The Non-Negotiables: Non-Linearity
Non-linearity, although a captivating theme, is complex. Every time I revisit it, I find myself wanting to tweak it further, peel back another layer trying to get to the root of what I want to convey. It’s still very much a work in progress.
At its core, non-linearity wants to address life patterns that deviate from what is considered the 'default'— specifically to highlight the unseen costs and penalties of ignoring these variations. Why does this matter for women? Women's biological differences and the gendered realities those differences create is all considered outside the norm.
What do I mean by all of this? Let’s look at some real world examples:
Health: The apple watch, when originally released forgot about reproductive health altogether. Their medication reminder only works on a circadian rhythm, which is often irrelevant for hormonal medication.
Tech: Many voice recognition apps are known to understand women’s voices less.
Money: Pension funds don’t take into account the gender pay gap, that women might go in and out of work more because of parental leave, and that they live longer.
Schools: Parents of young kids need to find the time, money & energy to ensure their kids can participate in the school's spirit day, pyjama day, easter breakfast, you name it.
The often invisible costs and penalties:
Healthcare related monetary costs from not taking reproductive health into account
Time & labour costs (consider a doctor using VR technology to take patient notes; if the tech struggles to interpret female voices, it not only doubles the time female doctors have to put in, but it could jeopardise patient safety.)
Purchasing power penalties from the gender pension gap
The female parent is more likely to take on the burden of ensuring their kid doesn't feel left out on spirit day – hello mental & physical (and monetary) loads.
If you take a moment to think about it, you’ll realise how much of the world is built for linearity. The 9 to 5 workday. The Monday to Friday workweek. The LinkedIn profile. Public transportation schedules. Investing advice. The list can keep going.
Putting into practice
Women are more likely to face higher levels of time poverty and unpaid labour burdens. Therefore it is critical for us factor these aspects into our design solutions. Here’s how some gender practitioners have thought about it:
When designing a job-matching platform, Gina Romero noticed that most sites only offered 'full-time' or 'part-time' options. She questioned why not ask ‘how many hours do you prefer to work’ or ‘what shifts would best suit you’ to provide the flexibility women need. By not asking these questions, we not only force women to spend more time searching for suitable opportunities, but workplaces also miss out on great talent.
Dr. Tara Cookson's research has shown that while conditional cash transfer programs (widely popular to support women in poverty) are well-intentioned, they inadvertently increase the time and labor burdens on women. These programs require women to complete extensive paperwork, participate in additional programming, and sometimes travel long distances to receive benefits. How might these programs try to reduce these additional burdens which cancel out the benefits they are providing?
What if LinkedIn was non-linear? This is a question that almost always emerges in our signature course & workshop. Having thought about non-linearity, participants wonder why LinkedIn centers chronology rather than letting humans drive their own story. This leads to narratives that de-normalise breaks, deprioritise volunteering experiences, and makes it about institutions rather than skill & experience.
Resources to learn more:
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