36 / I don't want to empower any women

This post is part of the Unconforming newsletter series. View our previous issues here.

 
 

Dear Friends,

For so many, gender practice equates to “women’s empowerment.” When anyone describes Unconform as women’s empowerment, I cringe a little. Actually, I cringe a lot. The truth is that I am not trying to empower anyone. I strongly believe that all women are empowered enough and just fine as they are. To empower is defined as “giving power to someone to do something.” But, first let’s evaluate when that power is taken away.

I’m imagining a group of women in India. They’ve arrived at their village square because someone “important” told them to come and listen to what some other important people have to say to them. A man stands at the front and offers some training or a lecture. In the middle he pauses, and asks them in slow motion, “samajh aaya?” Which translates to “do you understand?” His palm open and facing the women, he does this several times. His tone is condescending, as if the women are stupid. I’m imagining this scene because a smart gender practitioner painted it for me recently and because I have actually seen it in reality many times. I might even have been the man at the front, giving that lecture.

The ‘samajh aaya?’ moments are when we disempower women. And, they are everywhere all the time. They are in our conversations with financial advisors with the jargon rolling off his tongue. They are when women are being gaslighted in a healthcare experience. They are among the women trying to make it in tech or as engineers. We try to fix these moments through empowerment and leadership trainings, but ironically, I’m sure the moment shows up there too.

Empowerment has become yet another condescending glorification of women.

I’ve had the privilege to learn and observe women from all walks of life – a CEO in New York, a small biz owner in an urban slum in Bangalore, an immigrant student in the UK – we are all empowered and just fine as we are. But, we all experience the moment. Why? Because women are excluded from the world's design in labeled disempowered as a result.

Instead – our financial, healthcare and other everyday services could bake empowerment and confidence into their user experience by showing a woman that it's built for them. They’ve already been doing it for men all these years. Can’t be that hard, no?

Until next time,
Mansi

D E S I G N F O R W O M E N C O N V E R S A T I O N S —

On October 19: Designing for Muslim Women

 
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Taking the lens of faith, this conversation will explore what it means to design for intersectionality and groups with double disadvantages in a time when Islamophobia is at a high in so many parts of the world. Hanieh and Aleena both design experiences to serve womxn of color, and Muslim women in India respectively, and will be sharing what they have found to be successful in serving intersectional women with double disadvantages.

F R O M O U R G E N D E R P R A C T I T I O N E R S —

Sehat Kahani increases healthcare access by economically empowering doctor-brides

 
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In Pakistan, several women receive a medical education primarily to find a good hand in marriage, and are later disallowed to practice. Dr. Sara Saeed, CEO of Sehat Kahani – a telemedicine platform with female doctors, was once a doctor-bride too. Here’s what makes them successful:

  • Embed fair financial incentives: beyond access to resources, financial autonomy builds self-esteem and self-worth

  • Understand that women might feel and express symptoms differently: women in Pakistan might describe depression as a headache

  • Translate between digital and physical: even though Sehat Kahani is a digital space, acknowledging and designing online privacy has been key

  • Women aren’t stupid – ensure your product doesn’t have a condescending tone

✨ Opportunities to Unconform ✨

Ways for you to Unconform via jobs, events, grants & more. If you hear of an opportunity to Unconform, definitely let us know!

Staying in the know

  • READ: How brands are diluting the meaning of empowerment
    ‘Femvertising’ — a manifestation of purpose branding – capitalises on the idea that women’s empowerment can be bought. 
    By saying that wearing this swimsuit or using that pink razor, women will be confident enough to go change the world, brands are essentially supporting the notion that empowerment is women’s responsibility, and failing to acknowledge the unequal and patriarchal systems that have disempowered women in the first place.

  • READ: What’s Really Holding Women Back?
    Are flexible work options, such as remote work and part-time work, actually band-aid solutions to a deeper problem? Short answer: yes.
    Research finds that these ‘accommodations’ actually perpetuate the gender narrative that women are naturally inclined to take care of family, and men are ideal and fully committed workers – because it is primarily women who are encouraged to opt-in to flex work. “To address its gender issue, the firm would have to address its long-hours issue," concludes the research – so that no one, including men, has to choose between work and family. This example clearly shows that a female-centric approach to research and design can also make men’s lives better.

  • READ: Women's Empowerment: What Works?
    ”Much of the [women's empowerment] narrative focuses on what women can do for development rather than what development can do for women.”
    Women’s empowerment is being treated as a destination to be reached, excluding the pathways women create for themselves in the process. This review of five case studies shows how social impact programs – which were primarily designed to increase access to resources – have also acknowledged and served women’s empowerment needs in parallel. By (1) building critical consciousness: knowing their rights, (2) building collective power: claiming their rights, and (3) building relationships: connecting with local women’s organisations.

...and there's more:

📚Community Shares: Alexandra S. is collecting stories to discover new ways for women to bank and access financial services. Tell her yours.

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Unconforming is a newsletter about designing for women. It is crafted by Unconform Studio, a service design & strategy firm focused on making design for women mainstream. We use design research and behavioural design to support organisations in making systems-level change for women in a world traditionally designed for men. Learn more.

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