My class at the University of Cincinnati must have been an anomaly with 50% women! Five years later I’d say 90% (of 20-ish) of us are still gainfully employed as “industrial designers” or in the greater product design world and the others are still doing something creative… but maybe left to be moms (also respectable, still seemingly our duty) or pursue other interests.
My .02…
“The Man” is still a tall, white dude that hires designers based on his “ideal designer”. This profile created in majority to history and gender roles - ultimately one of a male designer.
This stat is alarming and makes me think there’s a bigger conversation about diversity in the workplace that needs to be mentioned.
If you are in hiring power. Think beyond yourself, your skill set, your company’s current skill set and process and take chances.
This new designer may not like cars, may not use Adobe products or a 3D modeling software, have no previous professional experience or a conventional process…
But, they will either convince someone to give them a shot or they will figure it out alone. They will be tastemakers and visionaries. And they will inspire your bored, conventional designers surfing design blogs for years to come.
You want them on your team. And you don’t want them to become bored and uninspired.
Lastly, I know there are interesting things going on in high schools (i.e. http://www.pensole.com/) but it sounds like we need to do more. We all have that quintessential, in the nick of time, perhaps one degree too late story of when we first learned about ID. I would hope for improvement!?