Gender Equality Is Good For Business — an interview with Fiona Murphy

On Sunday 7th April at OFFSET design festival WhyDesign will be hosting a panel discussion on the 25:75 gender imbalance in the Irish creative sector. We caught up with one of the panelists, Fiona Murphy, in advance of the event to get some of her thoughts on this topic.

Fiona is Director and co-founder of multi-award winning UX Design agency, Frontend.com. Founded in 1998, Frontend.com has been at the forefront of Design for technology with blue-chip clients across the globe.

You are co-founder of one of the most successful design agencies in Ireland, and one which has been in business for over 20 years. I’m keen to get your thoughts on the headline stat that the industry is currently 75% male, despite the fact there is roughly a 50:50 split at collegiate level. What conclusions do you draw?

Firstly, it’s worth mentioning that gender equality is good for business across industries. Statically, organisations that have a higher gender balance at board level perform better. So, from a business perspective, this is an imperative rather than a ‘nice to have’.

Next, we need to understand the reason behind the decline in female representation in the industry after they leave college. Women leaving the workforce due to childcare is a significant issue. We need to encourage women back into the workforce and provide flexibility. However, in order to provide true gender equality and mitigate against biases, we need to support men as fathers too. This begins with public policy. In Ireland, Government backed parental benefits differ across genders. Paternity benefit entitles fathers up to 2 weeks paid leave whereas maternity benefit is paid for up to 26 weeks. This distinction not only reduces individuals’ choices but also creates biases in the workforce. Employers, particularly smaller businesses, may be reluctant in providing opportunities to women of a particular age or life stage due to perceived risk. Sharing childcare responsibilities across genders will help reduce this bias.

In addition, encouraging women to stay in the workforce will help them to progress and grow, hopefully providing role models for future generations. Change will take time but there are many initiatives that can help accelerate change.

When you reflect on your own career and the success you’ve achieved with Frontend.com, could you point to a time where you may have left the design industry and become a part of the statistics of females leaving our sector?

I never considered giving up work or leaving the design industry, at this point it is a fundamental part of who I am. However, as a business owner, my experience may have been atypical for women in the industry. When kids came along, I was able to make decisions about how I wanted to balance my career and home life. I knew I was somewhat privileged to be able to do this but it also made me cognisant that, as an employer, we should be flexible to support work-life balance across genders. This can be hugely appreciated by employees and helps us retain some of the best talent in the industry.

Some hiring managers will often say, we’d absolutely love more women on the team but we just can’t find them when we’re looking to hire, do you find this to be the case when you’re hiring?

We have tended to have a good mix of candidates when hiring, however, I have seen some imbalance when looking at more senior staff or for more technical roles. This would reflect general trends in the market where women are more inclined to leave the workforce mid-career and the under-representation of women in STEM subjects. Overcoming these negative trends is complex. We have to remember that biases can be created early in life. So, we should not only support gender equality in the workplace but also work to eliminate conscious and unconscious biases throughout society including early education, home life, public policy, etc.

Do you think the language we use in how we describe design jobs has an effect in creating a bias towards men? I know, for example, one we often hear referenced from the graphic design world is ‘heavyweight designer’

I haven’t come across this in the world of UX design but then again what is a ‘heavyweight designer’?

Are there any common traits you see in designers who progress into senior roles? Are any of these biased towards men in your opinion?

Frontend.com is not very hierarchical, people move between projects based on the specific skills, experience and capabilities. However, I have noticed that men can be a little more proactive in pushing for benefits or status recognition. Frontend.com try to be fair across the board and give everyone the recognition they deserve and opportunities to progress, regardless of gender.

Finally, one that seems to be a hot topic at the moment, do you feel our design graduates are coming out of university adequately prepared for the world of work? Do you think work placements/internships can help to bridge some of that gap (if there is one)?

I think work placements and internships are an excellent way to introduce graduates to the work environment and apply some of the theory they have learnt in the real world. However, I think companies have to be cognisant of their responsibility in helping the individual grow and learn. That said, supporting graduates has huge business benefits including spotting new talent and being aware of emerging methodologies & innovative thinking.

Fiona will participating in the WhyDesign panel discussion at OFFSET on Sunday 7th April at 1pm on the Yellow Stage.