Despite companies pouring more money into product research and development than advertising these days – a Harvard Business Review report puts the ratio at 10 to one – it still feels as though many goods and inventions are simply not made with women in mind.
The initial models of health trackers from some popular lifestyle brands did not have a period tracking function. The first female crash test dummies were not developed until 2012 and even now, are not mandatory in tests. In the United States, women influence 85 per cent of buying decisions and drive 70 to 80 per cent of consumer spending. A Global Times report puts the female consumer market in China in excess of 10 trillion yuan in 2020, with women contributing 75 per cent of total household consumption and buying half of male-targeted products.
At the Singapore University of Technology and Design , for instance, fewer than 20 per cent of students enrolled in engineering and architecture are females. She added that achieving equal representation and inclusive design would require many things to fall into place. “Education, the availability of talent, the design principles of companies, business opportunities, the technology that makes production possible, to name just a few. It’s a whole system at play,” she said.
there are certain gaps between males and females in terms of income, education, and employment, the situation on the whole has been improving for women over the past decades, especially in developed countries.