Leading with Curiosity to get Women-Centric
Staying curious and allowing space to be proven wrong is key to understanding women’s needs
When Katee Hui, founder of Hackney Laces, a football community club for women and girls, asked the local council for support — she was told that women are not interested in football. The council had apparently tried to set up football sessions at Mabley Green, a pitch in East London and no one showed up. Hui went back to her club to figure out why. The pitch isn’t well-lit, and it’s only on one bus route which leaves fewer people around when it gets dark. Women aren’t coming to play not because they are uninterested. It’s because they feel unsafe in that location: Hui pushed back with the council. The council had never bothered to ask the players, they just concluded women’s disinterest in football and called it a day.
As I continue to flesh out the Design for Women methodology, a clear design principle is emerging: Lead with Curiosity. First, as I wrote these words down, they felt basic. Obvious. But I couldn’t be far from wrong. What we believe to be “research-worthy” often sidelines pertinent issues. Partially this is because we as design researchers take our curious mindset for granted.
We might walk in with assumptions: Women don’t want beer, football or skateboarding. Or that equality means that they want the same things as men. Or that sleep apnea doesn’t apply to women because women don’t snore (they do, but because it’s associated with shame, they are less likely to admit it). Often, biassed research methods can be layered with social desirability bias or validating leadership “hunches” rather than uncovering real implicit and explicit needs of women.
Staying curious is key to getting women-centric:
→ Flip your assumptions:
Assume that women could be interested in a certain topic and let your research prove you wrong.
→ Look back in time to uncover your mental models:
Looking back shows us concrete examples of innovation being held back because of its gendered connotations. Before the pandemic, remote and flexible work was considered “impossible.”
→ Let innovation come through in all forms:
Sometimes it’s about tweaking an existing solution and that is innovation enough — it doesn’t always have to be a new fancy app.
What helps you keep a curious mindset and what have you learned about women as a result? Hit reply to let me know — I’d love to hear from you! We’ll also be talking about women-centric design principles and tools at our next workshop — register now to book your spot!
This post is an excerpt from Unconforming: a newsletter about Design for Women. Unconforming goes out every two weeks and also shares learnings from experts, job and other opportunities, examples and articles — all to make an impact in the women’s space. Sign up here to get it in your inbox!
