Abstract
Many of those entering the design workforce will at one point in time be affected by life choices. Some of these choices are welcomed, however, others are of necessity and are not reflective of personal preference. Life choices such as childcare, career advancement decisions, marriage, leaving the workforce, making a lateral career move, or becoming an attendant caregiver for an incapacitated family member are only a few examples of situations that can dramatically impact the course of a career in design fields. In addition, women and men may be affected differently by these choices. The purpose of this research is to identify the impact of gender on design careers. The methodology for this research is an online survey of university alumni. The respondents represented a variety of design disciplines. This research found a statistically significant difference in perceived impact of gender on design careers.
Keywords
Design Careers, Gender, Culture, Diversity
Citation
Satterfield, D., Kang, S., Ladjahasan, N., Quam, A., and Bjorngaard, B. (2010) A Study on Design Careers and the Impact of Gender Debra Satterfield, Sunghyun R. Kang, Nora Ladjahasan,, in Durling, D., Bousbaci, R., Chen, L, Gauthier, P., Poldma, T., Roworth-Stokes, S. and Stolterman, E (eds.), Design and Complexity - DRS International Conference 2010, 7-9 July, Montreal, Canada. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2010/researchpapers/106
A Study on Design Careers and the Impact of Gender Debra Satterfield, Sunghyun R. Kang, Nora Ladjahasan,
Many of those entering the design workforce will at one point in time be affected by life choices. Some of these choices are welcomed, however, others are of necessity and are not reflective of personal preference. Life choices such as childcare, career advancement decisions, marriage, leaving the workforce, making a lateral career move, or becoming an attendant caregiver for an incapacitated family member are only a few examples of situations that can dramatically impact the course of a career in design fields. In addition, women and men may be affected differently by these choices. The purpose of this research is to identify the impact of gender on design careers. The methodology for this research is an online survey of university alumni. The respondents represented a variety of design disciplines. This research found a statistically significant difference in perceived impact of gender on design careers.