sand sculpture

my issue and practice

My issue and practice question is “why are female Graphic Designers outnumbered by men? Is this changing?.” I choose this question as my issue and practice as I felt it was a common issue that is brought up a lot in the industry.

From my research into the industry and the different opinions I have collected I feel that it’s the bigger graphic design companies that are affected more by this issue as opposed to the smaller ones. I contacted different companies in England with the question and also visited companies and asked there opinion.

Lynsey who is a freelance designer explained to me that after working for a larger company she could fully relate to the question, she explained that where she worked men and women were on completely different wages for doing the same job and that it was the men that were paid higher something she said she could never get to the bottom of the reasoning.

Cactus design agency also gave me feedback on one of the previous experiences with another design agency explaining that she felt her boss was sexiest she explained that there was three women in the department who were all treated the same even though they all had different titles, it became that bad that after 6 weeks one women left due to rudeness. She also went on to explain that the other men in the work place started to pick up on the way the boss treated them and would join in as they felt it was normal. She gave her job up after 7 months due to the constant battle and lack of respect.

Another company I spoke with was Liquidigloo a man called Rob. This contact took immediate offence over the email. I approached many graphic design agencies and got a lot of helpful and friendly response many from women but I did state in the email to him that I wanted to hear opinions of both men and women, as I felt this wasn’t a witch hunt in any way just a simple issue that’s been on going for many years and wanted men to have there say and opinion herd. Liquidigloo became very defensive over email and stated “Maybe you could also head count the number of male nurses against female nurses, and ask ‘Are they Out numbered” and asked where was I going with this, I did respond to his email explaining that I was a student and this was purely a essay question I also provided him with some web links to prove that this issue has been ongoing for many years. The response I got back from that was extremely rude stating “I’m guessing your teacher is a woman, with a chip on her shoulder about men.” And in response to the web links I sent him as proof his response for one of them was “Maybe the woman that wrote it feels suppressed. Maybe her husband is a slob. I found the contact with this designer a real experience and never intended any offense.

After approaching different companies with the question why are female Graphic Designers outnumbered by men? Is this changing? I have had some really helpful responses and found that women are wanting to talk about there experiences and are willing to help. I sent out at least five emails to male designers and only had one response back which was extremely rude and sexiest I feel that they either don’t feel anything towards this question or they just simply don’t find anything wrong with this. I have learnt that this essay question is aimed more towards the larger graphic design agencies as it seems to be the larger ones that most people refer to. On a portfolio visit to Axongarside I sat with both female and male and asked them the question together there response was inspiring, they answered as a team explaining that there company is all for professionalism and fairness and work as a team, watching them working together and the good vibes from them was really nice to experience the whole visit was very relaxing The only issue they could relate to was Caroline explained that in previous job interviews she was asked about having a family and what her plans were which she was quick to explain that Axongarside however wasn’t one of these companies. This issue plays a very big factor in employment law and is usually forbidden as this could be counted as discrimination towards women, but maybe this is why there could be a small divide in some companies or maybe men are threatened by women this issue has been ongoing for years and I don’t feel it is any closer to changing especially if you receive the same response I did by simply asking.

Kazuhiko Kawahara photography

female graphic designers out numbered

RE: enquiry‏

From:	vicky smith (vicki999@hotmail.com)
Sent:	24 March 2010 22:02:18
To:	niki@cactuscreative.com
	1 attachment cactus.gif (0.9 KB)

Hi Niki,
 
Thank you for the response to the questions this is really helpful and i fully appreciate your help at your busy time.  
 
Many Thanks 
 
Vicky 
 

female graphic designers out numbered

From: niki@cactuscreative.com
Subject: Re: enquiry
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:02:26 +0000
To: vicki999@hotmail.com

Hi Vicky

Please see below the response to your questions from one of our female designers. I'm hoping the other two girls can respond as well but we're really busy at the moment so it might not be for a couple of weeks.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards

Niki

1. Do you feel there is a larger ratio of men to women in the design industry?

I think it depends on which area of design your are going in to and the area in which you live. I have found that web design has always been a more male dominated area, whilst graphic design has a very good balance, even if the ratio of men to women is higher or lower, it is always a good balance and those that work together have been chosen for there abilities and how well they fit in to the team regardless of gender.

2. How do you feel women are perceived in the design industry?

I think women nowadays are seen in the same way as men, your design and creativity is not based on your gender, age or nationality.  Though this may not always be the case, the design industry is in no way different in its perception of women as any other occupation.  

3. What career challenges would you say women may encounter in the design industry?

I think there are a multitude of challenges that face designers in general, from new talent to getting stuck in a rut. 

For women however, I think the biggest challenges are: 

• sexism in the work place - whether this be from you employer or your colleagues

• maternity leave - one of friends is petrified of losing her job to the person doing maternity cover for her.

• themselves - not putting yourself forward, overreacting, over thinking.

4. Do you have experiences that you may have come across in the design industry?

In my previous job, I had challenge after challenge.  My boss was extremely sexist and was stuck in his ways. There were 3 women (including myself) who worked in the design/print section of the business and were all treated the same, regardless of job title or how long we had worked there.  One of the women who started at the same time as me, only lasted 6 weeks, he was so rude and belligerent that she just couldn't stay. As the boss continued to be rude, the men that worked there picked up on it and began to act the same way. We had no respect from anyone, the jobs we got were always very small and insignificant and even when we did do a job it would be wrong.

My working hours were 9 am - 5.30 pm and I got a 5 minute tea break in the morning and a 15 minute lunch, as ridiculous as that sounds, it is very true, when I asked my boss he explained that I didn't work enough to be entitled an hour (which would have meant working 8.45 am - 5.30 pm) something that I still don't understand!  It was all mentally exhausting, the constant battles and lack of respect pushed me to the limit and in the end I finally gave in and left my job after just 7 months.

Paul Pavlou

Paul Pavlou is a freelance Graphic Designer who is based in Walkden and is currently doing a small project for a roofing company.

I arranged to meet with Paul so he could have a look over my portfolio. He gave me some pointers about my portfolio and seemed to be more impressed by my College work than my University work he said it would be a good idea to combine the two in one big portfolio preferably in a black folder than a book.

Paul said i seem to explain myself clearly but there was a sense of lack of confidence which i agreed with, he explained that in the industry i need to have confidence in my work because if i didn't believe in it i would struggle to make others believe. After talking with him about this i did realise that if i came across unsure or my lack of confidence came through people in the design industry would see this as a weakness so this is something i need to build on.

Paul explained how he enjoyed the freedom of freelancing "your your own boss" he said but he also explained that you have to be double hard on yourself to stick to a strict routine. When he first started freelancing he explained its never as easy as you think because the first few months are spent sending mail and trying to get your work noticed in local magazines so you can gather a client list which he also added is an never ending process as some companies only want one off designs where as some companies are more regular.

Overal i found my portfolio visit with Paul to be extremely helpful and getting the knowledge of a freelance designer and how he started out is also very interesting.

I feel from the feedback i have i really need to think about a traditional portfolio but at a A4 size, which includes taking pictures of all college and university work.

Contact: Paul.pavlou@mr-wolfs.com

Website: www.decimal81.com

female Graphic Designers outnumbered?

Hi Niki,
 
Thank You for your response,  I have a few questions:
 
1.  Do you feel there is a larger ratio of men to women in the design industry? 
 
2. How do you feel women are percieved in the design industry ?
 
3. What career challenges would you say women may incounter in the design industry?
 
4. Do you have any experiences that you may of come across in your time in the industry? 
 
Many thanks for all your help i fully appreciate your time 
 
Kind Regards 
 
Vicky