Bias in design
I have always wondered why women’s jackets and pants don’t have pockets. As a result, I have always envied men the convenience and security of being able to carry documents, money, and house keys on their person, instead of having to keep them in a bulky bag that is easy prey for ill-intentioned individuals. Gender-based violence manifests in many ways, some obvious, others less so. Even the design of many everyday or professional objects often reflects discrimination—the thinking and actions of men for men—forgetting half the population.
Counterintuitively, designing for everyone can actually be the most prone to bias: if the end user is unspecified, the designer will tend to orient automatically toward the dominant social group, typically privileging the needs of cisgender heterosexual white men without disabilities. When considering work tools, and surgical instruments in particular, it is crucial to point out that male-oriented design can cause significant harm.
Operating rooms are filled with devices designed to fit the average surgeon, and for decades, that average was male. Handles are optimized for larger hands; buttons and sliders are calibrated for male grip strength. For a female surgeon, this means a handle may be too large for a secure grip, or a control may require more force than she can comfortably exert. Fatigue, strain, and discomfort can compromise concentration and precision, potentially affecting patient outcomes. In a profession where the margin for error is extremely small, ergonomics is not a luxury but a safety requirement. During certain procedures, female surgeons are forced to reposition their hands, not due to lack of skill, concentration, or stamina, but simply because they cannot hold the instrument properly—this also limits their career growth and professional advancement.
Design and testing for automotive safety devices have also historically suffered from male bias: male crash test dummies have existed since 1951, and only since 2011 in the USA has there been a unisex version (1.75 m tall, 79 kg!)—which still does not account for differences in female skeletal structure, breasts, hips, or neck musculature. Seatbelt design often ignores female anatomy, to the point that many pregnant women cannot even fasten them properly. According to Verity Now, women are 73% more likely to be injured and 17% more likely to die in a car crash. Certain injuries are more common in women than in men: women suffer more spinal, neck, and hip injuries due to wider hips and pelvis, and they sit further forward to reach the steering wheel and pedals.
The world’s first medium-sized female crash test dummy was introduced in 2023 by Professor Astrid Linder, a renowned researcher in road safety who dedicated 20 years to its development. The new female dummy is shorter and lighter, with a wider torso and hips and narrower shoulders. Neck stiffness is also different, as men generally have larger, stronger muscles. The goal is to ensure women receive the same protection as men in a collision.
No design is value-neutral; rather, it expresses implicit values. For example, men’s public bathrooms are typically designed without changing tables, and this is rarely identified as contradicting male involvement in childcare—yet it becomes evident in the absence of necessary design features. Gendered differences in experience should be examined and communicated with sensitivity to inform design responses. This underscores the importance of diverse teams in design projects, allowing knowledge and lived experiences from different perspectives to shape the design process.
The use of cutting-edge technologies, policies addressing inequalities in design, and more women designers are all essential measures to ensure justice in design for women. If design continues to cater to a male-dominated world, the discomfort in clothing, the lack of safety in cars, operating rooms, and public spaces will all contribute to the everyday gender-based violence experienced by half the population.