in or

contributing to the area of design before the 1860s. There was also little opportunity

for them to be involved in the purchase of items that may have been of use in their

home environment, with everything controlled by the men of their families (either

fathers, brothers or husbands). This attitude naturally extended to the design and

production of objects. During this period, women were allowed some creativity in

the area of decorative arts as they were considered appropriate or ‘particularly suited

to female talents’ (Anscombe 1984, 11), especially as this was an occupation or

activity that was limited in scope, strength requirements and passion.

The Victorian Era (1840 - 1900)

Women’s participation in the field of art and design started in the Victorian era,

when it was considered a suitable occupation for gentlewomen. The establishment of

a female school of design in 1882 in the United Kingdom had the objective to

provide ‘honourable and profitable employment’ for middle class women and to

improve ornamental design in manufacture’ (Bruce & Lewis 1990, 116). Yet, though

the women were trained, there was little opportunity for employment; some worked

from home or joined special workshops. They could not enter the furniture making or

design industry, wrought iron work or architecture due to them being dominated by

men: ‘Embroidery, lace-making, miniature painting, dressmaking and so on were the

proper domains for women’ (Bruce & Lewis 1990, 116).


Arts and Crafts Movement (1850 - 1914)

The Arts and Crafts Movement, founded in the late nineteenth century, had a very

socialist focus in that it aimed ‘to redefine the role of art and craftsmanship, restore

dignity to labour, elevate and ennoble the artisan, create opportunities for women,

and implement social reform’ (Pevsner 2005, 32). Women embraced this emerging

movement as it ‘allowed them to be active, creative and professional’ (Anscombe

1984, 12). Notably, in America women had gained creative freedom earlier than in

England due to the different societal structure and the ability to establish ‘co-

operative venture’ (Anscombe 1984, 12).

Aesthetic Movement (1870 – 1900)

The Aesthetic movement extended the range of acceptable crafts for women to

include ‘china-painting, book binding, poker-work and metal work’ (Anscombe

1984, 28), thereby extending career opportunities for women. There were a number

of companies that followed the model of Morris and Co. with the types of products

on offer, aimed at the less wealthy, encouraging more women to engage in the

process.

Modern Movement (1880 -1940)

By the end of World War I, women had made significant inroads and were taking an

equal place with male designers as new design movements evolved. The foundations

of the Modern movement were laid down in the late 19th century and were built upon

post WWI with the belief that ‘good design served the needs of ordinary people, of

the workers’ (Anscombe 1984, 12). The Bauhaus was pivotal to the Modern

Movement bringing together applied arts, art and architecture for the achievement of

this inclusive philosophy. However, although women were being allowed to

participate in design and manufacture, there was still little acknowledgement of their

contribution. An example is the work of Eileen Grey who influenced Le Corbusier;

her work was displayed in poor locations at exhibitions or replaced, and even late in

her career experienced her work being attributed to male colleagues (Bruce & Lewis

1990, 116).


After the Second World War, the British Government looked to design to assist in

the recovery of the manufacturing industry. In the 1950s, designers mainly worked as

in-house designers and there were few consultancies. This had changed by the 1970s,

especially around the area of retail, although still very few women were involved; if

they were it was in the areas of textile and fashion (Anscombe 1984, 14).

In an attempt to address the patriarchal view of the history of design, Anscombe

(1984) has written a number of essays on women in design in her book A woman's

touch: women in design from 1860 to the present day. Having established that

through the Arts and Crafts movement women were being allowed and encouraged

to produce works, she highlights the experience and work of William Morris and his

wife, Jenny. Jenny Morris was involved in the work of Morris and Co. with a focus

on embroidery. The company also employed women across the fields of tile

decorating, woodcarving and gesso painting. The work environment was that of an

extended family, where the women were supported in their pursuits, to the extent that

some who would normally have been considered social outcasts were employed.

This atmosphere, though supportive, did not encourage the women to ‘pursue careers

independent of the firm’ (Anscombe 1984, 22) and potentially much of their work

remains unattributed.

May Morris, their youngest daughter, worked devotedly for her father and the

company. Her creative focus was embroidery, where she became the manager of the

workshop, although she also turned her talents to wallpaper, booking binding and

jewellery. May worked with her father throughout his life and continued to manage

the company with the same passion and sense of design after his death. The Arts and

Crafts movement had established that women were capable of engaging in the

production of art works and that it was an acceptable career.

The invisibility of women throughout the history of design has also been attributed to

their lack of ambition or desire to work in a physically demanding environment,

although there are examples of women who demonstrated their drive to explore the

possibilities of design and manufacturing techniques as well as their understanding of

business and aesthetic sensibility (Anscombe 1984).


2.12 DESIGN IN AUSTRALIA

In colonial Australia, the emergence of women designers is parallel in some respects

to that of women in Europe, where they existed in an amateur environment of genteel

accomplishments. An understanding of their contribution is slowly emerging through

the influence they had on their husbands and the development of colonial buildings

and their furnishing. For example Elizabeth Macquarie (1718-1835) played an active

role alongside her husband Governor Macquarie in the layout and development of

Sydney streets, parks and architecture (Barnard 1967; Kerr 1992). Inter-colonial

exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney started after the Great Exhibition in 1951 in

London, where new ideas on design and industry were introduced to the public at

large (Edquist 2014). These exhibitions prompted women to begin to train and

practise as designers. They often engaged in art and craft based courses, many

travelling to Europe to receive their education. They brought back an understanding

and appreciation of the movements of Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau that can been

seen in Australian furniture and graphic design in the late nineteenth century.

As the manufacturing base slowly grew throughout the beginnings of the twentieth

century, opportunities for industrial designers were being defined globally. The term

industrial design in the 1930s was defined ‘as a new movement that would draw

upon contemporary artists’ skill for visualisation and invention of useful forms for

manufactured goods’ (Bogle 1998, 11). It was also a time when organisations of

creatives came together to establish professionalism within their disciplines, the first

occurring in 1930 in architecture with the male-dominated national Royal Australian

Institute of Architects (RAIA) (Edquist 2014). Before the Second World War a

number of design related organisations were established, held exhibitions and wrote

manifestos. In 1935, the Women’s Industrial Arts Society was formed around

industrial and graphic design. The Society held an exhibition of the works of artists

and designers such as Hera Roberts, Phyllis Shillito, Jean Bellette, Thea Proctor,

Margaret Preston and others. In 1940, the Design and Industries Association (DIA)

was formed with its aim ‘to improve the design of all things Australians live with and

use’ (Bogle 1998, 113).


The Australian Society of Designers for Industry (SDI) was formed around 1947 by a

group of men and women designers working across furniture, fabric, graphics and

industrial design. Members of this group wrote essays about the role of professional

designers in industry, and the need to establish professional standards and practices,

while others lectured and wrote about ‘Good Design’ (Bogle 1998, 115).

2.13 INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

To start this investigation an understanding of the word design is required; there are

two directions from which it can be approached: the practitioner’s and the

academic’s. In a contemporary practitioner sense this can be quite problematic, as

practitioners will often develop their own understandings through practice and are

unable to articulate these to a wider community. In the wider community the word is

used in many different ways only helping to confuse a possible definition. It becomes

further complicated when sub-categories of design are added such as architectural

design, engineering, computer, product, industrial, graphic, interior design and new

emerging areas of service and user experience design (Heskett 2001). The

practitioners want more specific definitions so that the general population can more

readily recognise their occupation or skills and thereby enable them to gain more

work, although it is possible that this may draw more people to the industry resulting

in more competition for work (Robertson & Design Institute of Australia 2013a).

As industrial design is a relatively young discipline, especially in the context of the

history of art, craft or architecture, there is still much discussion by academics

around the development of the field and how it should be defined. There are two

approaches being taken with academics focusing on either design practice or design

history to contextualise their writing. One definition developed by Richard Buchanan

and Victor Margolin looks to embrace the broadest possible perspective:

Design is the conception and planning of the artificial, that broad domain of human made products which includes: material objects, visual and verbal communications, organized activities and services, and complex systems and environments for living, working, playing and learning. (Margolin 1995)


This definition of design highlights the development of the term since Josiah

Wedgewood first used it in the late eighteenth century. His designers were artists

employed to add decoration to pottery products (Porter & Brewer 1993). More

recently, Boehnert (2014, 122) layers in the impact of increasing levels of

complexity that a designer encounters as the ‘globalised networks and technologies

become more sophisticated’.

In 2015 the global body representing industrial design, the International Council of

Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), undertook a review of their definition of

industrial design and the implications for the future of the profession. This review

resulted in a change of the name of the organisation to World Design Organisation,

as it speaks to a wider community, acknowledging that the types of work performed

and the roles played by industrial designers have changed. Further, they developed a

new definition of industrial design:

Industrial design is a strategic problem-solving process applicable to products, systems, services and experiences which results in innovation, business success and a better quality of life. It is a trans-disciplinary profession that links innovation, technology, business, research and customers in harnessing creativity and visualisation to resolve problems as opportunities with the intent of making a better product, system, service, experience or business, and providing new value and competitive advantage. Industrial Design is aware of economic, social, environmental and ethical aspects of its outcome aimed at creating a better world. (ICSID 2015)

The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) also has a broad definition of design to

encompass all the disciplines that it represents, acknowledging that it is a word that is

used widely and misused across the community. In the first instance ‘it is applied to

any process where an outcome is being planned rather than relying on chance’

(Design Institute of Australia 2015a). Further definitions of the individual

professions are also provided with reference to the Australian Bureau of Statistics

occupation code ANZSCO (2006) occupation code 232312 for industrial design.

These definitions start simply with: ‘industrial designers develop and prepare

products for manufacture. They are particularly concerned with those aspects of

products that relate to human usage and behaviour and product appeal’ (Design

Institute of Australia 2015b).


The profession of Industrial Design continues to have a relatively low profile in the

community in Australia. For example, in a national audit of business listings, the

DIA found that in the decade from 1996 to 2005, the number of Designers ‘Product

& Industrial’ remained relatively stable growing from 351 to 390 although it

decreased to 366 in 2011, whereas the number of Graphic Designers more than

doubled, from 2157 to 5939. Of course, although the total business listings pages do

not reflect either the numbers being educated within the discipline or those practising

within manufacturing companies, design consultancies and emerging service design

companies, they provide some insight into the challenges women face being visible

in a competitive industry.

2.14 INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN AUSTRALIA

Understanding where design and industrial design fit in the professional sector is

difficult to establish. In Australia, through negotiation between the Australian Bureau

of Statistics (ABS) and the DIA, there has been a refinement of the profession codes

and definitions to allow for greater identification of the professions and the types of

work involved to facilitate more accurate collection of statistics for the design

professions. This action has moved design away from a classification with art which

will have potential impact on government policy and structure for design. This

reflects that design is usually undertaken in response to requirements of others who

want commercial benefit whereas art is related to cultural pursuits and entertainment

and is often viable only with community funding. At the time of the introduction of

the new profession code in 2006, the ABS reports that there were 2,660 people

identifying as Industrial designers with an increase to 2,931 in 2011 (Robertson &

Design Institute of Australia 2013b).

An overview of the design professions in Australia is drawn from the DIA’s annual

survey of fees and salaries. Where qualitative data is sought along with quantitative,

responders are posed a number of open-ended questions to gauge concerns and

support needed. There emerged four areas of concern for the professionals: the scale

of the tertiary education industry where there has been a significant increase in the

numbers being educated and graduating; the impact of technology and the associated

loss of different skills and processes; the growth of globalisation where off-shore


manufacturing capacity, costs and transport are favoured at the expense of local

manufacturing; and finally changes in communication and the impact of new media.

In Australia, one in every 140 Australians has a design qualification based on the

2011 Census; this includes architects, interior designers and decorators, industrial

designers, graphic designers, web designers, textiles designers, fashion designers,

jewellery designers and landscape and urban designers (Robertson & Design Institute

of Australia 2013a, 5). Historically many of the design professions have a close

relationship and are often reliant on other industries; for example, industrial design

usually has a close connection with manufacturing industries and is preferably local

to their operations. This has changed in that many large manufacturers have built

factories in low cost locations off-shore, then due to the close nature of relationship

to industrial design they look to sourcing services local to the new factories, resulting

in less demand for industrial designers in Australia. The reduced demand for

professional industrial designers in Australia will further impact on recent graduates,

making it more difficult for them to gain either internships or new graduate positions,

a course of action that is usually required to contextualise their education and bring

them to industry standard.

Much of the design sector consists of micro-businesses in which there are one to

three designers, including the owner. This has grown in the last five years as

illustrated by the DIA graph shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Size of design businesses by discipline (2006/2011)

(Robertson & Design Institute of Australia 2013)


Other views of the profession and how graduates are making their way is emerging

from in-depth interview based studies being carried out at other Australian

universities with graduates from industrial design. Trathen and Varadarajan (2013)

have developed two relevant models: 1) to map the knowledge and skills used by an

industrial designer; and 2) to explain career trajectories of industrial design

graduates. The thematic map (Figure 2.4) helps describe the depth of skills and

knowledge which contemporary industrial design graduates draw upon in their

various forms of practice (Trathen & Varadarajan 2013). It further highlights the

complex and diverse nature of the discipline providing graduates with many options.

Figure 2.4 Thematic map of Australian industrial design practice

(Trathen & Varadarajan 2013)

The themes described by the Map are:

• Communicator Theme: which includes design’s suite of communication tools such

as Computer Aided Design (CAD), sketching, visualisation and model making.

• Approach Thinking Theme: which includes design’s skills in problem

identification, problem solving and user centred design.

• Social Conscience Theme: which includes emerging design influences such as

environmental change practice and the desire to contribute to positive change.


• Facilitator Theme: which includes design innovation, teamwork and

interdisciplinary communication.

• Mobility Theme: which includes external influences like the economy,

employment opportunities and office relationships, and internal influences like

passion, resilience and confidence.

• Identity Theme: which includes the components influencing a sense of identity

based on professional, personal and uniquely Australian elements.

To capture how the graduates utilise their skills after graduation, the second model of

Adopters, Adapters and Departers (Trathen and Varadarajan 2013) was developed.

The Adopter-Adapter-Departer (AAD) model illustrates three types of design

graduates:

• Adopters, who cope with the uncertainties inherent in the profession of industrial

design and maintain their connection to aspects of traditional industrial design.

• Adapters, who address the same professional uncertainties through a combination

of resilience and career diversification and respond by developing new ways of

practising.

• Departers, who find the ambiguities of the profession outweigh their desire to

stay and respond by moving to other employment, but who retain an ideological

connection to ‘design’.

Both of these models provide categorisation of insight into the experiences of

graduates of industrial design exposing that there is still a small demand for the

traditional skills with a focus on design for manufacture. Beyond these there is

greater need for graduates to be adaptable and able to apply their skills in novel

design situations that are still emerging. Finally, the models clarify that the skills

developed through the course of study are transferable to non-design roles and that

this needs to be made obvious to the student and recent graduate (Trathen &

Varadarajan 2015).


2.15 INDUSTRIAL DESIGN EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIAN

Around the country the technical colleges played an important role in the education

of the early designers. They were heavily influenced by the British system as

instructors either came from Britain or returned after being educated there. The focus

was on the development of design, the skills of fabrication and making; this

facilitated the propagation of many small studio workshops, a culture that continues

throughout the country (Bogle 1998).

Governmental reforms in education in the 1970s resulted in the transfer of

responsibility for education in design and art from the Technical and Further

Education (TAFE) sector to the advanced education sector. This resulted in the

creation of Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) in 1975 (Caban 1988). Further reform

in the mid-1980s facilitated merges of universities and colleges of advanced

education to produce large technical universities that now form the Australian

Technology Network (ATN) (Edquist 2014). The School of Design of SCA was

incorporated into the University of Technology Sydney in 1988 (UTS 2012). These

reforms, along with the abolition of university fees, had a significant impact on

women’s entry into design education (Edquist 2014) by making it more accessible.

Design has proven to be a popular option among secondary school students with

tertiary providers generally increasing the options, although for Industrial Design the

options have decreased; in 2001 there were 20 courses available but in 2013 the

number was down to 14 courses (Robertson & Design Institute of Australia 2013a,

9).

2.16 CREATIVITY IN DESIGN

To date, little research has explored gender differences in creativity. Although

creativity is increasingly being recognised as an essential characteristic for many

disciplines, the ability to develop a creative solution to a problem is critical to a

designer. Design creativity can be central in addressing social problems through

understanding the relationship of design and humanity (Nagai & Taura 2016). There

are many models of creativity emerging from research exposing how new ideas are

generated and how they can be applied in different contexts. One model explored by


Sawyer (2015) breaks the process into five stages: preparation, incubation, ideation,

selection and execution. Although this linear process is not truly reflective of the

actual process as Sawyer (2015) argues it is more of a ‘zig zag’ where the creative

process unfolds and can lead to frequent failures in the development of innovations.

The development of creativity in the young is seen as foundational for future

development of individuals who can be innovative and adaptable to change, with

Mindham (2005) arguing that: ‘The marks made on the paper in the very early years

will have lifelong and profound consequences’. When considering the role of gender

and creativity, Stoltzfus et al. (2011) point to there being some evidence that

creativity in women may not be developed or have the same opportunity for

development as in men, due to societal influences. There is more encouragement of

women to develop more community and social skills that may further be supportive

of family and child rearing, whereas the highly creative have been identified as more

single-minded and unconventional. An interesting extension of the investigation of

gender and creativity is the further layering of gender roles. In the research carried

out by Stoltzfus et al., they concluded that male participants were more creative than

the female although the most creative of the males were those 'who strongly

identified with feminine gender role characteristics, with androgynous women

recording the next highest’ (2011, 245).

Creativity is central to the role of the professional designer to be successful they need

to bring a combination of art, aesthetics and craft and a sense of commercial reality.

Understanding the use of these terms exposes a distinctly masculine underpinning

and gendering of the profession. Design skills requiring physical aptitude are most

often coded as masculine such as model making and the use of a hammer. In the

language analysis of interviews with of staff in design firms based in the UK

highlighted that much of the language has been normalised as male. Design ‘teams’

are referred to as ‘the guys’, positions advertised with the boxing reference to

‘junior’ and ‘middleweight’, designers described as ‘he’(Reimer 2015).

A starting point for the development of their creativity for many girls and women is

through craft and art, often at an early age. A study carried out by Rezaei and

Zakariaie (2011) identified that although there is much research on the importance of


the development of creativity in young children, little has considered the context of

handcraft and how it may enhance learners’ creativity. They argue that the best time

for the growth and development of creative thinking is elementary school, as children

are often flexible and keen to discover new things and learn new concepts at this age.

Rezaei and Zakariaie (2011) conclude that the use of handcraft has a significant

influence on a student’s originality, flexibility and elaboration and improved

creativity, explaining that ‘using handcraft making activities enhances their

imagination which in turn causes the growth of creativity and innovation among the

learners. Using handcraft making activities causes learners to think analytically and

make them study the natural events and things around deeply’ (Rezaei & Zakariaie

2011, 130). While it is assumed there is a direct pathway from art, craft and

creativity to design professions, little research has documented this process or

explored the impact of gender.

2.17 ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Research into entrepreneurship is well established, with the focus on women who

choose to engage in entrepreneurship continuing to grow (Henry, Foss & Ahl 2015;

Afandi & Kermani 2015), developing an understanding of their experience and the

gender difference of the businesses (Reichborn-Kjennerud & Svare 2014). Globally

there is significantly less engagement by women than by men in entrepreneurial

activities (Langowitz & Minniti 2007; Heilman & Chen 2003; Marlow 1997),

although once a person has decided they want to establish a new business there is no

gender difference in the likelihood of success (Afandi & Kermani 2015). Age,

income, employment status and education all influence women’s propensity to start a

new business, with knowing other entrepreneurs, alertness to opportunities, and self-

confidence in their skills positively influencing the likelihood of starting a business

(Langowitz & Minniti, 2007). Women often go into self-employment out of the

desire to maximize their power, autonomy and impact along with the opportunity to

create a better work and family balance (Heilman & Chen 2003; Hodges et al. 2015).

Although the balance may still be difficult to establish, the solution can often be the

employment of the right people to make a supportive team, although insufficient

funding can hamper this strategy (Hodges et al. 2015).


Dalborg (2015) uses life cycle theories and business growth analysis to understand

how small businesses might grow and thrive and how long this may take. The

motivational factors of the owner have impact and the influence on growth have been

themed: survive, stability, create work, appreciation and personal development.

Dalborg (2015) concluded that women entrepreneurs possess high growth aspirations

although to achieve this they focus on creating the conditions based on both extrinsic

and intrinsic motivations. One major impact on growth, as a number of studies

(Hodges et al. 2015; Heilman & Chen 2003) have highlighted is that it is more

difficult for women to fund their businesses and obtain external financial support.

This results in restrictions on growth and the perceptions that they are

underperforming or they are opting out of certain types of growth. Although it does

often lead to resourcefulness and creativity, in doing more with less, marketing their

businesses through social media and word of mouth (Hodges et al. 2015). Other

research focusing on growth explores how strategies are gendered (Reichborn-

Kjennerud & Svare 2014) concluding that differences in entrepreneurship between

men and women stems from their mindsets. Men are more concerned with business

growth and women being satisfied and ‘staying small’.

The discipline specific knowledge and thinking in industrial design lends itself to

entrepreneurship especially where it is related to a three-dimensional object. In

Australia the profile of the typical entrepreneur is that they are of no specific age

group; many are university educated with differing experiences that benefit the start-

up with this education level often resulting in employment for others and higher

levels of profit for the company, although education does not increase the likelihood

of survival. Experience in other businesses does improve survival chances. Almost

half of Australian business founders work in teams, although the make-up of the

teams is not clearly definable making comparisons difficult. Overall, Australian

women are marginally under-represented as firm founders highlighted further by the

types of firms created as demonstrated in Table 2.2. ‘Female representation is

particularly low in the construction industry, while manufacturing is largely male-

dominated. Conversely, retailing, health, education and social services are largely

female-dominated industries’ (Clark et al. 2012, 19). The majority of women-only

start-ups aim to keep their firms small and manageable.


Table 2.2 Founder gender distributions from a firm-level perspective

(Clark et al. 2012, 19)

2.18 CONCLUSION

To develop an understanding of the position and experiences of women in industrial

design, a broad approach was taken in this literature review. There is growing

research into women’s experiences of entering and working in non-traditional areas

to draw upon, although there is little that is specific to industrial design.

Understanding different gender theories provides awareness of the potential barriers

and reasons why women may not be visible in the profession. The general causal

model for STEM provides this starting point exposing issues of gatekeeper tests,

discrimination and priorities of life choices. The ‘leaky pipe’ is seen as one

metaphor suggesting that women at different stages drop out of the field from subject

choice, through a degree and career choice leaving few succeeding to senior levels.

Social-cognitive career theory identifies personal and external variables that enhance

or constrain career progress. Society, family and teachers play a significant role in

either reinforcing stereotypes or providing support and confidence to overcome or

dismiss them. This survey enabled the identification of key similarities and

differences of experience for women in design. Further closer examination of

women in other non-traditional disciplines exposed a number of shared issues across

the disciplines: working conditions where women opt for part-time or flexible

working hours and are more likely to take career breaks for childrearing often to the

detriment of career advancement; lower pay; gendered presentation and availability

of subjects in high school; and gendered work environments and sexism.

Female MixedMale

Prop

ortio

n of

sam

ple

Nascent firms Young firms0

5

10

45

25

15

20

40

30

35


To contextualise women’s experience within design the historical survey highlighted

that the contribution of women to design has long been an unacknowledged part of

the records. Research into and exhibitions of women’s work is slowly placing them

in the records providing due recognition and mentor examples for up and coming

women designers. Formalisation of woman’s engagement in design came through

directed education in the Victorian era although there was little opportunity for them

to turn this education into employment. The design profession and education in

Australia has a relatively short history and there is little evidence of women’s

contribution. Engagement has increased over time to the position we are in today

where there are equal numbers of women being educated as men although how

women are turning their education into employment is not obvious as there is little

evidence of them in the peer reviewed environment of national design awards. This

is the knowledge gap that will be addressed by this research. It has particular

importance to recent women graduates who are looking to break into the profession

and also to the profession to facilitate changes in attitudes towards women.

48 Chapter 1:

Chapter 3: Methodology 49

Chapter 3: Methodology

This research utilises a qualitative phenomenological approach, which priorities

participants own words and voices in expressing and understanding their day-to-day, lived

experiences. It is important to emphasise that the aim of qualitative research is

illumination, impressions and understanding, not the numbers or causal prediction offered

by quantitative research. Although qualitative research is sometimes criticised for its

limited reliability and generalisability, it provides an in-depth understanding of the

phenomenon that would not be achieved using a quantitative approach through a random

survey or experiment. Qualitative research is particularly appropriate for obtaining in-

depth insight into issues and topics about which little knowledge exists, especially when a

primary research goal is to understand how social and cultural contexts affect processes,

decisions and events. There is often debate about numbers in qualitative research and how

many participants or interviewees is ‘enough’. The simple answer, as Liamputtong and

Ezzy (2005) argue, is that in qualitative research data saturation is much more important

than the actual sample size:

Many people become concerned about how many cases constitute a large enough

sample for qualitative research. The answer to this question is simple; when the

researcher is satisfied that the data are rich enough and cover enough of the

dimensions they are interested in, then the sample is large enough.

(Liamputtong & Ezzy 2005, p49)

In terms of the specific qualitative research methodology, semi-structured discussion

format individual in-depth interviews – best described as ‘conversation[s] with purpose’

that describe the experiences of the interviewees in the words of the individuals

(Minichiello 1990, 87) – were utilised. Individual in-depth interviews provide an

opportunity to explore, in detail, personal experiences and to gather vivid and detailed

descriptions. The individual interview is considered the major data collection method in

phenomenology, as it enables the building of a supportive environment where participants

can freely and authentically share their experiences with the researcher. Although the

researcher has an interview guide, and follows the same general question structure, a key

benefit of the semi-structured approach is that the researcher is not restricted by a rigid

questionnaire and has the freedom to explore and probe emergent topics.

50 Chapter 3: Methodology

Together, a phenomenological approach and a case study methodology shaped decisions

regarding participant selection, the use of data, the analysis process and the interpretation

of results. That said, it is important to acknowledge philosophical assumptions, world-

views and researchers’ beliefs and attitudes which are interconnected and influence how

researchers engage with, study, approach and understand the research. Basically, as

Creswell (2003) explains, these consist of a stance toward the nature of reality (ontology),

how the researcher knows what she/he knows (epistemology), the role of values in the

research (axiology), the language of research (rhetoric) and the methods used in the

process (methodology).

3.1 PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH

Grounded in the works of philosophers such as Kant, Hegel and Mach, phenomenological

research was formally defined by Edmund Husserl at the beginning of the twentieth-

century. As the founder or pioneer of phenomenology, Husserl theorised about how

knowledge came into being: he focused on understanding phenomena (that is, how people

perceived and thought about the world) and argued that what ‘needed to be examined was

the way people lived in the world, rather than the world being seen as a separate entity’

(Savin-Baden & Major 2013, 213). Husserl proposes the three key steps of

phenomenological reduction, description and search for the essences of experiences,

arguing for a process of systematic reflection, to determine the essential properties and

structures of experience. At its essence, phenomenology is most simply defined as how

individuals experience a particular phenomenon – it is their unique lived experiences.

Phenomenological researchers ‘bracket off’ the world and suspend judgment in order to

see the world fully and clearly, entering:

into the lived experience and perspective of the other person, to stand not only in their shoes but in their emotional body – to see the world with their eyes. This requires not only empathy for the other, but the ability to make an imaginative and intuitive leap into their world.

(Hawkins 1988, p63, cited in Butler-Kisber 2010, 52)

Phenomenology begins with the acknowledgement that there is a gap in our understanding

of a specific phenomenon, which has not been overtly described and explained.

Phenomenological researchers hope to gain an understanding of essential ‘truths’ of the

lived experience from the perspective of the individual, and focus on those experiences


that are often ignored in everyday life. This is an appropriate approach when the purpose

of the exercise is to understand the real life experience of the participants. Critically, it

involves ‘bracketing’ taken-for-granted assumptions and usual ways of perceiving

(Neuman 1994; Baker 1999); in this context, therefore, any preconceptions regarding

women’s experiences of studying and working in design were ‘bracketed’. In explaining

how to ‘think phenomenologically’ and ‘be phenomenological’, I followed the approach of

Munhall (2012), who instructs researchers to develop a phenomenological mindset through

a range of flexible, parallel and iterative steps:

(1) immersing themselves in phenomenological theory and approaches,

specifically to ‘read, read, read about it’ (Munhall 2012, 122);

(2) articulating the phenomenological aim of the inquiry, particularly by

examining their own biases, expectations and assumptions;

(3) engaging in existential inquiry, expressions and processing (this stage is often

described as ‘dwelling’ by others and refers to the process of reflecting on the

participants’ experiences, through interviews, conversations, active listening

and writing);

(4) contextual processing, specifically presenting and reflecting on initial thoughts

through writing;

(5) analysis of interpretive interaction, highlighting the variety of individual

experience through rich and detailed descriptions;

(6) writing the phenomenological narrative, to better understand their world; and

(7) writing a narrative with meaning, critiquing and interpreting the implications

and recommendations for individuals, society, and social systems.

These analytical and interpretive processes can occur simultaneously, with Munhall

viewing phenomenology as ‘our hope for understanding in this world (2012, 120).

Critically, phenomenology enables individuals to share their day-to-day lived experiences,

in their own words and voices, to illuminate the previously misunderstood, unknown, or

discounted (Bogdan & Biklen 1992).

3.2 THE CASE STUDY AS A RESEARCH STRATEGY

The case study is a research strategy that focuses on a particular case (an individual, a

group or an organisation) and emphasises detailed contextual analysis of this specific


contemporary real-life case or cases. Case studies are commonly utilised across multiple

disciplines (for example, psychology, social science, nursing, business, design) when there

is a wish to better understand a complex social issue, event or object and multiple variables

and inter-relationships exist (Walshe et al. 2004; Stake 1995; Creswell 2009). Yin (2003)

famously defined the case study research method as an empirical inquiry that investigates a

contemporary social phenomenon within its real-life context, explaining that ‘case studies

seem to be the preferred strategy when “how” or “why” questions are being posed, when

the investigator has little control over events, and when the focus is on a contemporary

phenomenon within some real-life context’ (2003, 2, 5-10). Practically, in all case study

research, researchers must set spatial and temporal boundaries around the cases under

analysis (Creswell 1998), and be focused and explicit about the rationale and justification

for the selection of a case study approach, the research choices made and research

processes followed. In this research, each participant represents an individual case and

each case was analysed separately, before being analysed together.

3.3 CASE STUDY OF FEMALE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN GRADUATES

This research utilises a qualitative case study of female graduates from the Industrial

Design (ID) course at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) over a twenty-year period –

from 1990, when the course moved from a College of Advanced Education to a university,

to 2010. UTS has positioned itself as a contemporary and progressive university with a

global perspective. It is a practice-based university that has strong links to industry through

the use of practitioners for teaching, partnerships and links for research and their

involvement in strategic direction within faculties. The practice-orientated education aims

to produce graduates who are industry ready and highly employable. In 2011, over 35 700

students were enrolled at UTS in onshore and offshore courses. The total number of staff

(measured in Full Time Equivalents) at UTS in 2011 was 2 797. Course completions

totalled 9 724 in 2009; for those students whose last year of enrolment was 2009, most of

the completing students graduated in October 2009 and April-May 2010 ceremonies (UTS

2012). In 2012-2014, women represented 52-53 per cent of completions (UTS 2015).

UTS was selected because it is located in Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales,

Australia, and is a central industrial design-training hub. UTS is heir to one of the oldest

providers of education in Industrial Design in Australia, with the course first starting at


Randwick Technical College in the early 1960s, moving to Sydney College of the Arts

when that institution was created in 1975 and experiencing its latest transition to UTS in

1988. It has maintained strong student enrolment numbers and is one of the largest

industrial design courses in the country. Table 3.1 documents the number of male and

female industrial design Autumn graduates from UTS from 1990 to 2010, highlighting

how the proportion of women have increased from 15% in the first five years to 50% in

2010.

Table 3.1 UTS Industrial Design graduation 1990-2010 Source: UTS Graduation records

Participants

A total of 19 female industrial design graduates from the Industrial Design course at the

University of Technology, Sydney were interviewed face-to-face. At the time of interview

in 2011, graduates ranged in age from 21 to 37 years old; three were based in the United

Garduating Year Female Male Total

% Female per cohort

1990 0 12 12

1991 7 18 25

1992 3 22 25

1993 5 21 26

1994 2 18 20 15%

1995 9 21 30

1996 5 14 19

1997 4 17 21

1998 7 25 32

1999 5 24 29 22%

2000 4 21 25

2001 3 16 19

2002 8 18 26

2003 12 16 28

2004 17 29 46 42%

2005 20 30 50

2006 15 19 34

2007 22 24 46

2008 19 23 42

2009 10 22 32 42%

2010 26 26 52 50%

Autumn Graduation of Industrial Design


Kingdom, with the majority still living and working in Sydney. Table 3.2 below illustrates

the code number assigned to participants (thus ensuring their confidentiality), their current

employment and formal job title. The email invitation and information sent to participants

are in Appendix A.

Table 3.2 Profiles of Participants

Procedure

The study received ethical approval from the Queensland University of Technology

Human Ethics Committee (approval number: 1000000991) and standard good practice

ethical protocols were followed, with written consent obtained from each participant. All

participants were provided with an Information Sheet that outlined: the details of the study;

the benefits and risks associated with participating; that they could withdraw without

penalty at any time; and the measures undertaken to ensure that their anonymity was

protected.

Profile of Participants

CodeYear of

graduationCurrent type of employment Position title used

6 1995 self employed Designer


13 2002 self employed - stay at home Mum currently stay at home Mum


1 2003 self employed Industrial Designer

4 2003 on going contract Industrial designer + graphic designer

16 2004 contract + own projects Designer

18 2004 full time Footwear Designer

5 2005 full time Industrial Design + Account services

12 2005 full time Account Manager

17 2005 full time Ergonomist

2 2006 self employed Design director

9 2006 full time contract Exhibition Designer

8 2007 full time Industrial Designer

14 2007 full time Project Manager

3 2008 full time Events officer

7 2009 part time Designer

11 2010 internship Junior Designer

15 2010 full time - on maternity leave Industrial Designer


A non-probability snowball sampling approach was utilised to recruit participants, from an

email contact list collated from graduate publications, personal contacts and word of

mouth. After gaining ethical clearance, participants were emailed an invitation to

participate in an in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interview to discuss: their personal

motivations; experiences and reflections on their decision to study industrial design; and

their subsequent career experiences and choices. It is important to note that most

qualitative interview studies comprise around 5–25 participants (Kvale & Brinkmann

2009) with Mason (2002) suggesting that participants in a phenomenological study should

be determined by purposive sampling. Here, all female UTS Industrial design graduates

were potentially eligible, with 19 interviewed.

As an experienced female Industrial Designer and academic, I conducted and transcribed

all the interviews which took place in a convenient location for each participant (such as a

café close to their work, a work location or their home). Interviews ranged in length from

40 to 120 minutes. Interview questions were designed and developed to explore the

interviewees’ experience of studying industrial design and gaining employment, with

questions designed to foster wide-ranging discussion and reflective evaluation of life in

their current employment. Three pilot interviews were conducted with female designers to

refine and review the approach, structure, questions and style; the pilot was successful,

with positive feedback received on the questions and no major changes made.

The interview followed a semi-structured interview schedule that explored four key areas:

getting the qualification; getting the first job; becoming a success; and women in design

(see final questions in Appendix C). The first three question groupings were based on the

three-hurdle model developed by Bruce and Lewis (1990) to explain the factors

influencing career advancement for women, whilst the fourth area (women in design) was

added to facilitate discussion of the specific challenges associated with being a woman in

design and any advice participants would give to women about to enter the profession. The

questions were covered consistently in all the interviews; however, alteration and probing

was required in some areas and all questions were not necessarily asked, due to the level of

relevancy for more recent graduates with little industry experience. On completion of each

interview, I reflected on the interviews, any insights or key findings, writing brief one-to

two-page reflexive interview summaries.


Analysis

All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim into text for analysis,

ensuring that participants’ views, experiences and feelings were accurately represented in

their own words. To ensure anonymity, numbers were used instead of participants’ names

and specific identifying information was changed. The transcribed interviews resulted in

330 pages of analysable material (see sample transcription in Appendix C), which were

coded using a thematic approach to identify and categorise key categories, themes and

patterns within data. The identification of themes occurs through ‘careful reading and re-

reading of the data’ (Rice & Ezzy 1999, p 258), with four key iterative steps involved in

thematic data analysis: mechanics (data preparation and transcription); data immersion

(that is, reading and re-reading the transcripts and listening to audio-recordings);

generating initial codes and emergent patterns (initial pattern recognition within the data);

and searching for key themes and sub-themes.

Abstraction and naming of themes is a challenging process, which requires considerable

interaction and familiarity with the data to ensure that the categories and labels accurately

reflect participants’ words. Emerging themes become the categories for analysis; they are

reviewed, refined and named into main themes and sub-themes (Liamputtong & Ezzy

2005). The analysis was also informed by literature concerning women in design,

methodologies for interviews and case studies. To ensure interpretive rigor and that

participants’ views are accurately represented, multiple excerpts from the raw data using

the exact words of the participants are provided, with member-checking (by request,

participants could receive copies of their transcribed interviews to check, confirm or

change, providing additional insight and information; no one requested this) and peer

review incorporated into the research design. The peer-review process meant that one other

qualitative analysis expert (the principal supervisor) also participated in the coding and

analysis process. This approach helped ensure both researcher and peer validation of the

findings (Grbich 1999; Krefting 1990).

The reality is that qualitative data analysis is critically dependent on the researcher’s

interpretation; thus, I adopted several strategies to ensure methodological trustworthiness,

credibility and rigour (see Lincoln & Guba 1985). First, a thorough literature review

identified knowledge gaps, which informed the research approach and questions. Second,

to capture analytical processes and emerging categories, extensive notes and reflexive


memos were kept during interviewing, coding and analysis. This iterative and reflexive

process was designed to help ensure that the findings emerged from the views and

experiences of participants, rather than from any views or preferences of the researcher. In

that context, Stake (1995) argues that the researcher is responsible for conveying enough

‘thick’ detailed description of participants’ experiences that readers are able to easily judge

whether the findings ‘ring true’ (Shento 2004, 69). Thus, to facilitate that judgment, the

results sections purposely include multiple excerpts from the raw data, enabling readers to

judge for themselves the accuracy and representativeness of the analysis.

Third, although I was the lead researcher, self-awareness and analytical rigor were

facilitated through regular research meetings and critical discussion, reflection and

interpretation of data (and emerging findings) with my principal supervisor. At this

juncture, it is important to reflect on my roles as a researcher, educator and industrial

designer. Patton (1990) argues that the credibility of the researcher is critical in qualitative

research, as they are the major instrument of data collection and analysis. As a female

industrial designer, I have the privileged position of being an ‘insider’ to this research

domain. As Bonner and Tolhurst (2002) note, there are three key advantages of being an

insider: superior understanding of the group’s culture; ability to interact naturally with

members; and a previously established and stronger relational intimacy with the group. Of

course, each of these advantages may also be viewed as a disadvantage, with the insider’s

familiarity potentially leading to a loss of ‘objectivity’, erroneous assumptions and a false

‘illusion of sameness’ (Pitman 2002, 285). Here, I acknowledged that my personal

experiences influenced my topic choice; however, I reflexively and critically

acknowledged that my views and experiences may be both similar and different to those of

my participants and endeavored to maintain the distance required to understand the data.

Critically, as recommended by Pugh, Mitchell and Brooks (2000), the fact that my

principal supervisor is not a designer (her background is environmental psychology)

creates an insider/outsider research partnership that maximises the advantages of both

positions.

Fourth, to ensure confirmability, credibility and authenticity, participants were provided

with the opportunity to member-check their transcripts. No one accepted this offer, but

three years later, all were invited to participate in or attend (or both) an exhibition designed

to focus public attention on the issue of gender in design; over a third 37% accepted the

invitation to publicly share both their designs and reflections on what it meant to be a


female industrial designer in Australia (see Exhibition section below). The exhibition, and

associated forum, also provided an opportunity for peer scrutiny of the research project,

thus strengthening its credibility. Following these steps was designed to increase the rigour

and trustworthiness of the data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Finally, it is important to recognise the study’s limitations, which include the relatively

small sample size (n=19), gender (women only) and geographic limitations (one city and

one university in Australia), and the diversity in time when these women graduated from

their industrial design degree programs, from 1995 to 2010. I must also acknowledge the

potential impact of my own experiences and biases as a female industrial designer and

educator, and particularly as someone who had a preexisting relationship with participants.

While I fully disclosed the research procedures and purpose of my study to all, I had

friendly, professional relationships with many of the participants as I taught them when

they were studying industrial design at UTS. Additionally, as all were graduates of UTS

and most worked in the small design industry in Sydney, it is likely that they knew each

other personally and professionally. Thus, pseudonyms (specifically code numbers) were

used in an attempt to protect their confidentiality and anonymity. I did everything I could

to be aware of my potential biases as an ‘insider’ and set them aside; for example, the

analysis was conducted with my principal supervisor (an ‘outsider’) and purposely

included multiple quotes so readers could judge for themselves the accuracy of the

interpretation.

The exhibition: Where are the women?

In 2014, two years after the interviews, I curated an exhibition to focus public and industry

attention on the experiences and limited visibility of women in design. Titled Where are

the women? Women in Industrial Design (see Figure 3.1 below), the exhibition ran as part

of Sydney Design 2014, one of the few design festivals in the world produced and

managed by a Museum (Powerhouse Museum, in conjunction with the Chippendale

Creative Precinct and NG Art Gallery). The aim of Sydney Design (which started in 1997)

is to promote a critical understanding of the ways in which design impacts upon everyday

life and culture, with this exhibition highlighting the achievements of women in industrial

design. Opened on 21 August 2014 for three weeks, the opening night was well attended,

as was my curator’s floor forum a few days later. The WOMEN@UTS program in the


Equity & Diversity Unit at UTS provided sponsorship that supported production and

printing.

Figure 3.1 Window of exhibition space

Figure 3.2 Exhibition space and opening night

| 1

CATHY LOCKHARTWhere Are The Women? Women in Industrial Design 2014 | Carlton Project Space, Chippendale Sydney

The gender mix of the student population in the industrial design courses in Australia has been changing over the past ten years with a notable increase in the number of women graduating. However, to date this gender change has not been reflected in the profession – very few women designers are evident is the country’s major award programs. What are the career paths that the women are following if they are not falling within those identified by the profession?

In design, Bruce and Lewis (1990) developed a ‘three-hurdles’ model to explain the factors influencing career advancement for women: 1. getting the qualification; 2. getting the first job in design and 3. becoming a success. Product design is frequently described as ‘technical’, ‘dirty’ and ‘industrial’, with the implication that this profession is not suitable for women. (Bruce 1985) The exhibition explores the ‘third hurdle’. Its focus is on the interpretation of the human experience within a social context to challenge the often-perceived under-standing of industrial design as being a ‘ job for the lads’. This exhibition presented a selection of fourteen designers who have graduated in the period from 1995 - 2013 demonstrating the scope of their work and engagement in the field.

While women have been included in broad design exhibitions this however is the first exhibition specifically of women with an industrial design education in Australia, financially supported by Women @UTS and the School of Design. Further the exhibition uncovered the wide scope of work that women with indus-trial design education engage in with both commercial and speculative projects at various stages of their careers.

Detail of Where Are The Women Design Exhibition Front


Figure 3.3 Exhibition catalogue

The exhibition highlighted the actual works of women who had graduated from Industrial

Design at UTS, providing a greater understanding and appreciation of the diversity of their

work and how they came to design and continue to practice. The designers in this

exhibition were chosen for their depth and range of experience, from recent graduate to

fifteen plus years of experience, along with a diversity of products. Half of the participants

in the exhibition had participated in the interviews for the research in this thesis.

The works displayed an understanding of the diversity of technology, material and

manufacturing method from working with trash pickers in Indonesia, and glass blowers

and metal spinners in China through to laser cutting and etching locally and sustainably in

Sydney. Not all works in the exhibition were production ready, some being conceptual or

the result of thematic research. A number of pieces have won awards in design

competitions and forums, with some works exposing a transition or redefinition of practice

being undertaken by the designer.


Figure 3.4 Exhibited items

Figure 3.5 Exhibited items

Alongside the artefacts, wall banners and a catalogue were printed to profile each

designer, who wrote about their practice and passion for design. All designers answered

five questions: a short biography (including design philosophy); a description of the


works (including reflection on design process and production); a highlight of their

career so far; what was the most challenging aspect being a woman in design; and the

one piece of advice they would give a recent female design graduate. These ‘words of

advice’ were printed on individualised wall banners illustrating their work.

In summing up their advice to new graduates, the women in the exhibition agreed that the

degree ‘equips you with the diverse skills you need to be a successful designer, but it was

up to the individual to chart their own adventure’ (T). Their advice was to be open-minded

to opportunities, always follow their interests and passions, and remember that ‘you don’t

know everything, and that you don’t need to know everything. Accept that. Collaborate,

listen and build a network to grow with’ (B). There was a strong sense that their biggest

challenge remained gender stereotypes and the lack of women at senior levels in the field.

They explained the challenge of ‘walking into a factory or workshop and feeling as though

you have to prove your intelligence and knowledge before you’re taken seriously’ (K) and

of ‘breaking through the (real or imagined) stereotypical barrier that many women end up

designing the “soft” things like textiles, jewellery, home decor and kitchenware, but the

men design the “hard” things like parking meters, a toaster, roof racks, home gym

equipment, complex plastic parts’ (J).

Specific advice centered on being bold and taking risks, with the following quotes

typifying the recommendations: ‘jump in, experiment, listen, learn from your mistakes, and

dream big’ (B) and ‘fear of succeeding and failing is the most challenging emotion that one

needs to overcome as a designer. Once you overcome that fear the world is your oyster’

(S). Acknowledging that the field is still largely dominated by males (and that, in their

experience, the industry often prefers males for industrial designers), their advice to young

female graduates was to work hard, be persistent, find a mentor, and always ‘be confident

and learn to speak up for yourself and your ideas’ (D).

As part of this thesis, this exhibition served three core functions. First, it offered research

participants the opportunity to publicly attach their name (and work) to the issue: it

provided a public space for them to discuss and share their reflections on being a female

industrial designer in Sydney, Australia. It is notable that half of the interviewees chose to

participate, indicating their interest and commitment to addressing gender issues in the

field. Second, it helped to engage the wider public, educators and the design industry with

the works.


Third, the sharing of creative practice and public display through exhibition is appropriate

for this field, and has been utilised by the manufacturers and designers of products since

the Great Exhibition of 1851. To date, there have been a small number of themed or

focused exhibitions specifically on women in design. For example, in 2000, an exhibition

titled Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference was held to

celebrate ‘the multifaceted and largely under-recognized contributions of women designers

to American culture in the twentieth century’ (Kirkham 2000). A substantial catalogue was

produced with essays positioning and contextualising women’s contribution, and

examining their lived experiences throughout different design disciplines over the

nominated time. Preceding this in 1994 was the Goddess in the Details: Product design by

women exhibition, a smaller and more focused exhibition curated by the Association of

Women Industrial Designers (AWID), New York. This was a sample of the work by

women across many areas of industrial design, in the catalogue, calling upon the women’s

life experiences to discuss whether gender makes a difference to the design process

(Doering, Switzky & Welz 1994). In a very small way, this Australian exhibition

contributes to this tradition and helps raise awareness about the skills and experiences of

women designers.

Chapter 4: Design as destiny 67

Chapter 4: Design as destiny

DESTINED TO DESIGN? HOW AND WHY AUSTRALIAN WOMEN CHOOSE TO STUDY INDUSTRIAL DESIGN.

As Figure 4.1 illustrates, this chapter focuses on early life experiences, exploring if

and how these female designers showed an aptitude for or interest in design from

childhood and the role of significant others (parents, teachers, friends, role models

etc.). It directly addresses a key component of the first research question, specifically

the drivers and factors that motivate young women to consider industrial design as a

career.

Figure 4.1 Early influences for considering design as a career

It is important to acknowledge that, unlike some other professional areas such as

architecture or medicine which have long established histories of educating

professionals and tend to carry high status in the community, industrial design is a

relatively young discipline without a generally high public profile. A recent member

survey by the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) identified lack of public knowledge

as limiting job opportunities and the growth of the design industry (Robertson &

Design Institute of Australia 2013a). This research, exploring what motivates these

women to study design, highlights that many simply ‘fall into it’. Design is a

68 Chapter 4: Design as destiny

serendipitous choice that just resonated and makes sense given their childhood

aptitude for ‘making things’ and support from parents and other family members

who often also worked in design-related professions. For these industrial designers,

early exposure to craft and making things, along with strong parental support and

understanding of their daughters’ skills and abilities, inspired these young women to

embark on this discipline career path.

Thus, this first paper, Destined to design? How and why Australian women choose to

study industrial design, explores the influencing factors that lead these young women

to study industrial design. It provides some critical insight into why certain women

are attracted to, and succeed in, non-traditional disciplines, knowledge that is

essential for fostering and improving women’s participation in these areas.


Statement of contribution of co-authors for thesis by published paper in Ch 4

The authors listed below have certified* that:

1. they meet the criteria for authorship in that they have participated in the conception, execution, or interpretation, of at least that part of the publication in their field of expertise;

2. they take public responsibility for their part of the publication, except for the responsible author who accepts overall responsibility for the publication;

3. there are no other authors of the publication according to the criteria; 4. potential conflicts of interest have been disclosed to (a) granting bodies, (b)

the editor or publisher of journals or other publications, and (c) the head of the responsible academic unit; and

5. they agree to the use of the publication in the student’s thesis and its publication on the QUT ePrints database consistent with any limitations set by publisher requirements.

In the case of chapter 4: Lockhart, C. & Miller, E. (accepted 12/05/14). Destined to design? How and why Australian women choose to study industrial design. The International Journal of Art & Design Education, in press. Contributor Statement of contribution* Catherine Lockhart Chief investigator, significant contribution to the

planning of the study, data collection and analysis, literature review and writing manuscript

Associate Professor Evonne Miller

Significant contribution to the planning of the study (as principal supervisor) data analysis and assisted with the preparation and evaluation of the manuscript

Principal Supervisor Confirmation I have sighted email or other correspondence for all Co-authors confirming their certifying authorship

Evonne Miller 25/11/15 Name Signature Date


Destined to Design? How and why Australian women choose to study

industrial design.

Cathy Lockhart & Evonne Miller

Abstract

Despite over three decades of legislation and initiatives designed to tackle the

traditional gender divide in the science, technology and design fields, only a quarter

of the registered architects in Australia are women. There are no statistics available

for other design disciplines, with little known about why women choose design as a

career path and who or what influences this decision. This qualitative research

addresses this knowledge gap, through semi-structured in-depth interviews

conducted with 19 Australian women who completed an industrial (product) design

degree. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes: childhood aptitude and

exposure; significant experiences and people; and design as a serendipitous choice.

The findings emphasise the importance of early exposure to design as a potential

career choice, highlighting the critical role played by parents, teachers, professionals

and social networks.

Keywords: industrial design, design education, women

Design (the adaptive creative process of creating an object or process) and design

thinking (adopting a creative approach to problem solving) have been identified as

providing the innovative interdisciplinary framework needed to tackle key twenty-

first century challenges, such as population ageing and climate change (Brown

2008). Yet, despite the current attention emphasising the value of design, one issue

remains under-studied: women are poorly represented in many design professions in

particular with industrial design remaining a male-dominated field. This qualitative

study seeks to address this knowledge gap, investigating why women choose design

as a career path and who or what influences this decision.

Although there is significant anecdotal reporting suggesting a gender disparity,

particularly in terms of women’s representation and visibility in high profile design

awards and senior leadership roles (Anthony 2001; Fowler & Wilson 2004), exact


statistics on women’s participation remain scarce, dated and fragmented. At

university, enrolment statistics show that women typically compromise

approximately a third to half of the design student population; upon graduation,

however, they appear to be much less visible in the profession, in terms of winning

local, state or national design awards and holding senior roles. This gender

distinction in terms of career progression and visibility is apparent through the

architecture professional accreditation process: the most recent statistics show that

women comprised 43 per cent of architecture students in Australia, yet registered

architects in each state varied from 12-18 per cent, with only one per cent of

directors at architectural firms (Whitman 2005).

Similar statistics have been documented in different countries, including the United

Kingdom where women comprised 38 per cent of students yet comprise only 13 per

cent of practising architects and 22 per cent of teaching staff (de Graft-Johnson,

Manley & Greed 2003). Whilst professional registration is not the only indicator of

career success (and is not a requirement for other design disciplines), it highlights a

gendered difference between educational training and career opportunities for female

designers. Statistics documenting female participation and leadership in other design

disciplines, such as industrial, interior, graphic, landscape architecture and fashion,

are virtually non-existent. Although the gender mix of the student population in

Industrial Design courses has changed significantly over the past ten years (with a

notable increase in the number of women enrolling and graduating), very few women

designers are acknowledged or even evident in major awards. Further, our

knowledge about the day-to-day experiences, motivations and perspectives of female

designers – from why they chose design as a career to their experiences at university

and in the workplace – remains limited.

Despite a significant body of research exploring gender differences in career

patterns, development and choices, very little empirical research has explored gender

issues in design. A handful of studies have explored gender differences in design at

the university level, highlighting how an understanding of the gender dynamics in the

educational setting is important. For example, over three decades ago, Frederickson

(1993) utilised video recordings of 112 juries and questionnaires to evaluate any

gender-differentiated experiences in three design schools in the USA. The focus was


on juries, which are frequently used for assessment and feedback to design students,

especially in architecture. Female students were interrupted significantly more often

during their presentations than their male colleagues (an experience that can

undermine confidence) and when the minority on the panel, women spoke less and

provided less feedback and discussion.

More recently, focussing on one higher education institution in the United Kingdom,

Clegg, Mayfield and Trayhurn (1999, 44) compared students experiences in IT and

design courses to identify the factors contributing to consistent gender differences.

They found women were clustered at the ‘soft’ end of the discipline (product,

furniture, interior and graphic design) and underrepresented at the ‘hard’ end

(information management and information systems), with continuing low level of

female engagement in both discipline areas illustrating ‘resilience to equal

opportunity initiatives’. Clegg et al. argued that both were highly gendered due to the

technical competencies required, which had an impact of the choice patterns of men

and women. This was typified by the use of a workshop (with tools and machines,

usually a central workspace for product and industrial design courses), which created

a technical space that is the ‘hard’ end of design. Further, these spaces most often

have male technician or supervisors, with the female students describing

experiencing far greater scrutiny to prove their abilities to use the space than the

male students do. The male students also felt that the men enjoyed the course more

due to the ‘technical things’ and ‘that the women were more attracted to the soft

furnishings and decoration’. To our knowledge, to date only one published paper has

explored designers (in this case architects) experience in the workplace. Fowler and

Wilson (2004) interviewed 72 architects ( 32 women and 40 men) about the culture

and their experience in the British architectural profession. The majority

acknowledged there was a masculine culture to the profession, whilst the women felt

that having children had negatively affected their career trajectory, as there was an

expectation of long hours and overtime.

Women in STEM

Our limited knowledge about the design experience is in stark contrast to the plethora

of research which has documented girls and women’s interest and experience in the


science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, professions

and industries. This research provides some insights into the issues that might help

explain the gender disparity in design, with numerous researchers identifying an

array of psycho-social factors (including parental viewpoints, sex-role sterotypes and

societal norms, lack of career information and role models, concerns about life-work

balance) that discourage women from choosing a career in male-dominated STEM

fields (see Wang & Degol 2013 for a comprehensive review).

The main theoretical approaches for understanding gender differences in STEM

education and career choices is Eccles’ expectancy-value theory, which outlines the

multiple psychological and contextual factors at play (Eccles 1983; 2009). These

include cultural norms, social experiences, ability, competence beliefs and values

(Ceci, Williams & Barnett 2009; Eccles 2009; Wang, Eccles & Kenny 2003). Eccles

postulates that the STEM pathway starts with a series of choices commencing in

childhood and adolescence, arguing that the strongest motivational predictors of

educational and career choice are an individual’s competence-related beliefs and the

valuing of that achievement. She argues that these beliefs and achievement-related

choices (e.g., choosing to enrol in design at university) are linked to experiences in

family, school and peer contexts. Put simply, deciding what to study and choosing a

career is typically determined by identifying what we enjoy doing most; and what we

enjoy is typically determined by gendered experiences in early childhood, our beliefs

about our ability and task competence, and the views of parents, teachers and

significant others. Tenenbaum (2009), for example, has shown that child gender

influences parent-child conversations about science and career path options, with

parents often discouraging their children from pursuing gender non-traditional

subjects. STEM research has repeatedly demonstrated that the ways in which both

parents (Bregman & Killen 1999) and teachers (Brown, Ortiz-Nunez & Taylor 2011)

talk about different career paths has a significant influence on the career attitudes

options and expectations developed by adolescents, impacting on their confidence to

explore a specific vocation and decisions regarding what to study at university.

Unfortunately, despite significant and ongoing research and policy interest on this

topic, there remains an underrepresentation of women in the traditionally male-

dominated STEM fields at both university and in the workplace (Wang & Degol

2013).


Women in Creative Arts.

As design sits at the intersection of two fields (engineering and creative arts), it is

also important to explore how gender might impact women’s participation and

experience in humanities and arts-based disciplines. Although a large body of

research has repeatedly demonstrated the gendered nature of STEM fields (Wang &

Degol 2013), much less literature has explored gender inequality issues for women in

creative arts careers (which include performance, design, creative writing, music,

choreography, film, fine art, etc.). Unlike most STEM careers, most women working

in the creative arts fields frequently also face the added challenges of low pay, career

instability, absence of female role models and mentors in the arts and ‘a lack of

familial and social support for art as a “legitimate” career’ (Brooks & Daniluk 1998,

255).

The handfuls of studies focusing on women’s experience in the arts suggest that they

are underrepresented, in both production roles and decision-making positions. Fifteen

years ago, Brooks and Daniluk (1998) interviewed eight older women artists about

their careers. Their participants described the arts as a ‘man’s world’ and lives of

‘living on the edge’, explaining how their arts career was economically impractical

and unpredictable, non-linear and pioneering as they broke ‘from traditional familial,

social and gender roles to create unique life paths’ (1998, 254).

In a study of how gender impacted the career choices of art teachers, Zwim (2006)

found that women and men used different language and described very different

experiences. Women repeatedly noted their need for respect and empowerment and

the importance of role models and mentors. Conversely, the men did not mention

these issues at all, leading Zwim to conclude that ‘women’s artist identities were

works in progress, a struggle to achieve and never taken for granted’ (2006, 174).

This gender difference has been found in research exploring other arts professions as

well. Focussing on women’s experience in the mainstream popular music market,

Schmutz and Faupel (2010) analysed the factors that predicted success, defined as

whether female artists achieve consecrated status (listed in Rolling Stone’s ‘The 500

Greatest Albums of All Time’). They concluded that, in both direct and indirect ways


existing cultural frameworks about art and gender disadvantage ‘the amount and type

of legitimacy that female artists can accrue’ (2010, 685). This is consistent with

research investigating the experience of French professional artists (musicians, actors

and dancers; Coulangeon, Ravet & Roharik 2005), arts management (Herron et al.

1998) and gender inequality in the literary fields (Verboord 2012).

Women in Industrial Design

This research contributes to this body of knowledge, focussing specifically on the

motivations of women industrial designers. Industrial design focuses on the design of

products and is defined by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design

(ICSID 2012) as a ‘creative activity whose aim is to establish the multi-faceted

qualities of objects, processes, services and their systems in whole life cycles’.

Industrial design is a relatively new discipline, which means that our knowledge of

career motivations, rationales and perceptions (for both men and women) remains

extremely limited. To date, aside from a few internal university reports (e.g., see

Creating a Career in Design, University of Technology Sydney 2009), academic

peer-reviewed publications documenting why students choose industrial design, their

experience of the course and what happens when they graduate are non-existent. If

we are to grow the industry, and meet the forecasted demand for design-thinking, it

is essential to understand the experience of women in design education and practice,

and identify the key facilitators and barriers to participation. Thus, through an in-

depth qualitative approach, this paper explores why women choose industrial design

as a career path and who or what influences this decision.

Method

Given the limited literature on women in industrial design, a qualitative approach

was chosen due to its appropriateness for investigating unstudied populations and the

fact that a descriptive, exploratory approach would be grounded in ‘a research

methodology for understanding the lived experience of individuals’(Liamputtong &

Ezzy 2009, 5). This article focuses specifically on why female students choose

industrial design as a career path and to determine who or what influences this

decision.


Participants

The population for this study was female industrial design graduates from a large

Australian university, which has offered an Industrial Design degree since 1987 and

graduates approximately 50 students (40 per cent female) each academic year. The

Industrial Design course moved from a College of Advanced Education to a

University in 1987 in that time the total number of graduates has quadrupled. The

majority of the students are recruited through the use of tertiary entrance type scores,

which reflect summative academic ratings based on secondary education

performance in the Higher School Certificate. Some undergraduate courses have

carried out targeted recruitment campaigns to either influence the popularity of the

course or the gender mix such as the ‘women in engineering’ programs that run in

high school to highlight the diversity of opportunity. For this course, there has been

no specific targeting, although the gender mix of the student population in the course

has been changing over the past ten years, with a notable increase in the number of

women graduating.

A total of 19 female graduates participated, who graduated between1995-2010. Table

4.1 outlines socio-demographic information for the participants, who ranged in age

from 21 to 37 at the time of interview in 2011. The majority (74 per cent) were

currently practicing industrial designers.

Table 4.1 Profiles of participants interviewed

Profile of Participants

CodeYear of

graduationCurrent type of employment Position title used



13 2002 self employed - stay at home Mum currently stay at home Mum


1 2003 self employed Industrial Designer

4 2003 on going contract Industrial designer + graphic designer

16 2004 contract + own projects Designer

18 2004 full time Footwear Designer

5 2005 full time Industrial Design + Account services

12 2005 full time Account Manager

17 2005 full time Ergonomist

2 2006 self employed Design director

9 2006 full time contract Exhibition Designer

8 2007 full time Industrial Designer

14 2007 full time Project Manager

3 2008 full time Events officer

7 2009 part time Designer

11 2010 internship Junior Designer

15 2010 full time - on maternity leave Industrial Designer


Procedure

A non-probability snowball sampling approach was utilised to recruit participants,

with an email contact list collated from graduate publications, personal contacts and

word of mouth. After gaining ethical clearance, participants were emailed an

invitation to participate in an in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interview on their

personal motivations, experiences and reflections on their decision to study industrial

design and their subsequent career experiences and choices. The first author, an

experienced female Industrial Designer and academic, conducted the interviews,

which took place in a convenient location for participant (often a café close to their

work, a work location or their home). Interviews averaged 70 minutes in length,

ranging from 40 to 120 minutes. Interview questions, which were pilot tested with

three female graduates to ensure appropriateness, were designed and developed to

explore the interviewee’s motivations to study Industrial Design, their experience of

studying and gaining employment, with questions designed to foster wide-ranging

discussion and reflective evaluation of life in their current employment.

The interview followed a semi-structured interview schedule that explored four key

areas, the first of which is explored in this article: motivations and influence on the

choice of women to study industrial design at university. The questions were

followed consistently in the interviews, however some probing was required in areas

and not necessarily all questions were asked due to the level of relevancy to more

recent graduates with little industry experience.

Data Analysis

All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim into text for analysis,

ensuring that participants’ views, experiences and feelings were accurately

represented in their own words. To ensure anonymity, numbers are used instead of

participant’s names and specific identifying information has been changed. The

transcribed interviews resulted in 330 pages of analysable material, which were

coded using a thematic approach to identify and categorise key categories, themes

and patterns within data. The identification of themes occurs through becoming

familiar with the data through constant reading: ‘in reading, and rereading, the data,

they make sense of the data they have generated’ (Liamputtong & Ezzy 2009 277).


Four key iterative steps involved in thematic data analysis: mechanics (data

preparation and transcription), data immersion (i.e., reading and re-reading the

transcripts and listening to audio-recordings), generating initial codes and emergent

patterns (initial pattern recognition within the data) and searching for key themes and

sub-themes. Emerging themes become the categories for analysis; they are reviewed,

refined and named into main themes and sub-themes (Liamputtong & Ezzy 2005).

Results

In explaining their decision to study industrial design at university, and identifying

who or what influences this decision, female industrial designers frequently

acknowledged a strong personal desire to be creative, the role of family and

significant others, as well as serendipitous events or decisions. Thus, three key

themes were identified from the data: early exposure and interest in design

(childhood aptitude, family engagement); significant experiences and others (school,

peers, life) and serendipity (course promotional materials, practical or second choice

career)

Theme 1: Early exposure and interest in design - childhood aptitude and

family engagement

The first clear theme that emerged was that, from early childhood, creativity and

design had always been a central component of participant’s individual and family

identity. This was displayed at two distinct yet related levels: strong individual desire

to engage in design (i.e., art, craft, creating and building) activities from early

childhood and significant family engagement in design fields (both as work and as a

hobby).

Aptitude for and interest in, design from childhood

All participants described experiencing a strong and innate desire to design from

early childhood, explaining how they always wanted to work with their hands and be

creative. Participants recalled how, as young girls, they engaged in design and

creative activities as part of their early play and development, describing craft and

drawing and making things from an early age. There was a strong sense that, as a

young girl, aptitude for design starts with participating in craft activities and simply


creating and building things, from ‘gluing and sticking and watching how things are

made’ (#14) and ‘Leggo and building sandcastles or something like that, so I started

very early building things’ (#10). Most clearly identified craft – and the sense of joy

they felt when engaging in craft activities such as cutting, pasting and creating - as

the early vehicle for the development of their creativity and interest in design (see

Table 4.2 for further illustrative quotes).

Table 4.2 Predicting engagement in design – childhood aptitude and parents

Desire for design since childhood Family engagement in design

I guess I’ve always been creative. I don’t think - I can’t imagine a point of actually starting. I think it’s just always been part of what I do, what I like doing. (#1).

My family has always been involved in art. My parents can both draw, they don't, not for an occupation. So we have always been creative in that sense. (#14)

Probably as soon as I could cut, draw and paste. In kindergarten I always remember - you know, my favourite thing was to fold pieces of paper and stick them together and make little television sets with sort of people in them. So - I mean, it was just craft then but that's when design probably did start or I knew that I was quite creative and a visual person. (#9)

My father being a builder by trade, I was always around him, in the garage, playing with tools for the next day's job. I was the youngest of four. The next up from me was my brother. So we are very close and we were always making something. If it wasn't a billy-cart, it was renovating a boat. You know, as the years progressed, we were a little bit older and we were fibre-glassing. So I was always around that kind of thing. (#6)

Since I was a kid I was always drawing. I used to just draw on the back of my school books all the time. (#4)

But my mum was - like, she used to design kitchens and make them, so there was always things being made in my house. (#10)

I think that depends on what you mean by designing, but I’ve always done crafty kind of things right from – as soon as I could draw basically; whether it was collecting seashells and putting them together to make little animals or people or whatever, through to taking, you know, weekend courses to do jewelry-making or whatever it was. (#15)

I know I wanted to do something to do with design and both my parents were architects, so they both said, "Not architecture." (#19) My sister studied interior architecture and she said, "There's this course called industrial design. It is like art but it's more practical because you get to make products," and I thought that sounded really good. (#14)


Family engagement in design

The vast majority, over two thirds, described how their family valued and prioritised

design, art and creative activities. Participants explained how they were raised in

supportive non-gender-stereotyped households where interest in design, art and

building was actively supported and encouraged. Many described how their mother

or father was employed in a design occupation (typically architecture, building or

interior design), which meant that they were exposed to design activities, approaches

and thinking on a daily basis. As the quotes in Table 4.2 illustrate, the influence of

the parents occupation on their activities as they were growing up was significant

with participants frequently recalling how they were encouraged to assist a parent in

the creating, designing and building process.

Theme 2: Significant experiences and others - school, peers, life

Significant others – specifically school, peers and industry contacts – very clearly

form the second major area of influence. The three distinct categories that emerge are

discussed in turn below, with each playing a unique and influential role in motivating

and supporting these participants in their decision to study and work in industrial

design.

School – high school subject choice and teachers

First, participants identified high school subject choice and teachers as influencers in

setting them onto an industrial design career trajectory. As these young women

attended a range of different high schools across the country, not all subject areas

were available and they frequently did not have access to specific design and

technology subjects. Visual art appears to be a subject that is widely available and

the majority included it as a subject through the Higher School Certificate, with

design and technology and fashion and textiles also frequently mentioned as popular

and available study subjects. Only one participant (#15) completed high school

without considering design subjects as an option, which they attributed to the

traditional/private girls school they had attended where they pushed science and

maths as career options (although graphic design had been a subject choice

throughout her studies, it was not identified as a possible career path, potentially

because she was destined for ‘higher things’). Teachers were also identified by two


as helping them in finding a direction for their design talents: one described how her

art teacher, when she went to select university course preferences, encouraged her to

look at industrial design because she was quite good at sculpturing and this course

would give her practical knowledge which would help with getting a job later (as

opposed to studying fine arts; #9).

Peers – siblings and school friends

Experience and career choices of peers was also identified as extremely influential,

with approximately a third of participants recalling how their peers influenced their

decision to enroll in industrial design. One explained how she originally wanted to

do architecture but it just seemed too technical for her and how a friend from high

school mentioned he was going to study industrial design and she ‘got all my info

from him. And I just thought, yeah, I may as well give it a go’ (laughs; #12).

Similarly, another participant explained how her sister (who loved studying interior

architecture) recommended ‘this course called industrial design. It is like art but it's

more practical because you get to make products’ (#14).

Exposure to other experiences – study, work, life

Studying and working in a different areas and the level of dissatisfaction in that area

often lead to a re-evaluation of their career path. The subjects taken at high school

along with their results and interest played a significant role in the initial direction ‘I

chose engineering because I enjoyed maths and physics. I thought engineering was

going to be a good career path, but it ended up being not creative enough for me.’

(#1). Another who had studied environmental science for six years and was then

employed to develop environmental policies for the Federal and State government

felt that the real opportunity to make an impact on the environment was by the design

of better products ‘there’s really a need for well-designed, environmentally

sustainable products to give Government an option to legislate for best practice.’

(#15) She reflected upon her high school teacher’s comments regarding industrial

design and was then prompted to attend a number of university open days and an

introduction to industrial design course at a Melbourne university that cemented her

path to further study as a mature-aged student. Taking of a gap year (and travelling


through Italy) exposed one woman to the wider world of product design and ignited a

desire to work in this area on return to Australia.

Theme 3: A serendipitous choice

What emerged clearly from the interviews was that industrial design was often very

rarely a conscious or first career choice; although all desired a career which involved

design (combining art and three-dimensional thinking), the majority admitted that

when they first starting thinking about pursuing higher education in design they were

originally focused on a different area (e.g., architecture, graphics, fashion etc). Their

specific interest in commencing an industrial design degree was predominantly

triggered by exploring design career options (e.g., reading the Universities admission

guide) and as a gateway to another design career – fashion or architecture (as well as

the advice of peers and teachers, as documented in the previous theme).

Exploring design career options

Industrial design was not an immediately visible or obvious career choice for these

women, with one explaining how they ‘didn't even know really that the career really

existed until I started looking into different design avenues’ (#5). As Table 4.3

illustrates, over half identified the university’s admission guide as the main

information source for the basis of their course decision, with many viewing

industrial design as a ‘practical’ career choice that had more immediately obvious

career opportunities than other design courses.

Table 4.3 Role of course information and ‘practicality’ in choosing industrial design

Reliance on course information The practical choice

No, I don't think I even knew about industrial design until I looked into the UAC guide. It's not as if, like, you can do textiles at high school and you can do wood work, but you don't do industrial design or product design at school. I didn't even know really that the career really existed until I started looking into different design avenues. (#15)

It was practical and it was still design. It was sketching and drawing. I wanted something a little bit less, I guess pretentious, kind of thing. So then I thought practical. I like working with my hands and I think it suited what I wanted to do so I put that down and I got in. So it was good. (#5)


The [university] guide. The first thing I was considering was doing interior design but then I was reading through all the design courses, so industrial was first choice and that's what I wanted to do. (#11)

I went into industrial because it had a bigger scope. So you could go into packaging or you could go into industrial products or pretty much anything really. So I felt like it had more opportunities. Interior design may have been a bit too focused and I don't think there were as many job prospects as maybe in industrial. (#3)

I don’t know. I think I must have just ... I knew about graphic design and I think I just opened the UAC book or whatever it is and looked at all the things listed under design and looked at industrial design and thought well actually that’s pretty much what I am after (#17)

Industrial design I chose because at the time it was the most broad design degree that I could find and I wasn't quite sure exactly which direction I wanted to take. I decided for industrial because it seemed like it had more options and would give me a broader design education, something more hands-on as well, because I really like to be practical and 3D and stuff like that (#11)

Gateway to another design career

A minority of participants selected industrial design as a gateway course, with one

explaining that they originally wanted to do architecture but did not have the required

grades (#2). Not gaining a place in the course they most desired was a commonly

cited reason for enrolling, with most actually staying as they enjoyed the diversity of

the course: ‘so I actually wanted to do visual communication and I missed out on it

by one mark or something, so I said I will start with industrial design and move over.

And then suddenly decided that I didn't want to move anyway. I suppose I think I

was attracted more to the homewares element’ (#19).

Discussion

As a first study to explore what motivates women to study industrial design at

university, this research suggests that early exposure to creating and designing is

essential. Our findings highlight how family interest in design and childhood

exposure is a key factor in facilitating women’s own interest in studying design later

in life. Parental support, through implicit and explicit encouragement of design


activities appears to facilitate the development of self-belief, a sense of competence

and the motivation to engage in design activities (Tenenbaum 2009). The majority of

our participants reported how their parents were employed in a design occupation

(typically architecture, building or interior design), with all describing how, from

early childhood, creativity, craft activities and an interest in design was strongly

encouraged in their family. As well as a family background in design, participants

recalled the critical influence of significant others. Teachers, peers and design

professionals helped set them in an industrial design career trajectory, although it

was clear that industrial design was often not a first career choice, This research

suggests that the profile and career context of industrial design is often

misunderstood, resulting in participants describing how they were originally

focussed on another area of design and (through other’s recommendation and the

university’s admission guide) they ‘discovered’ industrial design.

These findings have multiple theoretical and practical implications. At a theoretical

level, the finding that early exposure to design and perceived social support (from

family, teachers and peers) is linked to later career decision-making is consistent

with previous studies exploring what motivates women to engage with the STEM

disciplines (e.g., Bell 2009; Hill, Corbett & St Rose 2010). Our findings are also

consistent with Eccles’ (1983; 2009) expectancy–value theory, which argues that

‘expectancies and values are assumed to directly influence performance, persistence,

and task choice’ (p118, Eccles & Wigfield 2002). Achievement behaviours (such as

studying design at university) are primarily linked to an individual’s expectations of

success (e.g., belief in their own ability or self-efficacy) and the perceived value or

importance of the behaviour. Here, as most women came from ‘design families’, they

knew (1) they had the ability to succeed at design activities and (2) being a ‘designer’

was of value. As other peoples’ attitudes and expectations of an individual are

critical in shaping their attitudes (Eccles & Wigfield 2002), future research is needed

to explore how women from 'non-design' families became interested in and studied

design at university.

Consistent with Eccles’ expectancy-value theory (2009), our study illustrates the

importance of such social influences: the voices and views of parents, teachers and

peers combine to tell people what they are good (or not good) at and thus help shape


an individual’s career-path beliefs, preferences and behaviours. Eccles (2009) argues

that, from early childhood, family, teachers and peers provide unique opportunities

for women to engage in STEM related activities, experiences and programs, thus

building positive competence beliefs, abilities and memories for the participants. Our

data suggests that a similar process occurs with the discipline of industrial design,

but is centred around developing and supporting skills in creativity, imagination and

craft in early childhood and later encouraging the selection of a non-traditional career

path.

At this juncture, we need to also acknowledge an interesting finding; the vast

majority of our participants reported that they were raised in ‘design’ families,

meaning that one of both parents held design-oriented employment (e.g.; architects,

builder, designer etc.). Research consistently shows that parents are extremely

influential in helping determine their child’s career aspirations, goals and plans (Li &

Kerpelman 2007); it is plausible, therefore, that they are more knowledgeable when

speaking about their own careers and/or supportive of their child exploring a design

pathway. Given that Brooks and Daniluk (1998) found their female artists often

described being obstructed in their career choice by the attitudes and behaviours of

family members, it is plausible that families with limited exposure and knowledge of

design careers might implicitly and/or explicitly discourage their daughters from

pursuing a design career path. As this is the first study to explore the motivations of

female design students, much more research is needed to address such questions.

At a practical level, the finding that ‘serendipity’ was often a key factor influencing

enrolment in industrial design is of concern. As previously noted, our participants

come from ‘design’ families; if even they are not aware of industrial design as a

potential career path, these findings have significant negative implications for the

marketing and communication strategies of industrial design courses. Our research

suggests that women tend to ‘fall’ into industrial design at university, without much

previous thought or consideration. This contrasts with the STEM approach, where

there is significant focus on fostering girls learning environment, achievement and

interest in science and maths, with this positive early exposure linked to a STEM

career path later in life. Interestingly, some literature suggests that those who excel in

mathematics are less likely to pursue STEM fields and instead trend toward


humanities and social sciences (Hill, Corbett & St Rose 2010); this could potentially

be an opportunity focus for industrial design, which is ideally positioned at the

intersection of STEM and Humanities.

Of course, the study limitations must be acknowledged. First, the findings are based

on one university in a large Australian city, covering women who graduated over a

14 year period (1995 to 2009) and were able to be contacted by a previous lecturer.

Second, this article focuses on a retrospective recall about what influences the initial

decision to study design at university; our future work will explore the experience of

studying at university and a workplace that is often very male-dominated. Third, as

we focussed only on women, we do not know if men might report similar

backgrounds and influencing factors. Although we believe such factors are unlikely

to significantly bias the results, future studies should address these issues and

endeavour to recruit a more diverse sample of women from multiple universities, as

well as comparing their experiences to their male counterparts.

Industry leaders, policy makers and educators have reason to be interested in and

concerned about these findings, which have clear implications about recruiting more

women into design disciplines, as well as design teaching and research. There is

growing acknowledgement of the importance to society and a countries economic

competitiveness to develop imaginative, creative, innovative thinkers (Boomer 1990;

Bell 2009). The challenge for design educators, of course, is how best to support all

families in encouraging creativity and design in early childhood, so that not only

girls raised in ‘design’ families consider design careers. Fortunately, the STEM

literature (e.g., Hill, Corbett & St. Rose 2010) provides some critical lessons on how

to engage girls in non-traditional careers, primarily exposure to female role models

and highlighting the lack of gender difference in performance in industrial design

subjects.

In conclusion, this study highlights the critical nature of early experiences and the

development of a ‘design identity’ in childhood on future behavioural and career

path choices. These women designers clearly identified early exposure to design

(parental support and family experiences) and the support of significant others

(school peers and industry contacts) as central to building their interest, motivation


and self-confidence in pursuing a design degree and career. Our hope is that by

providing some insights into the key facilitators that motivate women to study

industrial design, this research will help trigger a discussion about their unique

experiences and potential strategies to increase participation.

Acknowledgements: We would like to acknowledge and thank the women industrial

designers who volunteered their time to participate in this study, sharing their

motivations, experiences and reflections on their decision to study industrial design

and their subsequent career experiences and choices.

References

Anthony, Kathryn H. 2001. Designing for diversity : gender, race, and ethnicity in the architectural profession. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Bell, Sharon. 2009. Women in Science in Australia: Maximising productivity, diversity and innovation. Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies. Boomer, G. 1990. 'Creativity in education : making things.' Australian Art Education 14 (2): 7-11. Bregman, George and Melanie Killen. 1999. 'Adolescents' and Young Adults' Reasoning About Career Choice and the Role of Parental Influence.' Journal of Research on Adolescence 9 (3): 253 - 275. Brooks, Geraldine S. and Judith C. Daniluk. 1998. 'Creative labors: The lives and careers of women artists. ' Career Development Quarterly 46 (3): 246-261. Brown, Tim. 2008. 'Design Thinking.' Harvard Business Review June. Brown, Sarah, Aurora Ortiz-Nunez and Karl Taylor. 2011. 'What will I be when I grow up? An analysis of childhood expectations and career outcomes. ' Economics of Education Review 30 (3): 493-506. Ceci, S. J., W. M. Williams and S. M. Barnett. 2009. 'Women's underrepresentation in science: sociocultural and biological considerations. ' Psychol Bull 135 (2): 218-61. Clegg, Sue, Wendy Mayfield and Deborah Trayhurn. 1999. 'Disciplinary Discourses: a case study of gender in information technology and design courses.' Gender & Education 11 (1): 43-55.


Coulangeon, Philippe, Hyacinthe Ravet and Ionela Roharik. 2005. 'Gender differentiated effect of time in performing arts professions: Musicians, actors and dancers in contemporary France.' Poetics 33: 369-387. De Graft-Johnson, Ann, Sandra Manley and Clara Greed. 2003. Why do women leave architecture?. Royal Institute of British Architects. Eccles, J., Adler, T.F., Futterman, R., Goff, S.B., Kaczala, C.M., Meece, J.L., Midgley, C. 1983. 'Expectancies, values and academic behaviors.' In Achievement and achievement motives. Edited by J. Spence, 75–146. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.

Eccles, Jacquelynne. 2009. 'Who Am I and What Am I Going to Do With My Life? Personal and Collective Identities as Motivators of Action. ' Educational Psychologist 44 (2): 78-89. Accessed 2013/06/11. Eccles, Jacquelynne S. and Allan Wigfield. 2002. 'Motivational Beliefs, Values, and Goals. ' Annual Review of Psychology 53 (1): 109-132. Fowler, Bridget and Fiona Wilson. 2004. 'Women Architects and Their Discontents.' Sociology 38 (1): 101-119. Frederickson, Mark Paul. 1993. 'Gender and Racial Bias in Design Juries.' Journal of Architectural Education (1984-) 47 (1): 38-48. Herron, Donna G., Tamara S. Hubbard, Amy E. Kirner, Lynn Newcomb, Michelle Reiser-Memmer, Michael E. Robertson Ii, Matthew W. Smith, Leslie A. Tullio and Jennifer S. Young. 1998. 'The effect of gender on the career advancement of arts.' Journal of Arts Management, Law & Society 28 (1): 27. Hill, Catherine, Christianne Corbett and Andresse St.Rose. 2010. Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: AAUW. http://www.aauw.org/learn/research/whysofew.cfm. ICSID. 2012. 'Definition of design.' http://www.icsid.org/about/about/articles31.htm. Liamputtong, Pranee and Douglas Ezzy. 2005. Qualitative research methods. 2nd ed. South Melbourne, Vic.; New York: Oxford University Press. Liamputtong, Pranee and Douglas Ezzy. 2009. Qualitative research methods. 3rd ed. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press. Robertson, David and Design Institute of Australia. 2013. Australian Design 2013 Issues & Concerns in the Design Professions. Edited by Design Institute of Australia. PN 034 (Issue B), Practice Notes Design - General. Melbourne: Design Institute of Australia. Schmutz, Vaughn and Alison Faupel. 2010. 'Gender and Cultural Consecration in Popular Music. ' Social Forces 89 (2): 685-707.


Tenenbaum, Harriet R. 2009. '"You'd Be Good at That" : Gender Patterns in Parent-Child Talk about Courses.' Social Development 18 (2): 447-463. University of Technology Sydney, The Careers Service. 2009. Creating a Career in Design. Sydney: University of Technology Sydney. Verboord, Marc. 2012. 'Female bestsellers: A cross-national study of gender inequality and the popular-highbrow culture divide in fiction book production, 1960-2009.' European Journal of Communication 27 (4): 395-409. Wang, Ming-Te and Jessica Degol. 2013. 'Motivational pathways to STEM career choices: Using expectancy-value perspective to understand individual and gender differences in STEM fields.' Developmental Review 33 (4): 304-340. Wang, Ming-Te, Jacquelynne S. Eccles and Sarah Kenny. 2013. 'Not Lack of Ability but More Choice: Individual and Gender Differences in Choice of Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.' Psychological Science 24 (5): 770-775. Whitman, Paula. 2005. Going Places. The Career Progression of Women in the Architectual Profession. Findings of a national study examining the careers of women in the architectural profession in Australia. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology. Zwirn, Susan Goetz. 2006. 'Artist or Art Teacher: The Role of Gender in Identity Formation and Career Choice.' Teaching Artist Journal 4 (3): 167-175.

90 Chapter 5: Studying industrial design

Chapter 5: Studying industrial design

STUDYING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCE OF FEMALE STUDENTS

As Figure 5.1 illustrates, this chapter focuses on industrial design education

experiences, exploring how these female designers navigated the design studio and

workshop environment and developed their design skills through problem solving

projects. It directly addresses a key component of the second research aim,

specifically the experience of gaining a design degree.

Figure 5.1 Experience of studying industrial design

It is important to understand that industrial design is a multifaceted discipline with

the designer required to develop solutions to problems and engage with many

professionals involved throughout the whole process of bringing a product to market.

Recently, the international body for industrial design, ICSID, redefined the discipline

in an attempt to encompass and reflect the increasingly complex nature of the

discipline: ‘Industrial design is a strategic problem-solving process applicable to

products, systems, services and experiences, which result in innovation, business

success and a better quality of life’ (ICSID 2015). This research, by exploring the

experience of women in design education, highlights how prepared they are to

embrace the demands of being professional designers. Design education is

Chapter 5: Studying industrial design 91

experienced through a number of environments, with the design studio the primary

place for the development of understanding of the design process and problem

solving methodologies where the context of projects can impact engagement. The

workshop environment can be intimidating, noisy, dirty and often unexpected when

first enrolling in the degree. The making of objects is embedded in the degree so

these young women develop strategies to cope in this foreign space.

Thus, this second paper, Studying industrial design: Exploring the experience of

female students, investigates the design knowledge development of young women

who choose to study industrial design. It provides some critical insight into how

gendered projects and spaces (the workshop) can impact skills development and

engagement by women in the education process.







the editor or publisher of journals or other publications, and (c) the head of the responsible academic unit, and


In the case of chapter 5: Lockhart, C. & Miller, E. 2015. Studying industrial design: Exploring the experience of female students. Industrial Design Educators Network (3): 11 - 25. Contributor Statement of contribution* Catherine Lockhart Chief investigator, significant contribution to the







Studying industrial design: exploring the experience of female students


Introduction

Industrial design focuses on the design of products. The International Council of

Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) defines it as a ‘creative activity whose aim is

to establish the multi-faceted qualities of objects, processes, services and their

systems in whole life cycles’. For those educating the next generation of industrial

designers, the challenge is to find the balance between the teaching of the traditional

foundational design skills and the new, emerging elements and technologies needed

to prepare students for the changing world. These changes are not only technology

focused but include a greater need for the understanding of human interaction

(Buchanan 1998). In Australia, most Industrial Design courses aim to develop design

‘all-rounders’ whose understanding and skills are developed across all roles,

including form giving, materials and production, commercial and user appropriate

designs. The learning environment is the design studio, providing a context and

teaching space for the exploration of the principles, practices and possibilities of

designing. For students to be prepared for the profession, they need to develop ways

to define and resolve different types of design problems that are often ill-defined and

based on real-world problems (Talbot 2007). To date, however, little research has

explored the learning environment for industrial designers. This research addresses

this knowledge gap, focussing on the experience of female students.

We focus on women because, despite a large body of literature documenting

female’s experience in other traditionally male-dominated fields – the STEM fields

of science, technology, engineering and mathematics - little is known about design.

Critically, this STEM research identifies a wide array of psychological, sociocultural,

contextual and biological factors that intertwine to reduce female participation in

STEM educational and career achievement pathways (Ceci, Williams & Barnett

2009; Hill, Corbett & St. Rose 2010; Wang, Eccles & Kenny 2013). To date, little

empirical research has investigated women’s experience in either design education or


the workforce, although significant anecdotal reporting suggests that women are

under-represented in senior leadership roles and at high profile design awards

(Anthony 2001; Fowler & Wilson 2004). In the UK, focussing on one higher

education institution, Clegg, Mayfield and Trayhurn (1999) compared low level of

female engagement in information technology and design courses. They found both

discipline areas had resisted equal opportunity initiatives, suggesting that the

technical competencies required in some design disciplines (specifically the use of a

workshop with tools and machines) led women to be under-represented in ‘hard

design’ areas (e.g., furniture and product design) and over-represented in ‘soft

design’ areas (e.g., fashion and jewellery).

To date, however, despite a few internal university reports (e.g., see Creating a

Career in Design, University of Technology Sydney 2009), academic peer-reviewed

publications documenting why students choose industrial design, their experience of

the course and what happens when they graduate are non-existent. If we are to grow

the industry, it is essential to understand the experience of women in design

education and practice, and identify the key facilitators and barriers to participation.

As is appropriate when knowledge is limited, this research utilised qualitative

methods to generate specific textual descriptions and unique insight into the

experience of nineteen women industrial designers who graduated from a large

Australian university in the past decade. We focus on (a) the impact of gender on

their undergraduate educational experiences and (b) the perceived strengths and

weakness of their industrial design curriculum.

Method

Participants

An exploratory qualitative research approach was utilised, given the very small body

of literature in this space. A phenomenological approach was adopted to better

understand their unique ‘lived experiences’ (Liamputtong & Ezzy 2009, 5), with

standard ethical protocols followed. At the time of interview (in 2011), the

participants ranged in age from 21 to 37, almost all had graduated in the last ten

years and the majority were practising industrial designers.


Procedure In keeping with our qualitative study design, we aimed not for statistical representativeness but rather for a diverse sample of industrial design graduates with knowledge or experience to provide in-depth insight into their educational experience. Non-probability purposive snowball sampling was utilised to identify

and recruit participants, with initial contact through an email list generated from

graduate publications, personal contacts and word of mouth. Potential participants

were emailed an invitation to participate in an in-depth semi-structured face-to-face

interview exploring their personal motivations, experiences and reflections on their

decision to study industrial design and their subsequent career experiences and

choices. Interview questions (pilot tested with three female graduates to ensure

appropriateness) explored their experience of studying industrial design and gaining

employment, based specifically on a three-hurdle model developed by Bruce and

Lewis (1990) to explain the factors influencing career advancement for women:

getting the qualification (hurdle 1), getting the first job (hurdle 2) and becoming a

success (hurdle 3). This paper focuses specifically on the first hurdle, getting the

qualification, and participants’ recollections of their undergraduate educational

experiences in industrial design. At this juncture, it is important to acknowledge the

role and limitations of qualitative research: it does not offer the numbers or causal

prediction of quantitative research, but is about illumination, understanding of issues

and in-depth analysis.

Data Analysis

To ensure participants’ views, experiences and feelings are accurately represented;

all interviews were digitally recorded and then transcribed verbatim into text for

analysis. In order to ensure anonymity, any specific identifying information has been

changed and numbers replace participant’s names. Using a thematic approach, key

themes and patterns were identified in the data. The emerging themes become the

categories for analysis, which are reviewed, refined and named into main themes and

sub-themes through a constant iterative analysis process (Liamputtong & Ezzy

2005). Critically, the themes purposely include multiple excerpts from the raw data,

using the exact words of participants and enabling readers to evaluate our thematic

structures.


Results

Focussing specifically on their experience studying industrial design at university,

the thematic analysis identified three key themes, which will be discussed in turn:

navigating the design studio, learning through making – the design workshop

experience, and design skill development. In reflecting on their undergraduate

educational experiences, this cohort of female industrial design graduates openly

discussed the highlights and lowlights they experienced with indicative quotes also

displayed in Table 5.1 below.

Theme 1: Navigating the design studio

The structure of the course completed by the participants could be regarded as

‘traditional’, where the design learning is predominately offered through the studio.

The studio is driven by project based learning, that facilitates the exploration of

problem solving methodologies and knowledge through the design and realisation of

an artefact (Wormald 2011; Talbot 2007). This realisation can take a variety of

forms, from digital form through to a physical working prototype, with the studio

providing the opportunity to propose different types of problems to students and

potentially catering to different learning styles through the nature of the problems or

projects proposed (Green 2005). In reflecting on their experience navigating the

design studio, the vast majority felt gender was not a major factor in their experience

of the course or how they were treated. However, there was a strong sense that

gendered life experiences and preferences did have some impact, specifically in

terms of the nature of assigned projects and how confident males were with technical

skills. A quarter described how they felt the course (and studio projects) were often

aligned to more masculine interests, such as the design of power tools and cars. They

felt this represented the traditionally male-orientated nature of the course, with one

explaining how ‘I remember thinking throughout the course this is such a masculine

project, I wish I could do something a bit more feminine’ (#3).


Table 5.1 Navigating the design studio as a woman – design skills and the workshop

Design Skill Development Workshop Experience I guess the technical aspects and some of the tutors that we got in for those subjects did seem to have that pre-conceived notion that, ‘Oh, they are a girl, they won't get it anyway’, but I don't think it was, you know, that bad or anything. But, yeah, there definitely was a sort of something .(#11) I think technical drawing and doing basic engineering and there were certain things that I think men are very good at and love detail and love accuracy and stuff like that, or other people - well, I don't. The projects that I was given, or we were given, I was just not interested in. You know, I wasn't interested in drills and stuff like that. So it was hard to motivate myself. That would probably be the biggest hurdle. And understand all the machinery, all the manufacturing. (#9) Projects that we did individually. So things where we're given a briefing, you're supposed to work on it from start to finish by yourself, not in groups or whatever because I still have to get to focus on every aspect of the process whereas if you're doing it in groups, I understand the importance of it but yes, working individually you get to focus on everything. (#3)

Actually when I did enrol, I wasn't expecting workshop. Only when we were doing orientation, Oh, my gosh, there seems to be a lot of machines in here. So I think that shook me and it kind of shook me a bit and that's when I created some sort of bias or some sort of negativity towards that but it changed. (#04) I think a lot of the boys are just more confident in the workshop. You know, if they were a little bit more familiar with the tools and things, they could just get on with the job, rather than having to ask someone or have you shown - I think that was one of might have great weaknesses, was the workshop and model-making. I think that that was probably a weakness in the course, too. (#13) I hated model making, I hated the workshop, I hated the mess, I hated the dirt, I hated the sound but it's an experience that I'm so happy that I had because now I know I should not be doing anything with machines. So it's a learning thing. (#3)

Theme 2: Learning through making - the workshop experience

Despite generally reporting no major issues affecting their participation in the studio

setting, interviewees explained that industrial design has an embedded workshop

culture where students are encouraged to develop their design skills through building

and testing models. The workshop was, at least initially, perceived as a much more

daunting and gendered environment. Interviewees reported feeling that this more

mechanical side of industrial design was often a very gendered experience, with

males just more immediately confident in the workshop, more familiar with the tools

and more able to do things straight-away, essentially because they had more previous

life experience with mechanical stuff. As one participant explained, the course was

not gendered, but different gendered life experience had an impact in the workshop:

Guys were doing this mechanical stuff all their life ... they have been fixing bikes and fixing up the car, they know what this parts do and they know what the basic mechanical terms are. The course itself didn't differentiate female or male, but the knowledge and the kind of


level of understanding that we knew as a female and a male, it was differentiated. (#8)

I think we were all treated the same. The females were in minority, but we - the females - also performed very well in our class. So I never felt, like, we were struggling or that I had to fight for our right to be there or anything. I did feel a little bit probably clumsy in the workshop, but that was maybe just a lack of experience. (#13)

Theme 3: Design skill development – ‘growing in confidence’

The third theme captures how there was a strong sense that males (at least initially)

had a better grasp of the three-dimensional aspects of design and were stronger in

specific technical skills (such as model-making); as one explained, ‘it always felt like

males just got it a bit better, like the 3D Solidworks side of it and the more technical

things’ (#11). Fortunately, the majority of interviewees described how they ‘grew in

confidence’ and developed their technical design skills throughout the course.

I used to cry after those engineering drawing classes I used to be in … I had no idea because I had just never been exposed to anything like that and I suppose I find it incredibly intimidating ... but then because of that I had such a bad time in that class I went home and I really studied so hard at it that I apparently got it and was so proud of myself. It was like ... it was those challenges that really made overcoming those hurdles really made the course, but it was more of a personal thing. I really grew over the time. (#18)

Interviewees had fond memories of the ‘hands-on’ design learning process, valuing

how the course frequently gave them the ‘creativity and given the freedom to

completely look at a project from conception, all the way to obviously design and

manufacturing or at least to think about that’ (#3). They described the significant

learning curve during their ‘major final year project’ - where they had to develop

their own independent project and were ‘on your own, to manage your time by

yourself’ (#12). It was during this process that most realised that they actually had an

aptitude and talent for industrial design, with major project the pinnacle of their

degree. It was extremely challenging and stimulating, and was where they had to

‘consider all facets of the design process and make sure that what you were


designing could actually work in reality. It was really rewarding to actually bring all

those pieces of knowledge together into one project’ (#15). On reflection, the just

over half felt final project choices were critical to shaping their future careers, with

one participant (who did her final year project on footwear) explaining:

A lot of people seemed to think it was exciting and got quite a bit of press from it which was good and then I realised that maybe I did have a little bit of talent, not in terms of shoes or industrial design but I knew what I wanted to do and that if I put my mind to it I could be successful with that and that’s when I thought ... I am still really proud of it ... I think that it also made me realise that with all my hard work and research, I did so, it was really, really good and actually Adidas has subsequently purchased it from me this year, so that was really, so I think I realise that I am good at that kind of research, to develop a product idea stage. (#18)

As a third were now running their own businesses, there was a strong sense that what

was missing from their course was not design skills but the training in the skills of

small business management and entrepreneurship, specifically how to set up and

manage a small business.

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first Australian study investigating women’s

experience of studying industrial design at university. These findings highlight the

critical role of the educational experience in developing the skills base and

confidence of female designers, enhancing our understanding of the factors that best

promote their sustained engagement with the field, as well as the limitations,

constraints and implications for higher education. Critically, these female industrial

design graduates have provided unique feedback about their positive and negative

experiences, with their feedback providing significant insight that may help inform

curriculum change.

The aim of industrial design higher education is the development of graduates who

are flexible, adaptable with developed problem solving and design thinking skills -

although these are not always recognised by the graduate (Ball 2002). The design

studio is used as the place to explore and develop these principles, practices and

possibilities of designing, through the setting of projects or design problems (Talbot


2007). In the early years of study/education, the context of the project may be quite

narrow, in order to encourage greater depth of understanding of particular issues.

Critically, however, this research highlights how a quarter of female students recalled

project choices as being quite gendered, which hindered their engagement with the

course. They described how a focus on masculine-orientated projects – such as car or

tool design - negatively impacted their study experience. Such findings remind

design teaching staff that it is important to ensure that the selected projects appeal to

all students – regardless of differences in gender, ethnicity or age. As Yang, You and

Chen (2005) argue, providing choice within the studio project is ideal as it allows the

student to self-direct their learning and there is greater opportunity for deeper

engagement and satisfaction.

The final year of the course is focussed on the development of a professional

awareness and aims to model the types of issues and projects that may be

encountered when working as a designer. The students are required to engage in

significant research as foundation to a well-resolved design problem. The final

project provides a demonstration of the knowledge and methods developed over the

course of their study (Green 2005). This final year project was identified by just over

half as being the project of greatest impact and of significance in starting their design

career. Most described how they greatly enjoyed this, noting how it shaped their

future career focus and helped ensure they were confident in their design skills.

Consistently with several other studies, however, these women designers felt that

they lacked confidence in the skills of business, specifically how to set up and

manage a small business (Ball 2002; Lewis & Bonollo 2002; Yang, You & Chen

2005). The reality is that – as there are relatively few design-specific jobs in

Australia – many design graduates will set up their own business at some stage in

their career; indeed, of this cohort, a third reported running their own design related

business at the time of interview. Thus, this research highlights a critical weakness of

the ID course curriculum, in that small business management skills (e.g., accounting,

marketing, management, entrepreneurship) have not traditionally been a major focus

of the course.

One recent Australian study of built environment and design students, focused on

understanding the transition-to-work phase of new graduates and identified similar


issues (Savage, Davis & Miller 2009). It evaluated this transition to work phase with

three major stakeholders: students, academics and industry professionals (i.e.,

employers), and found that both industry professionals and final year students agreed

that the university was not doing enough to ensure that graduates developed

appropriate lifelong learning skills that would allow them to pursue varied career

paths. Similarly, this research found that many of these female designers also felt ill-

prepared for the workforce on graduation. Whilst this feeling is quite common

amongst new graduates, it highlights an opportunity for higher education to reinforce

to students that their skills and abilities, are relevant in a work or professional

environment.

In conclusion, the limitations of this qualitative study must be acknowledged. First,

the sample size is relatively small and specialised, restricted to female graduates

from one Australian university over the past decade. Second, an industrial design

educator who taught these students carried out the interview, which may have

prohibited them from fully critiquing aspects of the course or university. Third, all

that were interviewed were working as designers and those who have changed

discipline area may not have responded due to the awkwardness of the change of

career direction. Despite these limitations, as very little research to date has explicitly

explored the industrial design educational experience (especially from the

perspective of women) this study makes a significant contribution to knowledge. Our

hope is that these findings will help inform industrial design educators, shape future

curriculum change and encourage further focus on the experience of women studying

design.

References

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working in the creative industries: a new model for work.’ Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education 1 (1): 10.

Bruce, Margaret and Jenny Lewis. 1990. ‘Women designers - is there a gender trap?’

Design Studies 11 (2): 114-120.


Buchanan, Richard. 1998. ‘Education and Professional Practice in Design.’ Design Issues 14 (2): 63-66.

Ceci, S. J., W. M. Williams and S. M. Barnett. 2009. ‘Women's underrepresentation

in science: sociocultural and biological considerations.’ Psychol Bull 135 (2): 218-61.

Clegg, Sue, Wendy Mayfield and Deborah Trayhurn. 1999. ‘Disciplinary Discourses:

a case study of gender in information technology and design courses.’ Gender & Education 11 (1): 43-55.

Fowler, Bridget and Fiona Wilson. 2004. ‘Women Architects and Their Discontents.’

Sociology 38 (1): 101-119. Green, Lance N. 2005. ‘A study of the design studio in relation to the teaching of

industrial and product design.’ PhD thesis, Canberra. Hill, Catherine, Christianne Corbett and Andresse St.Rose. 2010. Why So Few?

Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: AAUW.

International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. 2015. ‘Definition of

Industrial Design.’ Accessed 4 Nov 2015. http://www.icsid.org/about/about/articles31.htm.

Lewis, W. P. and E. Bonollo. 2002. ‘An analysis of professional skills in design:

implications for education and research.’ Design Studies 23 (4): 385-406. Liamputtong, Pranee and Douglas Ezzy. 2005. Qualitative research methods. 2nd ed.

South Melbourne, Vic.; New York: Oxford University Press. Liamputtong, Pranee and Douglas Ezzy. 2009. Qualitative research methods. 3rd ed.

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press. Savage, Susan M, Rebekah M Davis and Evonne Miller. 2009. ‘Exploring graduate

transition from university to workplace: employer, academic and graduate perspectives.’ Paper presented at the 34th AUBEA Annual Conference: Managing change - challenges in education and construction for the 21st century, Barossa Valley, South Australia. UniSA - AUBEA.

Talbot, Jonathan. 2007. ‘Collaborative and multidisciplinary designing:

contemporary challenges for design studion teaching.’ Paper presented at the Connected 2007 International conference on design education, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

University of Technology Sydney, The Careers Service. 2009. Creating a Career in

Design. Sydney: University of Technology Sydney. Wang, Ming-Te, Jacquelynne S. Eccles and Sarah Kenny. 2013. ‘Not Lack of Ability

but More Choice: Individual and Gender Differences in Choice of Careers in


Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.’ Psychological Science 24 (5): 770-775.

Wormald, Paul. 2011. ‘Positioning industrial design students to operate at the “fuzzy

front end”: investigating a new arena of university design education.’ International Journal of Technology & Design Education 21 (4): 425-447.

Yang, Ming-Ying, Manlai You and Fei-Chuan Chen. 2005. ‘Competencies and

qualifications for industrial design jobs: implications for design practice, education, and student career guidance.’ Design Studies 26 (2): 155-189.

Chapter 6: Reflecting on design education 105

Chapter 6: Reflecting on design education

WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN EDUCATION: WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN’T AND WHERE TO IN THE FUTURE

As Figure 6.1 illustrates, this chapter focuses on industrial design education,

reflecting on the experiences of female designers and evaluating what worked for

them and what didn’t. It continues to inform the second research aim, specifically the

experience of gaining a design degree and how well they are prepared for a career in

industrial design.

Figure 6.1 Influence of design education

To suitably prepare these young women for the design workforce it is important to

understand the workplace environment and industries’ expected capabilities. As the

graduates’ destination is unknown and the profession so diverse, the course aims to

produce new graduates who are creative, flexible, critical thinkers, and who have an

all-round understanding of materials and manufacturing techniques and design

communication skills of drawing, CAD and model making. However, this approach

can leave new graduates feeling ill-prepared for many positions, especially if they

have not undertaken any work experience during study to develop an understanding

of industry expectations. The final major design project, if specifically directed, can

106 Chapter 6: Reflecting on design education

assist the student in understanding these expectations and starting to build industry

networks. Further, due to the nature of the discipline, many find self-employment

appealing although they reflect that the course did not provide them with the basic

requirements of running a small business.

Thus, this third paper, Women’s experience of industrial design education: what

worked, what didn’t and where to in the future, investigates how the design

knowledge developed by these young women translates into employment and how

confident they are of their ability to work in the profession. It provides some critical

insight into the need for educators to be explicit about course graduate attributes and

how they are communicated to both graduates and employers.









In the case of chapter 6: Lockhart, C. & Miller, E. 2015, 'Women's experience of industrial design

education: what worked, what didn't and where to in the future', paper presented to the ACUADS Conference 2014: The future of the discipline, Melbourne Victoria, 2 - 3 October 2014.

Contributor Statement of contribution* Catherine Lockhart Chief investigator, significant contribution to the







WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN EDUCATION:

WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN’T AND WHERE TO IN THE FUTURE


Key words – Female design graduates, Design careers This paper addresses an acknowledged but seldom discussed concern: the

participation and representation (or not) of women in design courses and the wider

industry. Over the past decade, the proportion of women engaging in design tertiary

education has increased significantly, rising in an environment that has historically

been inundated with male students. For example, university enrolment statistics show

that women now typically compromise approximately a third to half of the design

student population. Yet despite these positive gains, women are not represented more

widely in the profession. In Australia, anecdotal evidence suggests that women

remain underrepresented in both senior leadership roles and in local, state or

distinguished national design awards (Anthony 2001; Fowler & Wilson 2004).

This gender distinction in terms of career progression and visibility is evident in the

architecture professional accreditation process: recent statistics show women

comprised 43% of architecture students in Australia, yet registered architects in each

state varied from 12-18%, with only one per cent of directors at architectural firms

(Whitman 2005). Similar statistics have been documented overseas, including the

United Kingdom where women comprise 38% of students yet comprise only 13% of

practising architects and 22% of teaching staff (De Graft-Johnson, Manley & Greed

2003). Whilst professional registration is not the only indicator of career success, and

is not a requirement for other design disciplines, it highlights a gendered difference

between educational training and career opportunities for female designers. The

unanswered question that remains is where are these women? Are they working in

other industries? Is our education system failing female designers? Is it the

workplace? Or is the underlying culture of design, building and manufacturing not

alluring or inviting to women? This paper begins to address these questions,

focussing on exploring the educational experience and perspectives of female

designers, utilising the discipline of industrial design as a case study.


Exploring the experience of studying industrial design at university

Industrial design is a relatively new discipline that focuses on the design of products,

best defined as a ‘creative activity whose aim is to establish the multi-faceted

qualities of objects, processes, services and their systems in whole life cycles’

(International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, (ICSID 2012). For industrial

design educators, designing the curriculum is a challenging task as they seek to

balance teaching traditional foundational design skills as well as the new/emerging

skills required for a twenty-first century workplace. This rapidly changing work

environment emphasises the importance of multidisciplinary ‘design thinking’, of

considering sustainability and climate change at all stages of the design processes, of

anticipating the impact of government policies, regulations and changing consumer

expectations, and of actively engaging with existing and emergent technologies (Ball

2002; Bridgstock 2013; Buchanan 1998; Savage, Davis & Miller 2009). The

education of a creative, flexible and effective designer is an important goal for being

‘work ready’ in this changing environment, yet research shows that students,

educators and the design profession may differ in what technical and social skills

they prioritise.

In a recent Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funded project

exploring Professional Education in Built Environment and Design, Savage, Davis

and Miller (2009) explored what key design stakeholders (professionals, academics

and students) thought about current design education and identified any gaps

between academic and practice-based knowledge/experience and understanding. The

project included a range of built environment and design disciplines – including

industrial design, architecture, civil engineering and urban planning – who variously

participated in workshop (n=35), focus groups (n=22) and an online survey (n=148).

The focus group data showed that the three stakeholders - professionals, academics

and students (final year and recent graduates) held different views about the key

challenges facing the industry. Students emphasised the challenges of getting their

first job, as well as the importance of interpersonal social and communication skills.

Academics - the educators - focused on the negative impact of the global economic

crisis and how their role was to prepare graduates for life beyond university, by

building transferable skills such as critical thinking and lifelong learning. On the


other hand, professionals - the employers - focussed on the abilities (or not) of new

graduates and the need for them to be critical thinkers, aware of sustainability

imperatives and proficient in specific technological programs. In reflecting on the

critical transition-to-work from university phase, both professionals and students felt

educators were not doing enough to prepare students.

As the ways of defining business and industries change, understanding how and

where the designer fits – and what skills are most valuable - is a critically important

task for educators. In Australia, most industrial design courses aim to develop design

‘all-rounders’; this means that their understanding and skills are developed across all

roles including form giving, materials and production, commercial and user

appropriate designs. The key-learning environment, unique to design disciplines, is

the design studio that provides a safe place to explore the principles, practices and

possibilities of designing. The reality is that, to adequately prepare students for the

profession, they need experience resolving different types of design problems that

are frequently based on real-world problems and poorly defined (Talbot 2007). Yet,

to date, relatively little research has explored the design studio learning experience

for industrial designers. Interestingly, three decades ago, Frederickson (1993) utilised

video recordings of 112 juries (commonly used for assessment and feedback in

architecture) and a survey to evaluate any gender-differentiated experiences in three

design schools in the USA. He found female students were interrupted significantly

more often during their presentations than their male colleagues and thus felt less

confident to defend their designs to criticism; when on the jury, female members

spoke less and provided less feedback and discussion when they were in the minority

on the panel.

While it is unlikely that such strongly gendered findings would be present in

contemporary design studios, the reality is that no research has explored this

question. Despite a large body of literature documenting how psychological,

sociocultural, contextual and biological factors intertwine to reduce female

participation in the traditionally male-dominated STEM (science, technology,

engineering and mathematics) (Ceci, Williams & Barnett 2009; Hill, Corbett &

St.Rose 2010; Wang, Eccles & Kenny 2013) fields, only a handful of studies have

investigated the experience of women in design. Over a decade ago, Clegg, Mayfield


and Trayhurn (1999) investigated reasons for low level of female engagement in

information technology and design courses at one UK university. Despite multiple

equal opportunity initiatives, women remained underrepresented; Clegg et al. argued

that potentially the technical competencies required in design disciplines led women

to be over-represented in ‘soft design’ areas (e.g., fashion and jewellery) and under-

represented in ‘hard design’ areas that required the use of a workshop with tools and

machines (e.g., furniture and product design).

Aside from a few internal university reports (e.g., see Creating a Career in Design,

University of Technology Sydney 2009), academic peer-reviewed publications

documenting students’ experience of studying design at university remain non-

existent. If we are to grow the industry, we must better understand the experience of

design education (and practice), and identify the key facilitators and barriers to

women’s participation. Given this knowledge gap, this paper – drawing on in-depth

qualitative interviews with nineteen female industrial designers who completed their

degree at one Australian university - has two key aims. The first aim is to identify

what these students perceived as the highlights and lowlights of their educational

experience, specifically focussing on their experience in the design studio, with

assessments and fellow-students and identifying their recommendations for change.

An important focus is to identify any gendered aspects of their educational

experience. The second aim is to investigate how well (or not) these students felt

their design education prepared them for the workplace and identify any evidence-

based recommendations to help design educators with the process of future

curriculum change.

Method

Design and Sample

As literature exploring the experiences of women in industrial design is virtually

non-existent, an exploratory qualitative research approach was adopted. We used a

phenomenological approach, so as to better understand the unique ‘lived

experiences’ of women in industrial design (Liamputtong & Ezzy 2009, 5). Ethical

approval was received from the university, with best practice ethical protocols

followed. Socio-demographic characteristics of the nineteen participants are depicted


in Table 6.1. Almost all (n=18) had graduated in the last ten years (when the course

was approximately 41% female) and most (74%) were currently practicing industrial

designers. At the time of interview, in 2011, they ranged in age from 21 to 37 years. Table 6.1 Participants’ socio-demographic profile

Procedure

A non-probability purposive snowball sampling approach was utilised to identify and

recruit participants. Utilising graduate publications, personal contacts and word of

mouth, potential participants were emailed an invitation to participate in an in-depth

semi-structured face-to-face interview about their decision to study industrial design,

experience at university and in the workplace. Interview questions (pilot tested with

three female graduates to ensure appropriateness) were based around a three-hurdle

model developed by Bruce and Lewis (1990) to explain the factors influencing career

advancement for women: getting the qualification (hurdle 1), getting the first job

(hurdle 2) and becoming a success (hurdle 3). This paper focuses specifically on

participants’ recollections of their undergraduate educational experiences in

industrial design (the first hurdle - getting the qualification).

All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim into text, with

numbers replacing participant’s names and specific identifying information changed


to maintain anonymity. A thematic approach was utilised to analyse the data, with

key themes and patterns identified in the data through an iterative process of reading

and re-reading the transcripts to identify common and contrasting themes

(Liamputtong & Ezzy 2005). This paper focuses specifically on one dimension of the

data, their evaluation of the strengths and weakness of their industrial design

educational experience (for other analyses of this dataset, see (Lockhart & Miller

2014, 2015a).

Results

The analysis revealed that being a designer, and studying design at university, could

be a gendered experience. Participants openly discussed the highlights and lowlights

of their educational experience, emphasising the importance of developing

professional capabilities beyond the basic design skillset (for example,

entrepreneurship and skills in small business management). Although they felt

gender was not a major factor in their experience, they recalled how simple things

could negatively impact on their educational engagement and participation. For

example, describing how assessment items often-focussed on masculine topics (e.g.,

redesign a car related product or tool) and the workshop environment was

intimidating at first. As one explained, ‘I remember thinking throughout the course

this is such a masculine project, I wish I could do something a bit more feminine’

(#3).

Course evaluation – strengths and weakness of the industrial design curriculum

As the quotes in Table 6.2 illustrate, they typically praised the breadth of the course

(covering the wide range of skills needed to be a practising industrial designer), the

focus on planning and group work (which encouraged creativity through

collaboration), and the importance of the ability to select and focus on a specific

major project in their final year.

I think it delivered what it could. It gave you the skills to do research, to approach people, to find out about materials. It at least taught you which questions you need to ask, at least at the base level. I think design is such a complex industry, that there is so much on the job learning, a design course couldn’t possibly teach you everything you needed to know. And it’s quite industry specific too, depending on where you end up. (#15)


The complexity of the discipline requires students to understand issues varying from

mechanics; material science, manufacturing and marketing are often treated more

discreetly throughout the course to allow the students a greater depth of

understanding. The importance of the major project in the final year is highlighted as

the opportunity to bring together all these elements and to demonstrate their

knowledge developed over the course. This can be haphazard and is dependent on

the student’s own choice of topic of research and their ability to develop a design

brief that provides the opportunity for the demonstration of their knowledge.

Criticisms of the course centred on being employable and ‘work-ready”, with several

identifying a need for more training in marketing, management, budgeting and

running a small business as that is what many designers have to do given the

relatively small design job market in Australia.

Table 6.2 The industrial design course – perceived strengths and weakness

Strengths Weaknesses Probably how broad it was, in that I felt like I got a really broad set of skills, both computer skills and 3D skills and model making, sketching and all that sort of stuff. I really like all the hands-on aspect. I really enjoyed model making. (#11) I liked the project work. I thought it was - yeah, I thought it was really good, working on assignments rather than exams. Like, the group work was really good and that was probably one of the, I guess, highlights (#12) I really like the hands-on nature of design and I think maybe that was something I was missing in my former career. (#15) I think it was generally the learning of the mindset. I remember when we did the orientation week, they said, ‘By the time you finish this course, every door handle you door, every light switch you flick, every job you pick up, you will think “I know how that was made, how much it cost, where it was made, who made it, blah, blah, blah,”’and I thought, ‘surely not,’ but it's true. (#06) I think I learnt planning because the first couple years of the course I found that if you

Negatives? I probably could have helped doing a bit more work experience, I think. I found when I got my first job I was chucked in the deep end and it's - I mean, you always learn on the job but maybe just a bit more. (#12) I feel like I came out of uni not ready or not prepared for a job. I think that was probably the most negative thing; that I came out on top of the world and feeling like I was ready to get into things, but I wasn't - I didn't have the skills to get a graduate job. (#13) Negative? I think in hindsight I would have liked to learn more about running your own business. There's only a few consultancies around and obviously because of the demand in the market only those few survive, however many graduates start up their own business. Rather than working for someone, if you have more tools to work for yourself and know how to do that kind of stuff. (#4) I think now there's more opportunities to do work placement as well because we didn't really have that. So if there's more opportunities to do that, that would be good. Sort of get your foot in the door as well. I


have to print something or a model made or anything can go wrong in that process and a million things can and will go wrong, the printer you will have the wrong file type or your model won’t dry in time and so I learnt kind of to really pre-plan everything and put in false deadlines before the actual deadlines, so that’s probably a pretty important lesson. (#17) I think the most important thing was learning to work with other peers in my group and listen to all their opinions and that sort of stuff and how they approached their problems and how we could sit down together and actually discuss different points of view on how to solve a problem. (#18)

think that would be better. (#2) I find that time constraints are very airy-fairy and budgeting to them is something they've never considered. When we say this is a project, you have creative control but this must be done in this amount of time to this budget, they're like well, what's that, what does that mean? So I don't think they're prepared for a real job. (#3) Oh, good question (laughs). I think - oh, I mean, I would like to say I wish there was more work experience, but then you can't learn what you learn in a workplace. That's the thing. I mean, I think it taught you the basic skills for you to build upon as you started work, yeah. (#12)

Discussion

This paper investigates the educational experience and perspectives of female

designers, who comprise nearly a half of the industrial design student population at

university, yet remain underrepresented in leadership roles in practice. Fortunately,

most did not think gender was a major factor in their experience of the course or how

they were treated, although there was a sense that gendered life experiences and

preferences had an impact (for example, making males more confident with technical

skills and in the workshop). This research illustrates how that the course does

provide students with a good ‘all-round’ foundation in the development of design

thinking and methodologies illustrated by the various creative career paths taken.

The emphasis on design process and conscious problem solving methodologies in the

studio context helped foster this process although perhaps not identified explicitly by

the students. An interesting finding was that these female designers did not fully

appreciate how their choice of final project was shaping the direction of their future

careers. Green and Bonollo (Green & Bonollo 2003) have proposed the taking of a

more systematic approach to the identification and development of this project would

ensure a more consistent outcome and deeper understanding.

The physical making of objects in a workshop environment, although initially

intimidating provided many with the understanding of making objects and the

confidence to eventually transfer those skills to the production of their own designs


under their own name and take them to the market. Consistently with several other

studies, however, these women designers felt that they lacked confidence in the skills

of business, specifically how to set up and manage a small business (Ball 2002;

Lewis & Bonollo 2002; Yang, You & Chen 2005). Upon graduation many also

reflected on how they felt underprepared for the demands of the ‘real world’ and had

trouble identifying how to transfer their skills to this new context. This highlights

how the student needs help to develop the understanding, attributes and qualities

needed to initiate their career. Confidence in their work-ready skills can be assisted

through the inclusion of industry linked live projects, work experience from early

stages of the course and exhibitions of their work included in the curriculum (Ball

2002; Bridgstock 2013; Haukka 2011).

Curriculum developers need to be aware of the changes to design industry work

environments and expectations by working with industry to be able to better prepare

graduates although the pace of change may make it difficult to be addressed due to

course cycles and scale of change. Through closer links with industry employers the

often-negative perceptions of recent graduates skills can further be changed (Yang,

You & Chen 2005; Wormald 2011; Haukka 2011). The incorporation of new

thinking and methods is perhaps larger than one discipline and at one university this

is being offered as an adjunct degree and treated in a multi-disciplinary manner such

as a Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation. Clearer pathways in electives

may further diversify the education and how it could be utilised to develop a business

focus understanding the high number of graduates within design and the creative

industries that do enter self-employment at some time in their careers (Ball 2002).

In conclusion, this study highlights the positive experiences of skill development in

the design studio may require explicit discussion with students of their competencies

and how they can develop a sustainable design career.

References

Anthony, Kathryn H. 2001. Designing for diversity: gender, race, and ethnicity in the architectural profession. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.


Ball, Linda. 2002. 'Preparing graduates in art and design to meet the challenges of working in the creative industries: a new model for work.' Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education 1 (1):10.

Bridgstock, Ruth. 2013. 'Professional Capabilities for Twenty-First Century Creative

Careers: Lessons from Outstandingly Successful Australian Artists and Designers.' International Journal of Art & Design Education 32 (2): 176-89.

Bruce, Margaret and Jenny Lewis. 1990. 'Women designers - is there a gender trap?'

Design Studies, 11 (2): 114-20. Buchanan, Richard. 1998. 'Education and Professional Practice in Design.' Design

Issues 14 (2): 63-6. Ceci, S. J., W. M. Williams and S. M. Barnett. 2009. 'Women's underrepresentation

in science: sociocultural and biological considerations. ' Psychol Bull 135 (2): 218-61.

Clegg, Sue, Wendy Mayfield, W. and Deborah Trayhurn. 1999. 'Disciplinary

Discourses: a case study of gender in information technology and design courses.' Gender & Education 11 (1): 43-55.

De Graft-Johnson, Ann, Sandra Manley and Clara Greed. 2003. Why do women leave

architecture? Royal Institute of British Architects. Fowler, Bridget and Fiona Wilson,. 2004. 'Women Architects and Their Discontents.'

Sociology 38 (1): 101-19. Frederickson, Mark Paul. 1993. 'Gender and Racial Bias in Design Juries.' Journal of

Architectural Education (1984-) 47 (1): 38-48. Green, Lance N. and Elivio Bonollo. 2003. 'Studio-based teaching: history and

advantages in the teaching of design.' World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education 2 (2): 269-72.

Haukka, Sandra. 2011. 'Education-to-work transitions of aspiring creatives.' Cultural

Trends 20 (1): 41-64. Hill, Catherine, Christianne Corbett and Andresse St.Rose. 2010. Why So Few?

Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: AAUW.

International Council of Societies of Industrial Design 2012. Definition of design.

International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, 2012, <http://www.icsid.org/about/about/articles31.htm%3E.

Lewis, W.P. and E. Bonollo. 2002. 'An analysis of professional skills in design:

implications for education and research.' Design Studies 23 (4): 385-406.


Liamputtong, Pranee and Douglas Ezzy. 2005. Qualitative research methods. 2nd edn. South Melbourne, Vic.; New York: Oxford University Press.

Liamputtong, Pranee and Douglas Ezzy. 2009. Qualitative research methods. 3rd

edn. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. Lockhart, Cathy and Evonne Miller. 2014a. 'Destined to Design? How and why

Australian women choose to study industrial design' The Internation Journal of Art & Design Education, in press.

Lockhart, Cathy & Evonne Miller. 2015. 'Studying industrial design: Exploring the

experience of female students.' Industrial Design Educators Network 3: 11 - 25.

Savage, Susan M., Rebekah M. Davis and Evonne Miller. 2009 'Exploring graduate

transition from university to workplace: employer, academic and graduate perspectives.' paper presented to the 34th AUBEA Annual Conference: Managing change - challenges in education and construction for the 21st century. Barossa Valley, South Australia.

Talbot, Jonathan. 2007. 'Collaborative and multidisciplinary designing:

contemporary challenges for design studion teaching.', paper presented to the Connected 2007 International conference on design education. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

University of Technology Sydney,The Careers Service. 2009. Creating a career in

Design. Sydney: University of Technology Sydney. Wang, Ming-Te, Jacquelynne S. Eccles and Sarah Kenny. 2013. 'Not Lack of Ability

but More Choice: Individual and Gender Differences in Choice of Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.' Psychological Science 24 (5): 770-775.

Whitman, Paula. 2005. Going Places. The Career Progression of Women in the

Architectual Profession. Findings of a national study examining the careers of women in the architectural profession in Australia. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology.

Wormald, Paul. 2011. 'Positioning industrial design students to operate at the "fuzzy

front end": investigating a new arena of university design education.' International Journal of Technology & Design Education 21 (4): 425-47.

Yang, Ming-Ying, ManlaiYou and Fei-Chuan Chen. 2005. 'Competencies and

qualifications for industrial design jobs: implications for design practice, education, and student career guidance.' Design Studies 26 (2): 155-89.

Chapter 7: Succeeding in the workplace 119

Chapter 7: Succeeding in the workplace

HOW DO WOMEN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS SUCCEED IN THE WORKPLACE? GETTING IN AND GETTING ON

The previous papers have focused on women’s experience of hurdle one (the

completion of a design degree), with this final paper exploring hurdles two and three:

getting a design job and becoming a success (see Figure 7.1 below).

Figure 7.1 Elements for success in design

These female designers recalled how securing their first job after graduating

university was challenging, with the majority drawing on their networks and

networking (particularly those developed through their final year self-directed major

project). There was a sense that, in comparison to their male counterparts, potential

employers scrutinised these women more negatively and appear to evaluate their

work differently. Once in the workplace, half perceived there was a ‘glass ceiling’ in

their workplace, describing sexism, male gate-keeping and stereotypical perceptions

of their skills and abilities. As one explained, ‘I think you have got to be quite

strong, because I found it's a massive boys' club.’

120 Chapter 7: Succeeding in the workplace

Many of these women found that the norms, standards and expectations of the

contemporary workplace did not match their lifestyle expectations or desire for

flexible hours (especially those who had families). Nearly half (42%) embraced their

entrepreneurial spirit and creative passion and to start their own design businesses -

designing, manufacturing and marketing a diverse range of products, including

jewellery, accessories, eyewear, headphones, footwear, furniture and lighting. These

women were redefining success, outside the contemporary workplace. Thus, this

paper identifies a new additional fourth hurdle, named: Redefining Success.









In the case of chapter 7: as per QUT guidelines this paper is unpublished, it is under review having been submitted to Design Studies, The Interdisciplinary Journal of Design Research. Lockhart, C. & Miller, E., ‘How do women designers succeed in the workplace? Getting in and getting on’ Contributor Statement of contribution* Catherine Lockhart Chief investigator, significant contribution to the






QUT Verified Signature


How do women industrial designers succeed in the workplace?

Getting in and getting on


Abstract

In Australia, despite comprising half of the design student population, women remain

under-represented in the design world and rarely hold senior leadership roles or win

high profile design awards. This qualitative research, focussing on the workplace

experience of nineteen female industrial designers, explores how these women

achieve success and the facilitators and barriers. Overall, success was defined as

happiness, work-life balance and enjoyment and engagement with the design

process; impact was also important, with one defining success as seeing a stranger

using a product she had designed. Most found the industry to be male dominated and

(1) struggled to secure their first job, (2) explaining the challenge of learning specific

software programs and then (3) developing the confidence and courage to actively

contribute design ideas. A variety of different strategies was utilised to secure their

first job, contacts, mentors and role models later empowering over half to develop

their own design start-ups. The decision to become an entrepreneur was a conscious

choice, enabling these women to follow their design passion with more flexible,

parenting-friendly hours. As one of the first studies to explore women designers’

experiences in the workplace, this qualitative research provides some nuanced

insights into how these women navigated entrenched gender stereotypes and

traditionally masculine workplace norms. The findings suggest the need for more

radical approaches to facilitating women’s recruitment, retention, and progression so

they can rise to the highest levels of the Australian design world.

Key words: industrial design, gender, career, career development planning, success


Despite comprising half of the design student population at university, women

remain under-represented in the design world and rarely hold senior leadership roles

or win high profile local, state or national design awards (Fowler & Wilson 2012;

Anthony 2001; Roan & Stead 2012). This gender inequality in career progression

and visibility is illustrated very clearly in the architecture professional accreditation

process: women comprise almost half (44%) of architecture students in Australia, yet

only one per cent are directors at architectural firms and less than a fifth (ranging

from 16-25% in each state) are actually registered architects (Matthewson 2012).

Similar statistics are reported internationally, in both the United States (45% of

degrees, 25% of working architects; US Department of Labor, 2008) and Spain (57%

of first year architecture students, 29% professional membership; Sanchez de

Madariaga 2010). In the last decade, despite an approximately equal gender

distribution among graduates from design disciplines, there remains an under-

representation of women actually working in the field. This disparity raises an

obvious question, specifically addressed by this research: what happens to these

bright young women when they leave university and try to enter the design

workforce? Where are they in the workforce and why they not represented and

especially at the higher echelons of the profession? This qualitative research explores

these questions, focussing on the experience of female industrial designers in

Australia.

Women in Design

Design is best defined as the adaptive creative process encompassing the material

world in all its complexity: objects, material culture, embodied practices, ways of

thinking and interconnected systems (Adams Stein 2014). To date, little empirical

research has investigated women’s experience in either design education or the

workforce, although significant anecdotal reporting suggests that women are under-

represented in senior leadership roles and at high profile design awards (Anthony

2001; Fowler & Wilson 2004; Fowler & Wilson 2012). As there is no published

research relating directly to the focus area of this research, women in

industrial/product design, looking to other design discipline areas (where women are

also in the minority) provides some initial insight into the potential issues and

barriers for female industrial designers.


A handful of studies have begun to look at the engagement of women in the

architecture profession, which is renowned for supporting a highly male-dominated

work environment and gendered professional culture. This small body of emergent

research identifies the aggressive, competitive and masculine work environment as

alienating women from the practice of architecture, explaining how most universities

report that more women than men have graduated in architecture, yet these graduates

are not present in the profession (Roan & Stead 2012; Sanchez de Madariaga 2010;

Department of Labor 2008; Whitman 2005). Initial findings from the UK Women in

Architecture Survey (Waite & Corvin 2012) highlights the concerns of women

architects. The majority of respondents, 73% of over 500, claimed to have

experienced or witnessed sex discrimination during their career in architecture and

ten per cent reported they directly suffer from discrimination at least weekly. Nearly

half believed they would be paid more if they were male (48%) and that men get paid

more for doing the same job (46%).

This emergent body of research has identified that gender barriers exist both within

architecture firms and also in the wider working environment of clients, construction

sites and workforce. In the first comparative cross-national study of architects in

three European countries (the UK, Spain and France), Caven, Navarro-Astor and

Diop (2012) interviewed 66 women architects. Overall, there was a sense of

‘resigned accommodation’ amongst these female architects, who described how they

had little knowledge or understanding of the masculine work environment prior to

entering it. University education left them ill equipped for site-based work, and they

developed strategies such as the use of humour and emphasising their ‘otherness’ to

build their professional standing and highlight the value of their different skills

(specifically, better communication, complaining less and creating fewer problems).

There was a sense that these positive attributes hindered their advancement as they

‘just get on with the job’. Caven et al. noted the impact of different political, social

and economic systems, with Spanish women reporting more overt discrimination,

and UK and French women adopting more ‘usurpatory’ strategies, such as utilising

their difference and minority status.


Indeed, in a qualitative study of Spanish architects, Sánchez de Madariaga (2010)

concluded that structural practices within the field restrict women’s participation; she

explained that women often opt out of the profession as they choose to prioritise

personal and family life over long and stressful hours in a very aggressive and male-

dominated environment. Given the social and personal costs for such an uncertain

payoff, some women decide that the sacrifice is not worth it. Sánchez de Madariaga

argues that there is a need for an alternative model that restructures the standards and

norms within the architecture profession to allow ‘a woman to be assertive and

ambitious without her being labelled as an evil or hysterical bitch’ (2010, 215). Also

in Spain, Navarro-Astor and Caven conducted in-depth biographical interviews with

38 architects (20 men and 18 women) to explore and better understand their working

lives. Like architects everywhere, ‘Spanish architects obtain intrinsic rewards from

the creative aspects of their work. Stress factors are also common and relate to time

pressures, long work hours and work-life balance’ (2012, 585). Notably, although not

explicitly exploring gender issues, they found that women architects would

spontaneously described how their male employers supported traditional gender roles

and were ‘discriminatory and paternalistic’ (2012, 583).

Utilising a career life history approach, Caven (2006) investigated the working

patterns of 37 British women architects. She found that the time commitment (five

plus years at university) required to become an architect was a strong motivation for

them to maintain a professional identity, with her participants explaining that non-

standard forms of working, increased autonomy, and flexibility were useful ways to

help maintain women architects in the profession. Yet research in the closely-related

field of construction has described the workplace climate as inhospitable,

competitive and conflict-ridden for women, who commonly reported experiencing

sexual harassment and discrimination because they felt colleagues and clients do not

take female construction managers seriously (Gale 1994; Graham & Hotchkiss

2003). Nearly a decade ago, De Graft-Johnson, Manley and Greed (2005) explicitly

explored why women left architecture through an expert advisory group, a web-

based questionnaire and interviews with eleven women who had left. Their research

did not identify one definitive reason motivating women to leave the profession, but

rather pointed to a range of factors including low pay, limited promotion

opportunities and the masculine workplace culture. Architecture was described as


having a very macho work environment typified by discriminatory and sexist

behaviour, especially after taking maternity leave when women were seen as ‘not

committed to architecture’ (2005, 1037). Sexist language and culture dominated,

with some women describing how client entertainment often included visits to strip

clubs. Women also described being side-lined professionally, as they were not given

the opportunity to develop technical skills or work on-site and negotiate directly with

contractors.

Women in non-traditional careers

Although there is relatively little research relating directly to the experience of

women in design disciplines, we can also draw from the significant body of literature

that has explored gender differences in science, technology, engineering and

mathematics (STEM) career-path choices (Ceci, Williams & Barnett 2009; Wang &

Degol 2013). Research identifies a wide array of sociocultural, psychological,

contextual and biological factors that intertwine to reduce female participation in

STEM educational and career achievement pathways. Essentially, this literature

explains how the STEM pathway starts with a series of choices commencing in

childhood and adolescence, as views about possible future careers (and differences in

subject and career choices) are influenced through socialisation and the implicit and

explicit views of parents, teachers, friends and the wider world (for example,

experiences, media, role models etc). In explaining why girls and women are under-

represented, research has shown that it is beliefs and attitudes (not any innate

differences in ability or aptitude for maths or science) that are driving the gender

difference (Else-Quest, Hyde & Linn 2010).

Several theoretical approaches have identified the importance of psychological and

social/cultural determinants in shaping attitudes such as social-cognitive career

theory (Lent et al. 1994), or expectancy–value theory (Eccles 2009). Social-cognitive

career theory (SCCT; Lent et al. 1994) argues that three individual, social cognitive

variables are critical in career development: self-efficacy (belief about own ability),

outcome expectations (anticipated results from actions) and goals (decisions made to

achieve goals). SCCT also highlights the importance of interest in the field, social

support and anticipated barriers, explaining how proximal (individual barriers, such


as gender role socialisation, exposure to tasks and role models, limited emotional or

financial support) and distal (structural barriers, such as discrimination and

networking) factors combine to either facilitate or impede career progress.

Similarly, Eccles’ (2009; Eccles et al. 1983) expectancy–value theory postulates that

gender differences in education and career choices are shaped by attitudes towards

expectations of success (that is, competence-related beliefs and self-efficacy) and the

valuing of that achievement (that is, task value). In this context, achievement

behaviours (for example, studying or working in STEM or design) are predicted by

whether an individual believes she can succeed in the course or career and whether

that achievement is valued. Although there is no research on design pathways, recent

statistics in the STEM fields suggest that similar numbers of girls and boys are now

studying the preparation subjects of maths and science in school and at university.

Unfortunately, this is not translating to the professions and, in particular, to senior

leadership levels. In the UK, for instance, women have accounted for half of biology

graduates for the past 30 years, yet hold only nine per cent of full professorships

(Dewandre 2002).

Women in creative arts

As design is positioned across two very different fields (engineering and creative

arts), it is important to explore if and how gender might impact the experience of

women in creative arts careers, such as performance, design, creative writing, music,

film, choreography and art, as well as in STEM fields. Although only a handful of

studies have explored gender inequality issues for women in creative arts, the

findings have generally been very similar to those investigating the experience of

women in STEM fields. Women are under-represented in both production and

decision-making roles, with existing cultural frameworks about art and gender

disadvantaging women in both direct and indirect ways (Schmutz & Faupel 2010).

Creative arts careers differ markedly from STEM careers in that they challenge

dominant cultural standards of career success, typically offering a lifetime of career

instability, competition and low pay (Brooks & Daniluk 1998). Thus, it is interesting

to note that the limited research on women in creative arts careers often identifies


two unique factors not often detected within the STEM literature: (1) a strong, all-

encompassing passion to pursue their (artistic) career and (2) significant opposition

from family and friends for embarking on an artistically-inclined career path that is

(typically) difficult to succeed in, unpredictable and poorly paid. Brooks and Daniluk

found that older female artists described ‘living on the edge’, with their narratives

emphasising that the arts milieu was a man’s world and identifying the ‘lack of

familial and social support for art as a legitimate career' (1998, 255). They described

the emotional and practical realities women face as a result of having chosen an

artistic career and defining themselves as artists, explaining how their ‘creative

identity development was a long, difficult and non-linear process, often involving

intense feelings of illegitimacy, self-doubt, guilt, and resentment’ (1998, 256). This

process is quite unique to creative arts careers, and not something that would

typically resonate with women in STEM fields. Interestingly, some research suggests

that this struggle to validate self-identify as an artist might be a uniquely gendered

experience. In a study of art teachers, Zwirn (2006) found that women repeatedly

spoke of the need for respect, empowerment, role models and mentors; conversely,

men never mentioned these issues, leading Zwirn to conclude that ‘women’s artist

identities were works in progress, a struggle to achieve and never taken for granted’

(2006, 174).

In their recent research exploring the experience of 21 female creatives (art directors,

copywriters, and creative directors) working in advertising, Windels and Lee found

that the industry was still very much a deeply rooted boys’ club ‘built around male

norms, with systems in place to privilege male perspectives’ (2012, 510) and where

women’s ‘voices, perspectives, and work were devalued’ (2012, 511). Essentially,

the participants felt it was easier for men to get to the top, as the creative department

had a strong masculine paradigm that restricted women’s ability to grow their

careers. At a social level, these American women saw junior-level men socialise and

form relationships with senior-level males; they felt they could not form the same

bond, partly due to gender differences and partly because friendships between

younger women and senior men can be seen as inappropriate. Other STEM research

has also found that women working in male-dominated environments report similar

organisational culture challenges limit their informal professional networking, which

in turn further disconnects women from access to information, support and power


(Roan & Rooney 2006; Mehra, Kilduff & Brass 1998; Xu & Martin 2011). At a

professional level, these female creatives also described being disadvantaged by

gender-stereotypes and being pigeon-holed into working on less prestigious ‘female’

assignments throughout their careers; one explained how they never worked on

projects about beer but always on ones about tampons, and these projects were

seldom ‘buzz-worthy’ or represented in national awards (Windels & Wei-Na 2012).

Limited access to senior peers and good projects made it very difficult for women to

succeed in creative advertising; indeed, Mallia (2009) argues that empirical and

anecdotal evidence suggests that most women leave after 7-15 years in the field and

never make it to senior leadership roles. In interviews with eighteen American

women in mid- to upper-level creative positions, Mallia (2009) found that many felt

that the punishing highly competitive, high-pressure schedule of advertising and the

masculine creative culture were driving women out of the field, as they struggled to

balance demands of motherhood with the long hours and commitment required by

the creative process that is ‘uniquely personally consuming: day and night and body

and soul’. These women explained how the intense ‘style and pace and people and

politics’ of corporate culture and processes in creative advertising was incompatible

with a work/life balance. The few who stayed were astute in organisational politics,

did not have children or had a ‘house-husband’, and were ‘much more tenacious,

aggressive personalities who relished competing with the men’; for most, however,

creative success was ‘so difficult that many women chose to leave rather than face an

untenable fight’ (Mallia 2009).

An alternative work path – entrepreneurship

In response to workplace challenges, and the often fragile and unreliable work

patterns associated with creative careers, increasing numbers of women are starting

their own small businesses. An entrepreneur can be considered to be someone who

has initiated a business, is actively involved in managing it and owns at least 50% of

the firm (Heilman & Chen 2003). Entrepreneurs engage in the new, which can take

the form of a business, product or service, they use creativity to identify a new niche

or need or a solution and useful product (Ames & Runco 2005). The entrepreneur

requires motivation, confidence and intelligence to seek the new market. Advantages


of becoming an entrepreneur are believed to be the provision of individuals with

challenge and the opportunity to control their work environment along with the

potential for direct financial return (Heilman & Chen 2003). Globally there is

significantly less engagement by women than by men in entrepreneurial activities

(Langowitz & Minniti 2007), although once a person has decided they want to

establish a new business there is no gender difference in the likelihood of success

(Afandi & Kermani 2015). Age, income, employment status and education all

influence women’s propensity to start a new business, with knowing other

entrepreneurs, alertness to opportunities, and self-confidence in their skills positively

influencing the likelihood of starting a business (Langowitz & Minniti, 2007). The

women in our study are highly educated and self-employment has come after time as

an employee during which they developed confidence in key skills and experiences

that have enabled them to start their own business. A survey recently conducted by

Startup Muster in Australia showed that only a small percentage of the total startups

are started by women although there has been a slow increase; in 2011 it was 16%

growing to 19% in 2013 (Perks 2015; Startup Muster 2014).

Women and the industrial design profession in Australia

Given the limited research exploring the experiences of female designers, this study

focuses specifically on how female industrial designers fare in the workplace.

Industrial design is the design of products, defined by the International Council of

Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) as a ‘creative activity whose aim is to

establish the multi-faceted qualities of objects, processes, services and their systems

in whole life cycles’. Industrial design often operates in a parallel way to the creative

industries where there are networked clusters of small-to-medium enterprises, sole-

traders and micro-businesses (Ashton 2015; Bridgstock 2011a) where the work is

often freelance or short-term contracts due to the fluidity and movement within these

types of businesses. The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) reports that the number

of industrial design businesses has been static at 350 since the early 2000s based on a

count in the Yellow Pages directory. The DIA regularly carries out a salary survey

across the design sector, reporting that the self-employed designer’s salary dropped

in 2013 with a significant drop being experienced by industrial designers (Robertson

& Design Institute of Australia 2014a). The Institute’s survey information collection


does not include the recording of gender so that specific numbers of women in the

industry are not obtainable. The transition into industry could be seen to involve

three interlinked stages: preparation, actual transition and outcomes in the labour

market. It is not necessarily a linear path, as qualifications alone do not guarantee

immediate entry into the workforce (Haukka 2011; Haukka et al. 2009). To date,

there has been no published research investigating the experience of female industrial

designers in the workplace. This research, an in-depth qualitative case study of 19

Australian female industrial designers, explicitly addresses this knowledge gap and

focuses on their workplace experience – both as employees and as entrepreneurs, as

almost half (42%) have started their own small design business.

Method

Given the very small body of literature exploring the experiences of women in

design, an exploratory qualitative research approach was utilised due to its

appropriateness for investigating unstudied populations and issues. To better

understand the unique individual ‘lived experiences’ of women in industrial design,

we adopted a phenomenological approach where the researcher identifies the essence

of human experience (Creswell 2009; Liamputtong & Ezzy 2009). This article

focuses specifically on one aspect of the data, these women’s experiences in the

workplace and motivations and experiences in starting their own business.

Participants

This interview study was conducted with women who had graduated from an

industrial design course at one Australian univeristy, and at the time of interview in

2011 they ranged in age from 21 to 37 years and had graduated between one and

sixteen years ago. The majority (74%) were currently practising industrial designers,

and reported working in a number of industries, from in-house design work at a

major appliance company through to designing, producing and bringing to market

their own products. Table 7.1 outlines the specific socio-demographic information,

including current employment, position title and year of graduation.


Table 7.1 Participants’ socio-demographic profile

Procedure

All participants responded to a broadcast email to female graduates of the course

inviting them to participate in the research. Data collection in the form of in-depth

interviews was conducted by the first author (an experienced female Industrial

Designer and academic) in a central convenient location. The Bruce and Lewis

(1990) three-hurdle model was used to explain the factors that influence career

advancement of women in design: getting the qualification (hurdle 1); getting the

first job (hurdle 2); and becoming a success (hurdle 3) guided interview question

development. The questions were evaluated and re-worked to draw out the lived

experiences of the participants more deeply, with the digitally recorded interviews

transcribed into text for analysis. The data was then read and re-read to identify key

words articulated by the participants, first individually and then as a group to

establish patterns of meaning (Liamputtong 2009; Creswell 2003). A combination of

manual techniques of writing notes in the margin and using highlighting pens and a

popular word processing program were used to assist in the management and

analysis of the over 100 pages of data into tables and columns for pattern

identification and coding of themes and subthemes (La Pelle 2004). This coding

process was repeated to the point of data saturation, where no new themes emerged.

We include multiple exact quotes to (1) help readers judge for themselves the


accuracy of our analysis, and (2) help create a comprehensive picture of women

designers’ experiences in the workplace.

Results

Focussing specifically on women industrial designers’ experience in the workforce,

the thematic analysis identified four key themes, which will be discussed in turn:

breaking into the industry; once in the door; gender hurdles; and the move to

entrepreneur.

Theme 1: Breaking in – ‘I went to a lot of interviews, lots and lots of

interviews’

As the quotes in Table 7.2 illustrate, successfully breaking into the discipline after

graduation required a number of different strategies and the conscious adoption of

proactive career management behaviours, specifically: networks and networking;

traditional and non-traditional pathways; and design competitions and internships.

Networks and networking were critical, with over half of the participants (63%)

recalling that they actively engaged in networking to gain their first design job and

that university academics and their final year self-directed major project enabled

them to get that first job. For example, these projects provided the opportunity to

begin to initiate appropriate network contacts that grew into work placements and

full-time positions. Others also acknowledged that wider family and friend networks

helped link them to relevant others who could provide work opportunities.

Approximately a third of the participants (37%) reported following a more traditional

path to find their first job, describing using employment websites but needing to be

proactive in following up and cold calling. A minority reported consciously utilising

non-traditional pathways as stepping-stones to their preferred career. For example,

one took a job as a receptionist in a retail design-based company, which allowed her

to remain connected to the industry and to build her network. A fifth (21%) described

consciously engaging in career planning activities designed to facilitate their ability

to get a job, such as internships and entering design-related competitions to build

their portfolio and industry standing. One won a competition where the prize was an

internship and, while undertaking the internship, actively sought means to turn it into


a fulltime position, asking the CEO ‘What do I have to do to get a job here?’ He told

her she needed to learn a specific software program, so she recalled going ‘in on the

weekends and working out how to use the program. Not very well, but enough to

fool the CEO (laughs)’ (#10). Another described how she balanced paid part-time

non-design work and volunteering with designers explaining how:

You work yourself to bits for a period of time but somehow it’s quite useful I think but you can’t do it for a long amount of time, you get quite worn out but I did find it quite useful as I have some quite good … you get an insight into how they work and think and I think that is really quite useful for. (#16)

Table 7.2 Breaking in - strategies for securing their first design job

Networks & Networking Design Strategies - competitions & internships

Non-traditional path - sidestepping

I had spoken to her in one of my industrial design assignments. I called up all these people and I remember speaking to her. I called her up and said, ‘Hi I interviewed you a few years ago and I’m really interested and would love to come and work for you’. It started off as work experience for a bit and it ended up being a position which was good and she was tough as, but it was really, really great and once you are on her great side she is the most invaluable mentor you could ever have she’s fantastic. (#18)

My plan had been in third year to tee up some work experience, because the biggest obstacle to getting a job is work experience. The irony being if you don’t have any, they won’t hire you. So it’s like okay, even if I have to volunteer that’s fine, if that’s going to get me what I need. And I figured for me the best way to do that was to enter a whole bunch of design competitions – and I was fortunate in doing furniture, there was quite a lot going on that year – and exhibit, anything I could. (#15)

So I got this receptionist position at a Furniture retailer. At least it is something design-related and got into something 9 to 5. As long as you are in the industry, it's like an ear to the ground, there's no point having a job that is not in the industry and just looking. (#14)

A friend of mine who was doing Industrial Design at another university and his Dad owned the company, he needed somebody to just do graphics and CAD stuff, I got the job designing backpacks and I more or less did that the whole way through the degree part-

No but if you put the work in … get your foot in the door basically as I started off doing an internship with a guy doing furniture and he knew the people at another company and then when you start it seems like quite a small circle when you have some

First proper job was in production management in a point of sale company. So I sort of managed their factory sales, their product sales and then a lot optional manufacturing, China, Hong Kong. So not designing as such but


time. (#17) names it’s easier to get other jobs and but that first little pluggin away was really hard and it’s not easy to get a job, no. (#16)

more problem solving and troubleshooting, that sort of stuff. (#02)

I think you probably forwarded an email and I applied for that; or did they contact me? I can't remember. They were just starting up, they didn't have an office or anything … and the interview was downstairs at uni, outside the workshop. But that was the first job. (#09)

The design director had done a lecture during our course. That was the consultancy that I wanted to work for. Then when we won this work experience, it all fell into place. During uni I had been working at a jewellery and accessories company and I quit my job there to do this six-week work experience. (#10)

I wanted to start earning money straight away so then I just applied for the easiest related thing that I could go for, which was the graphic artist position. Having the art background as well helped, so that was the first job. (#04)

Theme 2: In the door – ‘basically, just understanding the workforce’

Key challenges for these women in the first years in the workplace centred around

the development of a professional career identity, with over half describing how they

wanted validation of their career choice and years of study, and strongly desired the

label ‘designer’ on their business card. As the industrial design course offered a

broad scope of experience, like most recent graduates, these design graduates

described needing to build both their confidence and product-industry specific skills.

As one explained: ‘You come out of uni - there's no problem doing the pretty picture.

Trying to make it work really well and cheaply is difficult. So, when you're in the

industry a while, you learn the things and they become standard’ (#05). There were

two key sub-themes: developing self-confidence as a designer (specifically learning

the discipline and language of the work); and embracing travel.

First, as the quotes in Table 7.3 illustrate, having secured their first jobs, these

women then described an ongoing process of building confidence in their own design

skills (particularly in different computer programs) and growing their understanding

of the whole process of getting a piece of design to market in practice, from design to

production and marketing. Industrial designers recalled the challenge of ‘learning the

discipline of work’ (#13) and unique workplace protocols – as one explained, it was

about ‘trying to fit in and learn at the same time as doing your job’ (#14). Second,


travel features prominently in the career of a designer, as the place of manufacture in

Australia has moved from being ‘down the road’ to predominantly in Asia. A critical

part of a designer’s work is communicating with manufacturers, checking methods

and materials and production techniques; this is often best achieved face to face,

especially when establishing new relationships. These women recalled how, in the

early stages of their career traveling, they were usually in a junior role and supported

by a senior colleague. As women travelling to China and Korea, they experienced

differing levels of respect for their position as a designer: ‘I know in one place we

went to, they made the women go out of the room while the men did the business and

then the women could come back in, It was just … so degrading, [but] that’s the way

they do it’ (#02). Communication was often a significant challenge, with many of

these women describing how they would utilise their design skills of drawing to

facilitate understanding. Another, who was travelling alone a lot, described how she

learned Mandarin to build up her confidence and found these language skills also

helped in ‘getting good relationships, getting good pricing and stuff’ (#02).

Table 7.3 Developing self-confidence as a designer – learning and growing in confidence

Learning the business Building confidence I learnt a lot of skills that helped me more in having a business of design, which is good; seeing how a whole company operates from human resources to accounts and also being exposed constantly to a full product cycle and dealing with suppliers and things like that. (#19)

I guess having the confidence and the courage to speak up and contribute your ideas in amongst a team of established professional designers. Believing enough in yourself that your thoughts are equally valid and worthwhile to all those other people who’ve been there however many years. (#15)

My key challenges were, well, getting a job in the first place and then I think learning to work, I think was a bit of a challenge, because I had spent so long in my 20s studying that I didn't have a lot of work experience. (#13)

I think getting up to speed with a lot of that industry specific knowledge. So whether that’s project specific terminology, competence in whatever programs they’re using. (#15)

Learning not to step on toes, really. Trying to fit in and learn at the same time as doing your job. Because I ask a lot of questions but with a small company, there is not always time for the questions to be answered. (#14)

Another challenge is when you work on a project … trying to do those projects in a time frame, for the client. So you've got all these jobs - all these different jobs that you have to do and you have to manage your time and get five different projects’ concepts out. You want three or four concepts for all the different jobs and you've by the end of the week to get all that done. (#05)


Theme 3: Gender hurdles – ‘guys will never get that’

Just over half of these designers (52%) described experiencing gender based issues

and stereotypes in their workplaces, specifically: gendered behaviours, including

sexism; male gate-keeping, where different standards are applied to women; and

stereotypical perceptions of their skills and abilities. As one explained, the glass

ceiling was there.

It sounds like you are kind of complaining about it or - but it does exist. It's a bit of a glass ceiling and it is quite low in industrial design. I think, also, women have a different approach to design. I also think that women haven't been in the industry as long either, so it's a new growth, a new thing. So, yeah, very much a glass ceiling. I mean, it's fairly obvious, I think, but at the same time - not spoken about so much, like it doesn't exist. (#07)

Only a handful of women described overt ongoing sexism, with one recalling a

workplace where the owner and most of the staff were male. The few women

designers employed were in accounts and finance, and had to actively flirt with the

owner to do some design-related activity. She recalled how her own opportunities

were significantly limited, as she was the only one who didn't flirt with him: ‘he

liked the girls to banter to him and I didn't. So he didn't like me. He thought I was

“weird” … They played the game, they flirted with him and they got on well. You

know, flirtation is harmless but not when it has to be a part of your job’ (#13). More

commonly, these women recalled male gate-keeping, driven by the underlying

assumption that women are less able to make and produce the models required by

this three dimensional, traditionally masculine design discipline. Women felt they

had to ‘try harder’ and outperform their male colleagues, with women of child-

bearing age subjected to scrutiny regarding their plan for having children. One

recalled how the whole culture of her first job in design consultancy was completely

male dominated and ‘there was no chance for me being a designer there’ (#13). In

contrast, a number also described using their gender and ‘otherness’ to their

advantage, charming suppliers and manufacturers:

I think also in some ways it's been beneficial for us being women because - like, with suppliers and things, they find that quite refreshing. They are generally male dominated and they see these two friendly, youngish girls coming in and they are like, ‘Oh, we will make a sample for you for free’. So I think in some ways we have played that card to our advantage a bit. (#19)


Finally, in terms of stereotypes, a number of women described how they perceived

men to be more confident in their work, more willing to take more risks in both the

workshop environment or product development and in promotion of themselves, and

stereotypically more suited to this three dimensional manufacturing based profession.

These women described developing strategies to overcome this, becoming strong: ‘I

think you have got to be quite strong because I found it's a massive boys' club. When

I was starting, with the suppliers especially, if they saw any kind of weakness and

they saw that you are a girl, they sort of - they try and walk all over you’ (#12). This

confidence, or ego, in men was further seen to be a reason for the difference in pay,

with their male colleagues perceived to be more experienced at negotiation and

willing to push for it. In contrast, they felt if a woman is assertive she is seen as

‘pushy’ or ‘full of herself’ (#04).

I think men are better at communicating themselves, creating the glamour. Maybe the men are more down to earth, but I don’t know. I can speak for me. I know I’m very modest. I find it very difficult to talk myself up. Yes. I think naturally I will step back and let my male business partner be the front person. (#01) I think as well, there is a difference between the way, what I have found in my experience, the way women are treated and guys are treated as a designer. (#05)

Theme 4: The entrepreneurs ‘… if I don't do it myself, I will never do it’

Just under half of this group (42%) decided to back their own abilities and embrace

their entrepreneurial spirit, creating their own businesses where they design,

manufacture and supply their own products. Products produced by this group range

from eyewear, jewellery and accessories, headphones and footwear to furniture and

lighting. All these entrepreneurs described a passion to create something of their

own, expressing delight and satisfaction when they received positive feedback from a

user or saw their product in use. As one noted, ‘I have to give it another go otherwise

this voice won’t go away’ (#01). Rarely did they step directly from university into

their own enterprise, with almost all describing an initial experience working for

others in order to develop their knowledge, skill base, contacts and confidence.


Further, the majority identified the importance of a mentor or role model, often an

employer or family member who assisted in aspects of their new business:

Somebody that did help me a lot was one of my friend’s dads who does have a lot of products made in China. He was great in terms of negotiating the price and telling me all about shipping information and what all the terms were, customs and getting through all that. (#01)

As one noted, she had known from her second year at university that she want to start

her own business (a design consultancy) but knew that she first needed ‘some solid

work experience before then, both to learn on the job, make contacts, network, all

that kind of thing’ (#15). The major motivations for entrepreneurship stemmed from

dissatisfaction, either with the types of work, levels of creativity and work life

balance, as one described.

The demands of working for someone else and constant travelling impinged on my desired lifestyle. I just decided that I’d rather be spending all that time on something that I want to do and work for myself. I like to be my own boss … Focus on the production of small products that will hopefully provide a return. (#02)

Discussion

This in-depth qualitative study has provided considerable insight into the experience

of Australian female industrial designers in the workplace, identifying the perceived

key facilitators and barriers to succeeding in their chosen careers. First, consistent

with a large body of research, these women designers described how the transition

from university to workplace is often a time of change and uncertainty for an

individual, with the defining of career goals, finding a job and understanding what is

expected proving to be challenges (De Vos, De Clippeleer & Dewilde 2009).

Proactively planning for this transition and networking, specifically developing and

maintaining relationships with relevant others who may be able to provide career

advice or employment advocacy or opportunity at this early stage, was critical for

‘getting that first start’ and early career success (Eby, Butts & Lockwood 2003;

Bridgstock 2013). While most of these Australian designers described positive

experiences with seeking and gaining of internships that later transitioned into


ongoing employment, recent Canadian research suggests that interns are often

undervalued and exploited as free labour. Shade et al. (2015) argue that the

increasing reliance on unpaid internships as a strategy for getting work experience or

the first job was creating a class structure, in that only the privileged with financially

supporting parents could afford to undertake such unpaid work. There is some

evidence of this divide beginning in Australia with one woman offering this advice:

Do work experience. I mean, when I was a student ... I couldn't afford to ... If you can in any way, then I recommend doing that … If you don't have any experience, you can't get in there. (#07)

Second, transition to workplace culture seemed to be one of the largest hurdles; this

is particularly acute if they have not engaged in any type work experience during

their education as it can provide context for their learning and understanding of

graduate positions (Perrone & Vickers 2003). Graduates often perceive a tension

between the skills they have developed while under academic guidance and those

expected by potential employers. The university aims for broad transferable skills

that will allow graduates to be flexible and adaptable to changing work environments

whereas employers often focus on specific skills and abilities for their specific

conditions (Haukka 2011; Davis, Savage & Miller 2009; Ball 2002; Smith et al.

2007; Perrone & Vickers 2003). ‘Basically just understanding the workforce … So

coming in five days a week doing the hours that we were doing was a bit of a shock

and that was the main challenge’ (#03). Further the strategy of looking beyond a

narrowly defined design position or application of discipline agility was not always

obvious to recent graduates who are often reluctant to step outside their core

specialism at the early stage of their career (Bridgstock 2011a; Ashton 2015).

Third, understanding the globalised, networked world of 21st century creative work is

a valuable capability and may further lead to exposure to jobs in non-traditional

sectors (Bridgstock 2011b). For these women, travel, predominantly to Asia,

highlights the shift in the work of the industrial designer and how many companies

involve designers more closely in all the activities of design-to-market, requiring

them to communicate across all disciplines engaged in the process. The ability to

communicate in foreign languages along with international views are additional

attributes that assist with new graduate employability (Yang, You & Chen 2005).


Fourth, the study illuminates the historical development of this discipline, being

similar to that of engineering in that they both have an image of being dirty or

technical and to do with machines, and are both industries that have been established

with masculine patterns and values (Powell, Bagilhole & Dainty 2006; Bruce &

Lewis 1990; Bruce 1985). Although there has been an increase in the number of

women making their way into the industry through successful education (Lockhart &

Miller 2015a), there are still significant gendered hurdles that the women face. At the

same time the gender based patterns appear to be accepted as just something that the

women deal with. Nonetheless, to achieve success and acceptance in this space,

women often modify their behaviours by adopting male attributed traits such as

toughness and competitiveness, or alternatively utilise deference, a more acceptable

feminine characteristic. Often the types of work that are available to women in this

space offer little creativity and responsibility, resulting in reduced opportunity for

advancement (Windels & Wei-Na 2012; Windels & Mallia 2015). The women in this

study who have been frustrated by these constraints and barriers have stepped away

from the convention and developed their own entrepreneurial working environment

producing their own products, taking control of the whole product to market process

and how they work. ‘So our studio is not open on Fridays, so that is part of our

lifestyle choice’ (#10). The move to self-employment most notably occurs at a time

when they have developed confidence in their business skills and knowledge

(Langowitz & Minniti 2007; Henry 2009; Heilman & Chen 2003).

Conclusion

There has been an increase in the number of women studying design at university,

specifically industrial design. In this paper we have considered some of the issues

that challenge women when pursuing their careers after graduation from university.

These findings are based on the experiences of 19 female industrial design course

graduates interviewed. Some experiences and challenges appeared consistently

across the interviewees even though their time in the workplace and type of work

experiences differed. A number of the challenges or hurdles that were identified may

hinder them in achieving their desired success. The understanding of these hurdles is

important as they can be seen to push the women out of the mainstream industry to


self-employment. This move often does provide a space for women to follow their

passion and to tailor their work environment, although it removes women’s voices

and sensibilities from the centre of the field.

This discipline-specific research, when read alongside that of other disciplines such

as architecture, advertising and the creative industries, begins to suggest that there

are common problems for women working in these creative fields (Caven & Diop

2012; Windels & Wei-Na 2012; Bridgstock 2011b). In particular, it highlights that

there is still gender discrimination, a ‘boys club’ where women are held to different

standards – made to prove themselves, often offered the less creative jobs and

thereby less remuneration, and there is little flexibility in place and hours of work

making management of family and children difficult.

Future research should examine the experience of men also moving into this field to

provide further understanding of how the industry embraces and treats all new

graduates. Similarly, such research could investigate whether there is attitudinal

change occurring: if younger men who studied alongside these women and who have

not experienced any discrimination during their study (Lockhart & Miller 2015b),

have embraced the diversity and skills set women may bring to this creative

environment.

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Chapter 8: Discussion & Conclusion 149

Chapter 8: Discussion & Conclusion

Although there has been an increase in the number of women entering and

graduating from university in the area of industrial design, there is limited knowledge

about their aspirations, experiences and actual career paths. This study addresses this

knowledge gap from the perspectives of 19 female graduates from one industrial

design course offered at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. It provides

detailed insight into career hurdles and how they are navigated. As well as exploring

their unique experiences, this research suggests why these women do not appear to

be achieving success in the workplace, or rather, are redefining what being a

successful designer looks like for them.

The results, outlined in detail in the previous chapters, are consistent with the

existing body of literature exploring women’s experiences of working in non-

traditional fields, including medicine, the STEM disciplines and the more creative

areas of architecture and advertising (Ceci, Williams & Barnett 2009; Elston 2009;

Kinzie 2007; Caven & Astor 2013; Windels & Wei-Na 2012). Further the results of

this study find similarity in the career path study of graduates at another Australian

university by Trathen and Varadarajan (2015) particularly with the adapters who are

often ‘stretching the boundaries of what is industrial design’ (2015, 51) and their role

in small scale manufacture along with the application of their design thinking skills

in non-traditional ways. Essentially, a wide array of cultural, social, psychological,

economic and political factors intertwine to impede women’s awareness of design as

a potential career, active engagement in university study and subsequent success in

the workplace. This chapter discusses each of these hurdles, as well as the research

limitations and the theoretical and practical implications.

It is important to note, as outlined in the literature review, that there is a wide group

of career models and gender theory frameworks (Rosenbloom et al. 2008; Lent,

Brown & Hackett 1994; Blickenstaff 2005). Perhaps the most well-known is the

widely rejected deficit theory (Goodwin 2008), which argues that women lack the

skills needed for the field. This research adds further evidence, as this sample of

150 Chapter 8: Discussion & Conclusion

female designers demonstrates mastery of creative thinking, problem solving, design

detailing and communication through the use of computer aided design programs

(CAD), rapid prototyping and model-making to produce market ready products.

Dominance theories consider how power is most often exerted over women and the

implications of gender power dynamics, whereas difference theory argues that the

differences between men and women make them distinctly unique (Goodwin 2008).

To a certain extent, women in this research noted some gender-based differences,

particularly at university (for example, design assessments tended to be masculine in

nature, such as designing cars or tools) and in the workplace (for example, masculine

norms in workplaces and the types of work offered to women such as graphics and

2D work).

Theoretical Models

Conceptually, this research drew on the hurdles model proposed by Bruce and Lewis

(1990). The original model proposed three hurdles, as per Figure 8.1 this research

identified a fourth hurdle: redefining success.

Figure 8.1 Four-hurdle model of influences affecting women

At this juncture, it is appropriate to reflect on the advantages and limitations of using

this model. On the one hand, as the only model to be developed with the design field

specifically in mind, it provides a simple and easily understood summary of the


issues facing women designers. That simplicity could also be viewed as a weakness,

however – especially when looking at other theoretical models which attempt to

explain gender differences that include multiple overlapping factors (for example,

causal model in STEM and social-cognitive career theory). However, it could be

argued that industrial design as a discipline prefers straightforward models; for

instance, in their recent research focussing on the post-graduation work experiences

and choices of male and female industrial design graduates in Australia, Trathen &

Varadarajan (2013) developed a three category model of Adopters, Adapters and

Departers. Similarly, Bruce and Lewis’s (1990) hurdles model provides a simple,

elegant and comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding both the obvious

and the more invisible hurdles that women must overcome to achieve success in

design. As it is now over two decades old, though, it is important to assess the extent

to which it reflects the experience of contemporary women designers; thus, below

each of these hurdles is discussed in turn, focussing on how well it captured the

experience of these UTS graduates.

Hurdle one: gaining a qualification

Hurdle one considers education and gaining a qualification. In this research, it is

separated into two key sub-categories: why these women chose to study design

(Paper 1) and their educational experience in the course at university (Paper 2). It is

important to understand the motivations and influences to study a particular area or

to choose a particular career path, as there are often a number of factors that

influence whether women think a career is suited to them. In her expectancy-value

theory for STEM disciplines, Eccles (2009; Eccles et al. 1983), identified how

cultural norms, social experiences, ability, competence beliefs and values all

combine to influence whether women think a particular STEM field might be right

for them. Similarly, this research with industrial designers also identified that early

life experiences (specifically childhood exposure, primarily via parents working in

design and construction fields) were significant. These women appeared to grow up

in ‘design families’, with parents and family members who worked in (and were

interested in) design fields. Almost all of these women recalled a high level of

engagement and competence in the three-dimensional world from an early age, and

recalled being excited by making things, sticking and gluing and building with Lego.

Interestingly, this early interest and focus on making things was also documented in


Clegg et al.’s (1999) UK research on why women engage in design and IT courses at

university. In design, it was a part of their identity while growing up, while in IT the

women developed their own understanding or metaphor for making the discipline

their own. These Australian industrial designers described themselves as the kind of

girls who developed a sense of identity through their passion for creating – as one

explained, ‘I think it’s just always been part of what I do, what I like doing’ (#01).

This research has highlighted that parents clearly play a key role in encouraging and

supporting their daughters’ early interest in designing, creating and making, with

their expectations for achievement playing a meaningful role in their later choice to

study design. The critical role parents play in supporting their daughters’ choices is

consistent with research in other non-design disciplines (see for example, Eccles

2009; Wang, Eccles & Kenny 2013; Davis-Kean 2005; Li & Kerpelman 2007).

Parental use of language around a particular subject area further influences the

confidence of girls to engage in an area (Tenenbaum 2009), particularly if it is

outside the norm or a gender non-traditional area. These participants used phrases

like ‘my mum always said, “Oh, I always knew you would be in a creative

role”’(#12) and ‘So I made a lot of toys. I always had a lot of support from home, in

making things … It's a common factor in our family’ (#14), highlighting the

nurturing and positive familial environment in which their passion for design first

developed. As noted in Paper 1, most participants came from ‘design’ families

(where parents worked in a related three-dimensional profession such as architecture

or building), and this provided some context for appreciating and seeing the

industrial design profession as a viable career option. Industrial or product design

was then explored as a viable career option because it involves both creativity and

making things - something all these women loved to do: ‘I thought practical. I like

working with my hands and I think it suited what I wanted to do so I put industrial

design down and I got in.’ (#5)

As well as parents, research typically finds (Bregman & Killen 1999; Brown, Ortiz-

Nunez & Taylor 2011) that ‘significant others’ (which includes older siblings,

friends and teachers) also influence girls’ and women’s attitudes towards careers. In

this research, female participants recalled how significant others actively encouraged

their interest in studying design; as one recalled, ‘my graphics teacher in year 12


actually said, “You should do industrial design,” but I didn’t know what it was about;

the careers counselor didn’t know either … so I kind of left that and went off and did

science’ (#15). Here, many of the designers recalled that many of their friends and

siblings had identified a design course for their own path of study and they thought it

sounded interesting. One recalled that her sister recommended she study industrial

design: ‘my sister studied interior architecture and she said, “There’s this course

called industrial design. It is like art but it’s more practical because you get to make

products and I thought that sounded really good.”’ (#14)

In particular, teachers (often of art) are in a privileged mentoring position and,

having an overview of the skills and talents of the young woman, can provide more

focused direction and identify design as a potential career (Eccles & Wigfield 2002;

Eccles 2005). As one recalled, it was her art teacher who said, ‘maybe look in

industrial design or design because you are quite good at sculpturing … get some

practical knowledge’ (#9). Of course, these teachers need to be aware of the course

options. One of the challenges facing industrial design is that it is not a very well-

known course or career; in Australian universities, industrial design often has a lower

entry requirement due to low public visibility and understanding of the profession

(Robertson & Design Institute of Australia 2013a).

Thus, for many of these women, their experience of identifying industrial design as a

potential study option was often very serendipitous; they frequently described

‘stumbling across’ it when searching for popular design or creative related courses

such as visual communication and architecture in university study guides. As one

explained, she didn’t think she ‘knew about industrial design until I looked into the

UAC guide’ (#5); for others, industrial design was a gateway to another desired

course (architecture) or a substitute for a preferred option; for example, one recalled

that she ‘actually wanted to do this vis comm and I missed out on it by one mark or

something so I said I will start with industrial design and move over’ (#19).

The serendipity involved in engaging these women with industrial design is a

concern for educators, professionals and the design profession more broadly. The

Design Institute of Australia holds an annual salary survey of its members and

designers around the country. Alongside the questions of salary and fee structure,


respondents are asked to respond to what they consider to be important issues for

being a designer and how they could be addressed (Robertson & Design Institute of

Australia 2013a). In the 2011/12 survey the three open ended questions covered the

following issues: what are the major industry and professional issues for the design

professions at the moment, technology?; how are the internet, mobile application and

social media affecting your design profession and support?; and how can the

professional body best support your design discipline in the next five years?

Specifically, the profession and its practitioners believe that the general population

requires further education on the scope and limitations of design, arguing that this

would open the possibility of further work and offer a deeper understanding of the

value of industrial design as providing more than just a styling service.

Australian Bureau of Statistics occupation codes highlight 1014 occupations that are

design related, with the DIA 2011 survey suggesting that 1 in every 140 Australians

has a qualification in aesthetic based design disciplines; these include industrial

design, interior design, interior decoration, fashion design, jewellery design, graphic

design, illustration, multimedia design and web design (Robertson & Design Institute

of Australia 2013b). Most of these disciplines have a close or reliant relationship on

another industry; industrial design closely linked with manufacturing, where

changes, specifically the slow-down of manufacturing in Australia, will have a

negative flow-on effect. When manufacturing closes or moves its operations

overseas, potential demand for local industrial design services is diminished;

traditionally, this industry has often sought the advice of problem solvers (industrial

designers) local to the manufacturing to speed up response time, yet the decline of

manufacturing in Australia (increasingly in cheaper off-shore Asian hubs) is

reducing this. At the same time, as noted by the relatively low awareness of

industrial design amongst the women designers interviewed in my research, the

discipline needs to do a much better job of marketing and communicating itself to the

wider public.

Experience Studying Design

Once in the degree, these participants generally felt there was relatively little tangible

and explicit gender bias throughout their study. Of course there were some


identifiable hurdles that negatively impacted their experience of the course. The

course was problem focused, where design possibilities were explored through

projects frequently in the context of a theme (Talbot 2007). These themes were often

perceived as gendered, with assessment items typically focused on more ‘masculine’

interests, such as designing power tools or accessories for cars. There was a sense

that the men in the class would have an advantage in these assessments, through their

previous pattern of experience or simply life exposure. Clearly, consideration and

framing of assessment themes in less strongly-gendered terms (along with providing

a choice within a studio project) will further allow the student to self-direct their

learning and provide the opportunity for deeper engagement and satisfaction (Yang,

You & Chen 2005; Clegg, Mayfield & Trayhurn 1999).

One of the most negative, challenging and simply scary experiences for these women

designers at university was navigating the design workshop. The workshop

environment, for making models and prototypes, is a space where technical mastery

is required. It was perceived as masculine, with the scale of machinery confronting

some of the women leaving them feeling clumsy and ill equipped As they described

it: ‘I hated model making, I hated the workshop, I hated the mess, I hated the dirt, I

hated the sound’ (#3), with almost apologetic language for their lack of success … ‘I

didn't really thrive on the workshop’ (#19). This is consistent with research on

women studying furniture design, who felt they had to prove themselves to be equal

to the men to gain acceptance in the space (Clegg, Mayfield & Trayhurn 1999).

The building of confidence in design skills is an essential ingredient in this type of

degree; fortunately, these women acknowledged that skill level and confidence did

improve throughout the years of study in the course. It often culminated in their self-

derived final major project, where they had to manage their own process from

research to designed outcome bringing together all the elements they had learned

(Green 2005). Although the full impact of the final project was not always

immediately (or ever) obvious to the student, it often shaped future career direction,

established specific knowledge areas and built networks. For instance, one

participant’s (#1) major project began with the research of the care of dementia

patients and how music may be used to reduce stress and induce calm. The

realisation of her research was a set of headphones that slipped into a soft and


comfortable headband; it could be worn by people of any age, did not require to be

inserted in the ear (an unknown pattern of experience for the particular target group)

and was like pulling on a hat. Within several years of graduating, this designer,

having engaged in a business incubator to resolve the technical details, took delivery

of her first production run of 5 000 units of specific branded headphones that were to

be available through major retailers and specialty stores. At the time of interview, the

headphones had been embraced by sportspeople, especially runners, as they remain

securely in place during activity, they were available nationally and internationally

and she was considering other user environments such as water. Clearly, educators

need to remind all students that final year project selection has the potential to shape

the focus of their future careers, and a strategic choice may have significant future

career benefits. Additionally, as well as possible identification of career path options,

a more systematic and directed approach to the identification of their problem would

ensure reason for deep engagement and, typically, better grades (Green & Bonollo

2003).

In terms of overall negatives, course criticism emerged as the participants reflected

on how the course had prepared them quite broadly - although not deeply in any one

particular area of design practice. Design educators and curriculum developers need

to be able to respond to changes in the discipline and the university education

environment to be able to produce graduate designers who are innovative, creative,

can produce design solutions that suit the intended users and develop sustainable

careers (Wormald 2011; Phillips, De Miranda & Jinseup Ted 2009; Bridgstock

2013). The challenge is in understanding emerging methods and techniques that new

designers will require to work in new ways without the loss of fundamental

discipline skills (Bridgstock et al. 2015). Design thinking, and its application to

creative thinking and innovation, is a methodology that has emerged from the

discipline and been applied to many non-design based companies most ably

facilitated by designers. Design-led innovation looks to create an alternative

competitive advantage through a different way of thinking to generate novel

solutions, often utilising a user-centred approach (Bucolo et al. 2013). At the

education level, by way of acknowledging this, UTS now offers a combined degree

option across all students in the university, a Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and

Innovation, a problem based learning course where students from business, design,


science and other disciplines work together to creatively solve and find new

possibilities for situations (UTS 2013). Moreover, at the professional level there are

many companies (like IDEO) using ‘design thinking’ within their design practice.

Hurdle 2: Getting a job

The final year projects also often brought into focus the direction and possibilities of

employment. At the end of the degree, many of these participants did not feel work

ready and identified a desire for direct workplace experience and more business

related skills, especially the running of a small business. This fear about the unknown

workplace and feeling of being unprepared for the workforce is not uncommon; other

Australian studies investigating the career-expectations of both male and female

graduates of built environment, design and engineering have also documented the

challenges associated with making the critical transition from university to work.

For instance, drawing on focus groups and surveys, Savage, Davis and Miller (2009)

explored how three key stakeholders - academics, professionals (that is, employers)

and final year students/recent graduates - negotiated the key challenges facing the

industry. New graduates focused on the challenge of getting their first job, while

professionals and academics emphasised the importance of graduates developing

critical thinking, technical and social skills to productively engage and contribute to

their discipline. Other international research has also found that art and design

graduates typically have difficulties connecting what they have learned at university

to the critical professional skills and atributes, and applying them in workplace

environments (Ball 2002; Lewis & Bonollo 2002; Yang, You & Chen 2005; Savage,

Davis & Miller 2009; Haukka 2011). The desire for more training in practical small

business and entrepreneurship skills is also not uncommon; Rae (2004) has

developed a model for teaching entrepreneurship in the creative industries,

acknowledging that mainstream approaches are not always effective for this group.

For industrial design, Wrigley and Bucolo (2011, 231), recognising the changes in

the profession, embedded in the final semester subject of the degree novel ways of

including new technologies and services, integrated with business strategies with the

ambition to ‘foster a more grounded and resourceful future designer.’


Interestingly, these women had a strong desire to hold a business card with the title

‘designer’ under their name – which they saw as a validation of their years of study

and passion for the industry. Unfortunately, some of this sample of women

experienced difficulties in gaining their first job, which they attributed to a lack of

confidence of their own skills and also to the male dominated and patterned work

environment, described as the ‘boys’ club’. This is sadly similar to what Bruce &

Lewis (1990) reported over two decades ago. The experience of more current women

graduates was that breaking into the design workplace required, on top of good

grades and a strong design portfolio, an array of innovative pro-active job-seeking

strategies. Women who were most successful in quickly securing desired design

employment identified this need for work experience and sought it throughout study

or as a transition to full-time employment. This is not always the case, as identified

by Haukka (2011) through the analysis of two major studies into the creative

industries in Australian which highlights that aspiring creatives may not have

engaged in or developed industry networks through voluntary work as they usually

need to be in paid employment to support their study (Haukka 2011). Like

Bridgstock (2011b ; 2013), this thesis also found the ability to see an alternative path

or ‘sidestepping’ proved very effective in providing valuable work environment

experience and transferable skills while also building a network. For example, one

participant recalled taking a receptionist position at a furniture retailer: ‘it’s like an

ear to the ground, there’s no point having a job that is not in the industry’ (#14),

allowing her to remain active and continue to build her network. Another consciously

took a position as a production manager that was more ‘problem solving and

troubleshooting’ (#02), building skills that were utilised later in her own company.

Consistent with other research (Eby, Butts & Lockwood 2003), these women also

described how networking through university projects and contacts also provided

significant opportunities that were turned into employment. One participant had

carried out an interview for an assignment in third year of her study and on

completion of the degree made contact again, expressing interest in the company’s

work, and secured ‘work experience for a bit and it ended up being a position … she

was the most invaluable mentor you could ever have’ (#18).

These women felt that, in comparison to their male counterparts, getting a first

design job was slightly harder for them as women. While societal standards and


stereotypical gender norms have changed significantly, their reality was that design

in Australia remains a relatively male-dominated and technical field. The experiences

of one participant (#7 described below) reflected the prevailing attitude that women

don’t have the technical skills and abilities, even if they have completed the same

education as a man and have similar work in their portfolio.

I applied for a job that I know some fellow male students applied for and I was straight away told I didn't have enough engineering background and I thought that's fine but then one of the guys got it who I knew had the same education. And then I have also been questioned in interview - ‘Did you actually do that work?’, and stuff like that, and they go, ‘Really?’ (#7)

Hurdle 3: Becoming a success

Once a design position had been secured, these women found that their skills and

specific industry knowledge were tested and it often took time for confidence and

trust to be built. They needed to learn how to navigate the profession successfully

and gain recognition. One of the key indicators of ‘success’ for these women was the

gaining of trust from the employers. This was evident through travel and representing

the firm overseas, primarily to China or Korea where they were sent to

manufacturing facilities to direct design and check production, often taking

advantage of their language skills. The importance of international skills and

confidence is a reality in our global marketplace, with Yang, You and Chen (2005)

highlighting that marketing strategy and analysis, team work, and communication

skills in foreign languages are now part of the required capabilities and competencies

for future industrial designers (Yang, You & Chen 2005).

In their original definition of becoming a success, Bruce and Lewis (1990) included

promotion and awards. As noted anecdotally at the beginning of this thesis, the major

awards scheme in the country, the Good Design Awards (previously the Australian

International design awards), is male-dominated with men and teams of men being

acknowledged for the design of particular products. There are very few women

present; this is a fact that is evident from the audience, as many men in suits walk

across the stage but very few women. The winning of awards was not specifically

addressed in the interview questions (a research limitation), although only two


participants mentioned awards. One was an industry specific award that went to the

team that brought the product together (#12); the other was a prestigious individual

award for young designers up to the age of 25 and she won first prize, to spend time

with the famed Australian industrial designer, Marc Newson, in his office in London,

including the opportunity to discuss commercialisation prospects of her designs (#2).

In Australia, most of these women felt awards and promotion were not viable

options, due often to their small company size; in 2013, around 60% of Australian

design business had fewer than three designers/owners (Robertson & Design Institute

of Australia 2014b). Further, as almost half of the participants were self-employed,

they have stepped away from this type of traditional work environment and

promotions were viewed as an irrelevant consideration.

The gendered work environment of industrial design, somewhat reflecting that of

engineering (Powell, Bagilhole & Dainty 2006; Bruce & Lewis 1990; Bruce 1985) in

that both are considered technical and dirty, with masculine patterns and values, was

evident on breaking into the profession; the women described their experiences of

male gate-keeping and sexism. They described having to prove themselves more,

with their capabilities and skills more often questioned than those of male colleagues.

The types of work offered were less technical and less creative, resulting in less

recognition and remuneration. This is consistent with research into creatives in the

advertising industry (Windels & Wei-Na 2012; Windels & Mallia 2015). To ‘get on’,

these women generally had to adopt one of two approaches: either male attributes of

toughness and competitiveness’, or deference and other more acceptable feminine

characteristics. This is most evident in the narratives of participant (#13), who

recalled how some women colleagues flirted with the director; ‘they played the

game’ allowing them to take on more design related work, whereas (#13) was

considered ‘weird’ not to play along, with the consequence that her work options

were limited.

Hurdle 4: Redefining success

This research identified a new fourth hurdle: women redefining what design career

success can be for them. Work-life balance is an increasing issue, with design and

creative industries notorious for long working hours, particularly when there is a


deadline. For many women, especially those with children, there is an increasing

reluctance to work traditional 9-5 hours, with their desire for more flexibility limiting

their income possibilities and opportunities for advancement in traditionally run

firms (Windels & Mallia 2015; Windels & Wei-Na 2012). As a designer there is a lot

of overtime and, to retain professional standing and credibility, working full-time is

seen as the only option. Further, the types of projects and their scale prevents them

from being broken down into part-time elements, with employers appearing reluctant

to explore job sharing options or working less than full-time. Windels & Mallia

(2015) described advertising creative departments being developed on male norms

and ways of working, with long hours and inflexible work arrangements, and found

that women expressed frustration with how time was used and valued, especially if

they wanted to incorporate childcare into their role. Similar reluctance in relation to

innovative job-sharing or part-time work is also observed across a number of STEM

industries (Ayre 2001).

Unlike their female STEM counterparts, however, many in this sample felt that their

chosen profession was suited to exploring self-employment and entrepreneurship.

Creating their own design focused small business was a viable option for these

women, whereas starting their own enterprise is perhaps less achievable in other

professions (for example, STEM). At the time of interview, just under half this group

(42%) had decided to quit traditional employment and set up their own small

businesses, with a further small percentage (5%) expressing the desire to also have

their own business when the time was right. The advantages of owning their own

businesses provided these women with the ability to determine their own work

schedule and desired work-life balance; one participant (#19) described how now

that she had her own business, she did not work on Fridays. Both clients and

manufacturers had accepted this, and with both business partners having children,

this practice has provided them with the flexibility they desired for work-life balance

and to care for their children. Further, there is a greater sense of personal

achievement and satisfaction; as one explained: ‘Because I'm investing my own time

and my own money in everything, it's just all - a bit different to working for someone

else’ (#2).


Of course, the move to self-employment and entrepreneurship is a growing trend for

women across many working sectors. To date, however, there remains a significant

gender gap with much larger numbers of men undertaking this type of activity. The

most recent Australian statistics show that 81% of all new small business started in

2013 were run by men and only 19% by women (Startup Muster 2014). In explaining

why men are more likely to engage in such entrepreneurship, researchers point to

men being less risk-adverse and women typically requiring more certainty in return

for this effort, as well as differences in men’s and women’s availability to qualify for

and secure financial support (either to start-up or to expand the business). Exposure

to other women-owned businesses and mentorship plays a significant role in

supporting their entrepreneurship activities (Afandi & Kermani 2015; Dalborg 2015;

Bodolica & Spraggon 2015; Perks 2015; Langowitz & Minniti 2007). The

oversupply of designers is further pushing self-employment as the DIA highlights

(Robertson & Design Institute of Australia 2014a) that, due to the scale of the tertiary

industry and popularity of design courses in general, recent graduates have few

options. For industrial design this is heightened by the changes in the manufacturing

sector, where significant number of employers of designers have closed or moved

off-shore. Further noted was the decline in the number of consultancies across the

country with speculation that the work is being taken by freelance or self-employed

designers, although a creative and design based education can position graduates

well for this type of employment as Ball’s (2002) research establishes that hands-on,

problem-solving experiences in higher education often produce flexible, adaptable

entrepreneurs. They may not always have set out to start a business and it may have

evolved from the learning processes and working methodologies that underpin their

practice and a desire to have greater control over lifestyle and their creative practice

as reflected by one of the women interviewed:

It had been a hobby and it got to the point where it was demanding more and more time and we were taking annual leave to do tradeshows. Before it was at markets and on weekends. So it was suddenly kind of encroaching on our day job and we met in the morning, what bits would be made the night before, one would print out an invoice at work because we didn't have printers at home; go to the post office at lunchtime. We would call customers back from our cars at lunchtime. So obviously it was becoming a force to be reckoned with but also it was at a point for both of us where I think, you know, maybe I had the eight-year itch and personally it was a good time - I felt it was a good time to do something different. (#19)


Limitations

At this juncture, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of this research. First,

the findings are based on one university in a large Australian city, covering women

who graduated over a 14 year period (1995 to 2009) and were able to be contacted.

Although no significant differences were observed across these cohorts, future

research should narrow the graduation timeframe. Notably, I have been an industrial

design academic throughout this time, personally teaching all of these graduates at

UTS; this may have been a factor influencing the willingness of graduates to

participate (or not) in this research. Second, this thesis focuses only on graduates of

the course and does not include the experiences of women who may have started the

course and not completed it; their experience, although beyond the scope of this

thesis, needs to be explored in the future as it may further inform course structure.

Third, as the focus was only on women, it is unclear whether their male counterparts

might report similar backgrounds, influencing factors and workplace experiences.

Although such factors are unlikely to significantly bias the results, future studies

should address these issues and endeavour to recruit a more diverse sample of

women from multiple universities, as well as comparing their experiences to those of

their male counterparts. Given the very small body of research exploring the

experience of female industrial designers, this thesis has made a significant

contribution to the literature and addressed the central research question: how do

Australian women experience their design education and career paths?

Women in Industrial design: where to from here?

At the beginning of this thesis, along with exploring Australian women’s experiences

of their design education and career path, I outlined three main aims:

1. To explore the drivers and motivations of women who choose to engage in

Industrial Design.

2. To understand the aspirations, experiences and actual career paths taken by

female graduates from Industrial Design.

3. To identify possible actions to improve the experience of women in industrial

design, from education to practice and leadership.


While the first two aims have been explicitly addressed in the body of this thesis

(specifically the published papers), below I focus primarily on the possible actions

that could help improve the impact and visibility of women in industrial design.

In addressing the first aim, this thesis has shown that three key elements motivate

women to become industrial designers: early exposure and aptitude (most were from

‘design families’); the influence and support of key others (family, friends, teachers,

university, industry); and just simple serendipity (for example, a boyfriend studying

design told them about the course).

In addressing the second aim, understanding their aspirations, experiences and actual

career paths, these women were passionate, flexible and entrepreneurial. Entering the

profession is where the graduates encounter the highest hurdle. Their identity is built

on their passion for design, and they acknowledge being adaptable, good with people

and project management and willing to up-skill when required. Although they

graduate with portfolios and skill levels equivalent to the men, potential employers

scrutinise them more negatively, and appear to evaluate the work of women to a

different standard. Clearly the women have the talent and skill to perform as

industrial designers as just under half of our small group have utilised their

knowledge and experience of the design process to design and successfully bring to

market their own products, thereby fulfilling their creative passion and creating

independence with the ability to control their work environment to suit their lifestyle,

which often includes the care of children.

Below, I have created a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) analysis to

complete a profile of the woman who studies industrial design and makes her way

into the profession. Drawing on the data from the interviews, this analysis highlights

the personal characteristics that a woman needs and situations that she needs to be

aware of – it provides a strategic concept for career development for women in

industrial design. Critically, it also highlights what actions educators and the

profession need to undertake to build critical momentum and capacity in this field.

SWOT analysis has been a foundational tool in strategic planning since its

development in the 1950s and 1960s, and offers a way to make sense of complex

situations and to assist with decision-making. SWOT is most often used in a business


or corporate context to provide a means of evaluating and developing strategy,

although it can be applied to individuals, groups, teams, organisations and plans

(Chang & Huang 2006; Chermack & Kasshanna 2007; Helms & Nixon 2010). This

type of analysis has been utilised in the medical profession to identify barriers that

may be preventing women from obtaining leadership positions and to create a

strategic concept for career development (Schueller-Weidekamm & Kautzky-Willer

2012). In this SWOT analysis, as Figure 8.1 illustrates, strengths and weaknesses are

the internal characteristics that help or hinder career advancement; opportunities and

threats are the external elements or chances that impact on their career position.

Figure 8.2 SWOT analysis of women in industrial design

SWOT: Internal strengths and weaknesses for female industrial designers

In terms of internal strengths, the list of positive characteristics that contribute to

these women’s success in their industrial design careers is quite extensive:

determination to stick with it and believe in it; passion; adaptability; taking initiative;

forward thinking; always challenging themselves; being good with people at all

levels; and working in partnership. The ability to time manage and project manage

are key, and as design is always working to a deadline this further requires the ability

to delegate. A sense of humour and a positive outlook help to solve difficult

situations and conflicts, while motivation to be involved in interesting work that they

can be passionate about is also critical. In terms of weaknesses, the women

highlighted their poor ability to communicate about their skills, personalities and

successes. They have a tendency toward understatement and poor self-confidence,

often comparing themselves to male colleagues who are just ‘more ballsy’(#3). The

mastery of technical skills featured strongly, while the ability to keep up to date with

Strength passion, adaptable, people skills, project management,

partnership, humour, language

Weakness Self-confidence, inability

to sell self, technical skills, CAD currency

Opportunity networks, mentors, business

study, entrepreneurship

Threat remaining design current,

running a business, accessing finance

Internal characteristic

External elements


the latest CAD and rendering programs and the need to understand different

manufacturing methods were viewed as stressful.

SWOT: External opportunities and threats for female industrial designers

To increase the opportunity for success, the women identified a number of points for

improvement. In terms of education, they felt that project themes should be broad

and not gendered, and that the ability to self-direct is important to improve

engagement and retainment in the course. In terms of career awareness, they

identified a need for improvement in the types of strategies required for getting the

first job and ways in which new graduates could avoid being exploited. They also

pointed to the importance of understanding the diversity of the profession and

building networks, starting while studying.

In terms of career, the need to be able to turn ‘designing on’ all the time, to

demonstrate high levels of creativity and to have an understanding of new trends

were identified as some of the most challenging demands. Whether working for

themselves or for others, understanding the role of the designer often requires them

to work across office and manufacturing and to be able to work with a variety of

different types of people, which could prove challenging.

Finally, nearly half of the interviewees were setting up their own design businesses.

Consistent with a number of studies on women entrepreneurs, the ability to find

encouraging mentors was seen as critical. These women described how mentors

often emerged from family or friend networks and provided advice that assisted with

the production of products overseas and the management of importation. Other

mentors are life partners, who ‘keeps me calm and gives me the confidence to aim

high’(#2). Business study is often required on top of a design education to

understand invoicing and basic costing of a product. Indeed, these women described

how actual designing can become quite a small part of their businesses, as they

worked chasing new business, managing invoices, developing corporate identity, and

keeping up with newsletters and related social media. Patenting, locally and globally,

along with the design registration required to be able to protect the uniqueness of the

designed product was a very challenging area, usually requiring a significant level of

professional assistance.


Finally, my third aim was to identify possible actions to improve the experience of

women in industrial design from education to practice and leadership. For educators

the challenge is to understand the changes to the profession, requiring them to

evaluate the course focus (which is often on design for manufacture) and its

relevance in new design practices, and an ability to provide open design tasks that

allow the student to incorporate emerging design-led innovation and technologies in

new ways is essential. Practice, through the Design Institute of Australia, needs to

carefully consider the recommendations that are emerging from Parlour and the

guidelines for equitable practice as a starting point for the education of the industry.

There is also opportunity for more celebration of women industrial designers through

exhibition of their work. Leadership can be supported and encouraged through public

forums of women talking about their practice and how they have navigated the

hurdles, which would also provide the opportunity for network building.

Conclusion

Internationally and within Australia, there is slowly emerging evidence and public

acknowledgment of the critical roles women have played in the development of

design, in all its forms. Online environments are providing the platform for exposure

and allow for many contributors; for example, internationally there is core77 who is

slowly building the stories of women designers and their work, primarily in America

(http://www.core77.com/Designing-Women), and in Australia there is the women’s

register (http://www.womenaustralia.info/) and Design & Art Australia

(https://www.daao.org.au/), which are both focusing on recording the life

experiences an stories of Australian women in creative arts and design, and Parlour

(http://archiparlour.org/) with its growing number of reports and guidelines that

focus on the practice of Architecture and women. It is my hope that this thesis, in a

small way, contributes to this growing knowledge base and highlights the struggles,

experiences and contributions of Australian women in industrial design.

Bibliography 169

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188 Bibliography

Appendix A 189

Appendix A

Appendix A

Participant information

Invitation to participate, information flyer and participant consent form

190 Appendix A

PARTICIPATEINRESEARCHInformationforProspectiveParticipants

ThefollowingresearchactivityhasbeenreviewedviaQUTarrangementsfortheconductofresearchinvolvinghumanparticipation.

Ifyouchoosetoparticipate,youwillbeprovidedwithmoredetailedparticipantinformation,includingwhoyoucancontactifyouhaveanyconcerns.

Wherearethewomen?WomenIndustrialDesigners–fromuniversityto

workplace

ResearchTeamContactsCathyLockhart–PhDStudent&UTS

LecturerFacultyBuiltEnvironment&Engineering,

SchoolofDesign

[email protected]

[email protected]

DrEvonneMiller—SeniorLectureratQUT

FacultyBuiltEnvironment&Engineering,SchoolofDesign

[email protected]

Pleasecontacttheresearcherteammemberstohaveanyquestionsansweredorifyourequirefurtherinformationabouttheproject.

Whatisthepurposeoftheresearch?AspartofherPhDresearch,CathyLockhartisexploringwhatthewomengraduatesfromtheIndustrial Design course do throughout their career and how the course of study hasinfluenced that path. The aim is to better understand the circumstances of women IDgraduates,theirambitionsandtherealityoftheirworkinglife.

Areyoulookingforpeoplelikeme?The research team is looking forwomen graduates from the Industrial Design course atUTS,between1990to2009.

Whatwillyouaskmetodo?Your participation will involve taking part in an in-depth interview, lasting for 60 – 90minutes, at a convenient central location (e.g., your office). Youwill be invited to speakabout your experience and views of working in the design profession. A copy of thequestionsandtopicscoveredwillbeemailedtoyoupriortotheinterview,whichwillcoverissuessuchas:

• Gettingyourqualification• Gettingyourfirstjob• Becomingasuccess

Theinterviewwillbedigitallyrecordedandlatertranscribed,butallcommentsandresponsesareanonymousandwillbetreatedconfidentiallyatalltimes.

Arethereanyrisksformeintakingpart?Theresearchteamdoesnotbelievethereareanyrisksforyouifyouchoosetoparticipateinthisresearch. It should be noted that if you do agree to participate, you can withdraw fromparticipationatanytimeduringtheprojectwithoutcommentorpenalty.

Arethereanybenefitsformeintakingpart?

Appendix A 191

Itisexpectedthatthisprojectwillnotbenefityoudirectly.However,thefindingsmayinformthedevelopmentofstrategiesandinitiativesbyuniversitiesandprofessionalassociationstoenhance careeropportunities forwomen IndustrialDesign graduates andmay lead to thedevelopmentofawomen’snetworkinIndustrialDesign.

WillIbecompensatedformytime?Unfortunately, no. We appreciate your time is valuable and, should you choose toparticipate, to recognise your contributionparticipantswill beprovidedwitha copyof theresearchfindings.Iaminterested–whatshouldIdonext?If you would like to participate in this study, please contact Cathy Lockhart([email protected] [email protected] ) todiscuss further.Youwill be provided with further information to ensure that your decision and consent toparticipateisfullyinformed.

ThankYou! QUTEthicsApprovalNumber:

1000000991

PARTICIPANTINFORMATIONFORQUTRESEARCHPROJECT

“Wherearethewomen?WomenIndustrialDesigners–from

universitytoworkplace”

RESEARCHTEAMCONTACTSCathyLockhart,PhDStudent&UTSLecturer DrEvonneMiller,SeniorLectureratQUTFacultyBuiltEnvironment&Engineering,

SchoolofDesignFacultyBuiltEnvironment&Engineering,SchoolofDesign

0403301116 0410263046

[email protected] [email protected]

DESCRIPTIONThisprojectisbeingundertakenaspartofPhDforCathyLockhart.Thepurposeofthisproject isto investigatethecareerpathsofwomengraduatesfromtheIndustrialDesigncourseatUTS.The research team requests your assistance because you are one of thosegraduates.PARTICIPATIONYour participation in this project is voluntary. If you do agree to participate, you can withdraw fromparticipationatanytimeduringtheprojectwithoutcommentorpenalty.YourdecisiontoparticipatewillinnowayimpactuponyourcurrentorfuturerelationshipwithQUTorwithUTS.Your participationwill involve an interview or focus group at an agreed location,andwill take approximately 60minutes thatwill be digitally recorded.Questionswillinclude1.WhydidyouchoosetostudyIndustrialDesign?2.Whathasbeenthehighlightofyourcareersofar?EXPECTEDBENEFITSIt is expected that this projectwill not benefit you directly. However, the findingsmay inform thedevelopment of strategies and initiatives by universities and professional associations to enhance

192 Appendix A

careeropportunitiesforwomenIndustrialDesigngraduatesandmayleadtothedevelopmentofawomen’snetworkinIndustrialDesign.RISKSTherearenorisksbeyondnormalday-to-daylivingassociatedwithyourparticipationinthisproject.CONFIDENTIALITYAll commentsand responsesareanonymousandwill be treated confidentially. Thenamesofindividualpersonsarenotrequiredinanyoftheresponses.ItwillbestoredinasecureUTSandQUT-basedlocationandaccessibleonlybythemembersoftheresearch team, who are QUT employees or HDR students. Publications will notincludeanyidentifyinginformationexcepttheyearofgraduation.Alldatawillbede-identifiedatthepointoftranscriptionand/orcoding.Toensurethatparticipant’sviewsareaccuratelyrepresented,multipleexcerptsfromtherawdatausingtheexactwordsoftheparticipantswillbeprovided.Thischeckingallowsparticipantstocheckthattheresearcherhasaccuratelyrecordedtheirexperiencesand transcripts reflect their words and meanings. Specifically, this will requireposting/emailing transcripts to participants and then telephoning them to checktheiraccuracy.CONSENTTOPARTICIPATEWe would like to ask you to sign a written consent form (enclosed) to confirm your agreement toparticipate.QUESTIONS/FURTHERINFORMATIONABOUTTHEPROJECTPleasecontactoneoftheresearchteammembersnamedabovetohaveanyquestionsansweredorifyourequirefurtherinformationabouttheproject.CONCERNS/COMPLAINTSREGARDINGTHECONDUCTOFTHEPROJECTQUTiscommittedtoresearchintegrityandtheethicalconductofresearchprojects.However,ifyoudohave any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project youmay contact the QUTResearchEthicsUniton[+617][email protected] is not connectedwith the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in animpartialmanner.

Thankyouforhelpingwiththisresearchproject.Pleasekeepthissheetforyourinformation.

Appendix A 193

CONSENTFORMFORQUTRESEARCHPROJECT

“Wherearethewomen?WomenIndustrialDesigners–from

universitytoworkplace”

RESEARCHTEAMCONTACTSCathyLockhart,PhDStudent&UTSLecturer DrEvonneMiller,SeniorLectureratQUT Name–Position Name–PositionFacultyBuiltEnvironment&Engineering,SchoolofDesign FacultyBuiltEnvironment&Engineering,

SchoolofDesign SchoolorFaculty/Externalorganisation SchoolorFaculty/Externalorganisation0403301116 0410263046 Phone Phone

[email protected] [email protected](useonlyQUTemailunlessexternal

organisation)Email(useonlyQUTemailunlessexternal

organisation)

STATEMENTOFCONSENT

Bysigningbelow,youareindicatingthatyou:

• havereadandunderstoodtheinformationdocumentregardingthisproject

• havehadanyquestionsansweredtoyoursatisfaction

• understandthatifyouhaveanyadditionalquestionsyoucancontacttheresearchteam

• understandthatyouarefreetowithdrawatanytime,withoutcommentorpenalty

• understandthatyoucancontacttheResearchEthicsUniton[+617]31385123oremailethicscontact@qut.edu.auifyouhaveconcernsabouttheethicalconductoftheproject

• understand that the project will include audio recording• agreetoparticipateintheproject

Name

Signature

Date / /

Pleasereturnthissheettotheinvestigator.

194 Appendix A

WITHDRAWALOFCONSENTFORQUTRESEARCHPROJECT

“Wherearethewomen?WomenIndustrialDesigners–fromuniversityto

workplace”

RESEARCHTEAMCONTACTSCathyLockhart,PhDStudent&UTSLecturer DrEvonneMiller,SeniorLectureratQUTFacultyBuiltEnvironment&Engineering,SchoolofDesign


0403301116 [email protected] [email protected]

IherebywishtoWITHDRAWmyconsenttoparticipateintheresearchprojectnamedabove.

IunderstandthatthiswithdrawalWILLNOTjeopardisemyrelationshipwithQueenslandUniversityofTechnology.

Name

Signature

Date / /

Appendix B 195

Appendix B

Appendix B

Ethics approval

196 Appendix C

Appendix C

Appendix C

Data collection

Questions used for interviews, sample transcription

PARTICIPATEINRESEARCHInformationforParticipantsINTERVIEWQUESTIONS

ThefollowingresearchactivityhasbeenreviewedviaQUTarrangementsfortheconductofresearchinvolvinghumanparticipation.

Wherearethewomen?WomenIndustrialDesigners–fromuniversitytoworkplace

ResearchTeamContacts

CathyLockhart,PhDStudent&UTSLecturer DrEvonneMiller,SeniorLectureratQUT



[email protected]

[email protected]

Pleasecontacttheresearcherteammemberstohaveanyquestionsansweredorifyourequirefurtherinformationabouttheproject.

Whatisthepurposeoftheresearch?Asyouknow,thepurposeofour interviewtoday istodiscussthe impactsonyourcareerpathforhavingstudiedIndustrialDesignandasawomanhowyouarenegotiatingthisworld.Theinterview,whichwillbedigitallyrecorded,willtakebetween30to60minutes.Allcommentsareconfidentialandwillnotbelinkedtoyoupersonally.Doyouhaveanyquestionsbeforewestart?GettingthequalificationFirstIwouldliketotalkaboutyourexperienceofstudyingatuniversityandthecircumstancesofyourchoiceofcourse.

1. Whendidyoustartdesigning?2. WhydidyouchoosetostudyIndustrialDesign?3. Whatwerethemostpositiveaspectsofyourstudy?Wherethereanynegative

aspects?

Appendix C 197

4. Whatwasanimportantorusefulthingyoulearnedordevelopedthroughyourstudy?

5. Thinkingabouttheprojectsyouundertookthroughoutthecoursewhichdoyouconsiderhadthegreatestimpactonyourunderstandingofthedesignprocess?(PROBE:Didthatoranyotherprojectorassignmentinfluenceyourcareerpath?)

6. Asafemaleinthecoursewhatwasyourexperience?(PROBE:Didyouexperienceanybarriers?Doyouthinkyourexperiencewasdifferenttoyourmalepeers?Whatwasyourrelationshipwiththestaff?)

7. Doyouthinkthecourseadequatelypreparedyouforacareerindesign?8. Haveyouparticipatedinanyfurthertrainingorpostgraduatestudy?

(PROBE:Ifyespleasedescribehowithasbeenofbenefit.)

GettingthefirstjobNowIwouldliketodiscusswhatyouhavedonesincecompletingtheindustrialdesigncoursestartingwiththeearlyyears.

1. Whatwasyourplanwhenyoucompletedmajorprojectandthecourse?2. Whatwasyourfirstjobaftercompletingthecourse?3. Howdidyougetyourfirstdesignrelatedjob?

(PROBE:Howmanyjobsdidyouapplyfor?Whatlevelofconfidencedidyouhaveinyourdesignskillsandabilitieswhenapplyingforthosefirstpositions?)

4. Whathasbeentheinfluenceofthatfirstjobonyourcareerpath?5. Whatwerethekeychallengesinthefirstyearsaftergraduation?

BecomingasuccessThethirdsectionIwouldliketodiscussiswhereyouarenowandyourthoughtsonyoursuccess.Thenwhatdoesthefuturehold?

1. Whereareyouworkingnow,whatisyourtitleandwhatcircumstancesleadtothisposition?

2. Whathasbeenthehighlightofyourcareersofar?3. Canyoudescribeyourcharacteristicsthathaveenabledyoutodowhatyoudo?4. Whatdidyouhavetopersonallydeveloporchangeinordertoachievewhatyou

have?5. Whatwouldyousaythemostchallengingpartsofbeingadesignerare?6. Whatisthebiggestmythaboutbeingadesigner?7. Haveyouencounteredanybarriersintheworkplace?8. Istheresomeone,suchasamentor,whoyoulookuptomostandifsowhy?9. Canyouexplainyourdesignprocessforoneofyourprojects?10. Howwouldyoudefinesuccess?11. Ifyouhadtoboilyoursuccessdowntojustonething,whatwoulditbe?12. Wheredoyouaspiretobeworkingin5yearstime?13. What do you think will be the major issues designers will be addressing in the

future?

Womenindesign

1. Whydoyouthinktherehavebeensofewwomendesignersofnote?2. Atthe2010AustralianInternationalDesignawardsfifty-fourmenwentonstageas

partoftheteamsreceivingdesignawardsandfivewomenwhydoyouthinktherewassuchadifference?

198 Appendix C

3. Whatdoyouthinkisvalueofthistypeofpeerreviewprocess?4. Whatattitudesandpracticeswouldneedtobechangedinordertoproducemore

ofthem?5. Whatonepieceofadvicewouldyougivetoarecentwomengraduatefroman

IndustrialDesigncourse?

ThankYou! RMReferenceNumber: 1000000991

when every word counts…

ph: 3852 2276

[email protected]

www.reporters-ink.com interview 9 27 Jan 2011 MATTER: DS500024 Introduction. When did you first start designing? In my own life? Probably as soon as I could cut, draw and paste. In kindergarten I always remember - you know, my favourite thing was to fold pieces of paper and stick them together and make little television sets with sort of people in them. So - I mean, it was just craft then but that's when design probably did start or I knew that I was quite creative and a visual person. Why did you choose to study industrial design? You probably know a bit of this (laughs). I did three units, arts practical, and I also did design and technology and textiles. So a lot of my senior subjects were geared towards either art or design. And my art teacher, when we had to put our preferences in for the HSC, I had no idea what I wanted to do and my art teacher was saying, "Well, there's this new course at UTS" - or, I don't know whether it was new or not but she said, "Maybe look in industrial design or design at COFA or something like that, because you are quite good at sculpturing. Rather than studying fine arts, maybe try and get some practical knowledge where you can apply it later on and get a job, blah, blah, blah." And I think that was mum's way and it influenced me. She said, "You can't study art," but I don't know if I wanted to study art either. I still saw myself in some sort of career or office, I don't know.

Appendix C 199

So that's why I chose industrial design. But I have to admit, I didn't know anything about the course when I chose it and it was quite a rude shock, probably, the first year and the second and third (laughs). And fourth and fifth (laughs). Yeah, didn't know anything about it. I kind of read the course description and was like, "Oh, yeah." But also, I am ashamed to say that my boyfriend at the time, Lindsay, chose it as well. I don't know whether you remember Lindsay. Lindsay? Lindsay Mendel? So it was like, "Oh, okay". And my other friend, close friend, chose interior design at UTS. So it was sort of boosted by that. He didn't make it? No, he quit in the third year and went to geography. So it's part of change (laughs). So many people have made the decision on those five lines in that UAC book and it is your life. Yeah. I wonder whether - I wanted to take a year off and I wonder whether taking that year off between school and university would have changed things, but I don't know. Anyway, we will stick to the questions. What was the most positive aspect of your study? I would probably say not - the lecturers, realising all the resources and the knowledge that I could sort of use, but this was only until the fourth year. I would say the first three years of university, I was kind of stumbling around and not really knowing what - how to do projects, who to go to or - and it was only the fourth year where, I don't know, something sort of clicked and changed. Maybe it was dissertation, doing my own thing, when I understood that, "Oh, I can go to the workshop and ask all these questions or go to Nick Williams and ask him questions." There's no reason to pretend that I know everything. That was probably the best part of it. You travelled amongst----- Yeah, so I did international studies. You did combined----- Yes. So I did two years, went overseas and then came back third year, and that's when-----

200 Appendix C

And did fourth year. ------I got into your office and said, "I don't know what I want to do with it any more." (Laughs). Cried and cried. Yeah, look, it is hard. Yeah. Were there any negative aspects to your study? Yes. I think that the course when I started was very - and I didn't - I just knew I didn't like it, but I didn't realise it at the time why. Looking back on it, it's because it was quite - you know, it was geared towards power tools, PDAs; you know, very sort of consumer products and also a very masculine environment. Not just because the amount of boys to girls was - back then it was almost like a 70/30 per cent ratio sort of thing. Not just because of that, but I felt the projects were always geared to that sort of stuff and it never exposed me to what you can actually do with the course, which is where I am now, I never thought I could do exhibition

where are the women women industrial ......figure 8.2 swot analysis of women in industrial design...

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