How might we actively and intentionally co-create a future that serves women?
A toolkit for impact practitioners to build products, services & systems that center women.
Women-Centric Design is a work in progress. This is beta version 1.0.
OUR TWO FOUNDATIONAL TOOLS
The Women-Centric Eye
For project scoping & opportunity identification
Use the Women-Centric Eye to identify how your product, service or program overlooks women and co-vision a more holistic solution.
The Non-Negotiables
For research and ideation
Embed the six Non-Negotiables in your research materials and ideation sessions to build more holistic and women-centric solutions.
WHY WOMEN-CENTRIC DESIGN?
When we design for “everyone”
we create one-size-fits-men outcomes.
Our current design methodologies invisibilize and contribute to the inequities women experience, creating unintended consequences for women.
Women-Centric Design helps design practitioners design with and for women.
Developed in conversation with gender practitioners, our tools have collated insights and best practices to center women.
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In tech: voice recognition technologies have known reinforce harmful gender biases.
In healthcare: heart attacks are known to go misdiagnosed in women because our unique symptoms are not recognised.
In finance: gender pension gaps exist because they don’t take into account how women’s lives are different.
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Illustrate how our current design methodologies, products, and services overlook women
Identify opportunity areas to co-create solutions that meet women’s needs
Design holistic solutions for women’s real needs
Imagine a more women-centric future
A note from the creator
After a decade of leading projects in design, social impact and gender, I noticed that women across sectors, geographies and cultures experience existing and persisting unmet needs and barriers. Observing the shortcomings of my own design toolkits and practice, the question at the heart of this project emerged: how might we actively and intentionally design with and for women? And so began my exploration.
Over long reflection calls with many gender practitioners, feminist researchers, and others committed to inclusion, I asked: what have you learned about women and girls? what have you learned about designing with and for women and girls? As similar themes emerged across cultures and disciplines, Women-Centric Design began to come to life.
Born from extensive research; tested and iterated upon the feedback of many practitioners; and driven by the frustrations, insights and learnings from my own experience, I’m excited to share this work with you. Thank you for being here!
— Mansi Gupta Founder, Unconform & Women-Centric Design
Women-Centric Design is a project by Unconform. Unconform is a design consultancy applying an unconventional, research-driven and holistic approach to center women. Learn more about Unconform.
A resource for impact-oriented designers ready to shift from the why to the how.
WHO IS THIS FOR
We define ‘designer’ expansively.
Women-Centric Design offers practical guidance to anyone who shapes products, services or programs; conducts research, insights, ideation; builds user journeys & experiences, or crafts narratives. This is for you if you practice human centered design, design thinking, or other creative solving processes. This is for you if you want to ensure that our financial, health, tech, education, and other social systems actively serve women.
DIVE INTO THE TOOLKIT
Get a summary overview of the toolkit
Explore the detailed insights & prompts to apply the tools.
Practice applying the tools in an interactive setting with others.
GET INVOLVED
Sign up to Unconforming to get updates on Women-Centric Design & upcoming learning opportunities
Contribute your favourite design resources to our living library of resources and/or share your feedback with us to help us improve Women-Centric Design.
If this work resonates with you, creates value for you or your organisation, or if you’d like to support its evolution, please consider contributing to our Open Collective project.