< PreviousWomen in design commercialinteriordesign.com March 2021 20 Carla Conte Founder and creative director, Brand Creative While it's true that the industry feels very female led at the undergrad level, the common issues around maintaining those numbers throughout one's career are unrealistic, especially at the regional level where the cultural norm for some women is to set work aside for marriage and children. Unfortunately, the childbearing years can still be a huge career setback just when most women are at the point of promotion or gaining seniority in every culture and country. I'm really excited to see the UAE government take a very progressive approach recently and offer longer maternity leave allowances to women, as well as the option of paternity leave. I think that changing the narrative around women being the sole bearers of responsibility in raising children, is key to seeing us push humanity forward. While I have always been encouraged and supported by male peers and mentors to climb the proverbial ladder and achieved a creative director position before I turned 30, it was no secret that I was being paid less than my male colleagues and that's something that never sat well with me. I was lucky to have started my career in a country that strives for equality and in an organisation that would allow me to be vocal about my grievances without the fear of losing my job. Achieving my career goals meant I had to be willing to travel extensively and work longer hours. None of that was ever asked, but the implication was there. Although my personal experience was equal pay and rank for far more effort, I don't resent that, I look at it as a contributing factor to my strengths and resilience. When I decided to launch my own design agency at 31, I felt that transitioning into parenthood would stall any advancements for signifi cant business growth. That isn't everyone's inner narrative, thankfully, but my Italian heritage and strong sense of the matriarch being the head of household was far too ingrained. I couldn't imagine being a successful leader and a loving mother simultaneously. Eventually my age became an issue and the sense of urgency around starting a family started It was no secret I was being paid less than the men to surface. That came with its own set of challenges that took a toll on my mental health and my sense of worth as a woman. We are extremely fortunate to be able to employ help in the region but every mother understands the underlying guilt and sadness of having to leave your child to attend work whilst someone else is at home on your behalf. Truth be told that there are some days where the thrill of a specifi c project or just being your 'old self' and going to work is refreshing, invigorating even, but I found that the decision to do so had to be on my own terms or I ended up feeling robbed. In hindsight I can say that my career path was right for me as I was able to achieve enough growth in the early days that I had enough support from a wonderful and capable team when my time came to welcome motherhood. There is a glass ceiling in every industry but all it takes is a woman who is motivated, determined and truly talented to break it. Embracing your innate female traits can be incredibly empowering when coupled with strategy and consideration and I think that truly intelligent people recognise that and encourage it. In Dubai I fi nd myself surrounded by female friends who are nothing but high achievers. If you fi nd yourself unable to move past barriers in your organisation, regardless of your proven achievements, it's time to move on. Women in design 21 March 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Emma Stinson Creative director and founder, Studio EM Having been in the industry in the UAE for 16 years, it's safe to say it's a lot better than it once was. However I still believe there is a great disparity between the gender balance the further up the food chain we go. Just look at this year's Power List as a prime example; the young talent top 10 comprised of nine females and one male. The senior section had three females out of 10. In fact in the history of the top 50 power list, there has never been more than four females in the Top 10 and it's often been the same names, hence why I was so delighted to fi nally crack the top 10 this year and to see Carla [Conte] crack it too, both of us as top 10 newcomers. When you also contrast this to the awards for young designer of the year and interior designer of the year, the metrics or ratios are similar, so it's not a bad assertion to say that the industry is perhaps more female led at undergraduate level than at the top level. In fact I read a great report in the US about this where it stated: "The industry starts out with 90 percent women graduates, dropping down to about 70 percent of practitioners and vendors who actually stay in the fi eld, dropping down to about 30 percent of actual leaders of fi rms, and dropping even further to less than 20 percent of leaders of product companies." Unfortunately most of the studies into this divide focus more on architecture than interior design, but the disparity can't just be because we are all off having babies and becoming stay at home mums. There has to be more underlying factors to cause this drop off and those factors are toxic masculinity in the industry, the gender pay gap, unequal opportunities or the glass ceiling that encompasses all of these elements. These are the issues that we really need to address before we see a sizable shift in attitudes in the industry. Ironically enough, my husband studies a lot of literature on feminism and a large part of his recent degree studies was on the feminist theories of law. The numbers from above are very similar to that of law student/partners and in his studies, he came across so many examples of the how woman are preconditioned by the patriarchal society and a lot of the studies and fi ndings are applicable to woman in most industries not just law. In those studies, he read that young boys are told to fi ght, to be bold, chatty, leaders etc, whereas in the past woman were to be kind, softly spoken, well mannered, speak when spoken too, don't cause a fuss... Men were preconditioned to go out, work and pay for the home, woman were preconditioned to keep the home. This has then transferred into the workplace, where woman have followed their stereotype and men have followed theirs, meaning that perhaps this preconceived notion of fi ghting, being louder and aggressive has seen men climb higher and faster than woman. However, thankfully I am now seeing more and more young woman coming into the business, into our studio for interview who are going against this patriarchal norm. So yes, at the moment, we're still a long way from where we need to be, but I do believe that our generation are chipping away at the glass ceiling, taking sizeable chunks out of it, paving the way and the generation after us are the ones who are going to take a sledgehammer to it. I am fortunate that when I had my daughter, I already had my own studio and was running Studio EM so was in charge of my own maternity leave. Currently maternity leave is 45 days here, which is very challenging for new mums who work. The fi rst thing I did when I got back into the studio was to change this to 100 days for our employees. There are some wonderful men in the industry who are feminist allies, there are two men in our offi ce who are brilliant and men out there who are industry leaders who have been very respectful and cordial and who empower woman, which I love, but on the fl ip side, there are also plenty of woman trying to play both sides of the game and they are the ones who are causing the real damage for the future generation of young female leaders. Women in design commercialinteriordesign.com March 2021 22 Geetha Nayak Managing partner, Design Infi nity Women are underrepresented in architecture. There has been a gradual decrease in the number of women architects overall. Yes, there is a gap between the number of female graduates and practicing architects. The percentage of women in architecture radically decreases as one moves up the ladder towards more senior positions and prestigious honours and I totally agree that female mentors and role models are in scarce supply. It would be good to see more women in the industry. Transition into parenthood is one major life transition. However, I have been fortunate to be blessed with a supportive husband, my mother who has been there for me since the birth of my daughter, who is now 20. My family is the greatest strength for me. I have been working since the age of 22 and I am really lucky to have a Women are the backbone of our company strong family support because of which my career path has always been progressive. Design Infi nity women are the backbone of our organisation. Most of our project managers are women. Most of our departments, like quantity survey, HR and marketing are driven by women and our ratio of women to men staff strength is really good as compared to other organisations in the industry. At Design Infi nity, we truly treat everyone equally. Women in design 23 March 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Kathryn Athreya Managing director, Roar I've been in the design (or related) industries for 18 years so I've seen it all. I started out working at a studio in Toronto, Canada, and at the time the majority of the upper management were men. The situation was similar when I worked for a large global real estate consultancy here in Dubai. Of the 12 or so on the executive committee, there was only myself and two other women. Now I am in a completely different environment, working for a boutique agency that is 92 percent female with a 100 percent female leadership team. I would be lying if I said it didn't There is no ego among our teams. We just get it done feel different being in a predominantly female work environment and I absolutely love it. There is no ego, I feel a complete sense of sisterhood and camaraderie and no one feels pressure to constantly prove themselves – we just get it done. We look for solutions instead of worrying about the problems. None of the stereotypes of a female-led workforce exist (you won't see us bursting in to tears at drop of a hat) and we're all just excited and grateful to be part of something so unique and empowering. I believe in equality but that doesn't mean I believe in sameness. There are fundamental differences between men and women and equality is about celebrating these and recognising each for their strengths. Although I don't like to generalise, women do tend to fi nd that empathy comes naturally and this is an extremely powerful tool in the fi eld of design. To design with empathy is to put yourself in the position of the user, and everything should begin from there. Making the transition in to parenthood while working is a challenge for anyone. Both Pallavi and I have children so we know how diffi cult this balancing act can be. In fact, Pallavi started Roar because she wasn't getting the fl exibility she wanted at the place she was working when she had her fi rst child. School sports days and piano concerts are so important and should not be missed – we support our moms (and all of our staff) by providing them the fl exibility to take care of life – the loyalty we get in return far outweighs the time away from the offi ce. It really blows my mind when I hear that women who have had time away from the workforce to raise a family fi nd it hard to get a job because there is a gap of a few years in their CV. These are some of the most talented, hard- working and reliable employees you will fi nd. Everything that we go through, all the experiences, mistakes and the lessons learned along the way, give us more to contribute to our place of work. The biggest problem women face in this industry is imposter syndrome. So many amazing women deal with low self- esteem, causing them to back away from opportunities instead of diving in. Is there a glass ceiling? Only the one that women create for themselves. There are many incredible women leading this industry, you just have to look at the CID Power List to see the females running the show.Women in design commercialinteriordesign.com March 2021 24 Laila Al Yousef (and Yasmine) Design director and partner, SAY Studio I had always known there was a gender gap in our industry but hadn't really looked into the numbers until this article. According to recent research from the UK's Design Museum, only one in fi ve working designers are women, while enrolment statistics indicate that seven of 10 design students are female. In another study, the 100 biggest architectural fi rms in the world were surveyed and found that only one of 10 high level staff were women, and only three fi rms had women at the head. This year's CID Power 50 indicates the story is much the same here, with seven women of the 20 designers, one of 10 in fi t-out, fi ve of 10 suppliers, yet nine of 10 in young talent. It appears to be the case with other parts of the industry as well, whether I want to be a great role model to my daughter it's contractors or project managers. Unfortunately, I think the reason for this is this industry, like many others, is not immune to sexism, misconceptions around gender roles and a glass ceiling. While I think that we are moving in a positive direction, and things are changing for the better here and around the world, I do think the fi rst step to real change is recognising where the issues may be. Regrettably, I have had my own fi rsthand experiences of being exposed to sexism at different stages of my career. Now as a business owner, I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility to protect the female members of our staff from some of the experiences I have had. It is my belief that the only real way of conquering the gender gap is by having enough women in roles of power coming together to support each other within the industry, as well as acting as mentors to the younger female generations. In recent years, more female networking groups have popped up and have acted in this role, but maybe the next step for these groups is to reach out to some of the up-and-coming female designers and to the female design students, possibly connecting them with female heads in mentorship roles. In my own personal life, I am now navigating an entirely new world, unknown and ever-changing, as a mother. Multitasking has reached new levels. I've been back in the offi ce for less than a month now and I'm learning to become more effi cient than ever, realising that my time has never been more precious. It hasn't changed my career ambitions, if anything she has fueled me even more. I want to be a great role model to my daughter. I want her to be proud of me and ideally, I would like to leave something behind for her. And maybe one day, she can read this article 20 years from now, with her own aspirations of the woman she would like to be. Women in design 25 March 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Marianna Piccolo Founder, My Pick One Unfortunately the ceiling glass is still there. I am glad to see that more and more women are taking the lead in our industry, but it is still not enough to change the mentality of the people who associate construction industry with a man. How can we break it? That's something I am still to fi gure out, and if somebody has a formula, I would be more than happy to know it. On several occasions I thought that if I was a man they would have treated me in a different way. I have been in this industry for 12 years, and working as self-employed for almost 10 years. Initially it was not easier to work as woman in a construction industry. It was extremely challenging, but now that women are more and more involved in the industry it is slightly better…but still the glass ceiling is not yet broken. Can you imagine that one of the values of my companies is respect? It sounds silly to have to say it, but I was forced to do it as unfortunately I have experienced everyday sexism several times. On one of the construction sites I was working on, the contractor put me up against the client. I did not stay quiet, but I replied back. His objective was to intimidate me. Do you think if I was a man he would have reacted differently? I do. And, what do you think was my reaction? I am not a fi ghter, so instead of lowering myself to their level, I went higher. As Michelle Obama says, when somebody goes lower you go higher. Women in design commercialinteriordesign.com March 2021 26 Rachael Brown Creative director, Capsule Arts Over the past three years we've been progressively hiring, and our team have quadrupled in size. It hasn't gone unnoticed that the applications we receive have a signifi cant female bias, especially in our entry-level roles where we've hired mostly graduates from the local universities. Leading a team of young professionals, my co-founder Deepa and I have worked very hard to create a diverse team. Currently three-quarters are female and while we aim to create a gender balance, we ultimately hire who is the best fi t for the role and our company culture. We fi nd the majority of applicants are either graduates or mid-career. They often apply with limited awareness that art consulting is a career prospect. We also fi nd that more qualifi ed and experienced applicants are choosing this direction by making a sidestep in their career utilising a host of transferable skills. We defi nitely seem to have found our USP when it comes to attracting talent; a lot of our team and the people we interview are frustrated artists. I've lost count of the number of times someone has told me that they wanted to study art, but they were encouraged into architecture or interior design by their families and guidance counsellors as these professions are deemed to have greater job prospects in the long-term. I've also been told that since they were women, or perhaps the youngest sibling, they were 'allowed' to pursue studies in the creative industries. I'm highly driven, a great planner and goal setter – a characteristic that has always served me well in my career and as a business owner. It was when I started working with a life and business coach a few years back that the realisation hit 'I needed to plan my personal life like I had my career'. I had forgotten to live by what I preach to the team, to have a balanced life. While I don't currently have children, there has always been an emphasis on how being a parent affects a woman's career but little in reverse. Quite simply, I was so busy growing my business and enjoying life that starting a family was just slightly out of my vision. At some point we have to choose what's non-negotiable and how to prioritise. Currently we have some great female role models in the industry, and I can't wait to see how the industry changes over the next fi ve to 10 years as these women set an example for the region and continue to mentor their peers and colleagues. I'd say it's promising but there's still a lot of progress to be made. I'd like to see more woman in executive roles and on boards in the region. The UAE government is setting a great example in this regard and I'd like to see it fi lter down into the private sector. In the early days of Capsule Arts and before being appointed on our fi rst large project, the project manager asked us 'if we were tough enough to deal with a diffi cult client.' We looked at each other perplexed and I certainly felt insulted by the question. I can't imagine he would have asked the same if sat in front of two male business owners. Currently we have some great female role models in the industryWomen in design 27 March 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Selini Bishop PR executive, Bishop Design "What does International Women's Day mean to you?" was the question someone sprung on me at the start of an impromptu phone call last week. What a way to catch someone off guard as they drift into a Thursday evening nap. With a slightly foggy head, the coffee from a day's work worn off and the obligatory Thursday night drink not yet poured, I think I span off something like "well, I personally believe the narrative we should be using this day to focus on is rooted in diversity and inclusion," hoping to give the impression that I had just plucked those words out of nowhere. The honest reality was that I actually had a phone on the brink of reaching storage capacity given the amount of notes I had started writing from the second Jane [CID editor] asked me to be involved in the women's feature. I wanted to come across as profound and intelligent as I possibly could. My input was about to be featured alongside some phenomenal women, and at the age of 22 these sorts of opportunities do not come around very often (or ever!) So yes, I couldn't have jumped higher at the chance, and I needed to get this 'right.' Although I couldn't ignore that overwhelming sense of Imposter Syndrome that consumed me. In an attempt to give some insight as to why this is, besides my age, I'm open to disclosing that I haven't completed university either. This isn't necessarily a matter of not getting the appropriate grades or having the support network that I needed. On the contrary, whilst I may have been raised by a single father, he epitomised the essence of support. He is my best friend, soul mate and backbone to my very existence. My reasons for not attending further education weren't because I didn't have the desire to either. After leaving school I found myself on a different path to the rest of my friends – headed for London in the UK to start a life that I thought I wanted. It was a tough time for me mentally. I felt confi ned in a situation that I understood needed to change, but it took some time to fi nd the strength that I needed to leave. The most diffi cult decision I had ever been faced with by the time I reached 18 was to give myself a chance at a life that I knew deep down I deserved, but had neglected for years. With the support of my amazing father and uncle, I packed my bags and fl ed to Dubai accompanied with an unfamiliar feeling of bravery. And now here I am, four years later, contemplating what I have to say about International Women's Day. Trying to pluck up personal experiences that make me sound worthy of being included in a feature that looks at important subjects like diversity, sexism, breaking through glass ceilings or feminism. But that's not my history. I haven't personally had to shatter any glass, or ever really experienced direct sexism in my time. However, I have certainly overcome other challenges. And as I ferociously type away, the more I come to the realization that this day should be about celebrating every genre of women's achievements, no matter how big or small we perceive them to be, because they are all signifi cant. Whether those successes are becoming a female CEO, entering parenthood or escaping a domestic abuse relationship. Women who battle with anxiety but still show up, or even on the days that they can't, those whom remain their authentic self and those that love fearlessly, these are all women we should recognize and celebrate. I always used to measure my success on whether or not I had a degree, but I'm learning to see it in all the accomplishments that I have made. They may be different to others, but they are equally accountable. The day also reminds me of my incredible father, who brought me up alone, and acted as both a father and mother fi gure when I was growing up. International Women's Day means something different to everyone, and that's okay. We should be recognising our own personal hurdles, celebrating our journeys, and trying not to compare ourselves to others. Whatever our stories may be, they are all worth shouting about.Women in design commercialinteriordesign.com March 2021 28 Tala Alnounou Head of marketing MENA, LWK+PARTNERS In a world where women are becoming more and more empowered, it is particularly interesting to understand how fast they are climbing the professional ladder and if they are receiving support. To me it is not gender that drives a certain career path, in an industry such as design we are trained to use design thinking in approaching problems, goals and even achieving dreams. I graduated from AUS in 2011; my batch was mostly women, and we were eager to get involved professionally, which at the time was predominantly male led. Over the following years the gap between the number of female graduates and qualifi ed practitioners has become smaller. I believe that technology has an important role in bridging that gap across geographic boundaries. At partnership and ownership level the gap has also lessened, with many high-profi le and award-winning practices being led by women, yet the scale in reduction is perhaps less, with reasons beyond the industry perhaps infl uencing this. Throughout my career I've been fortunate to work with some great design entities that believed in equal opportunities, who have exposed me to great opportunities that shaped my career path. LWK+PARTNERS is a strong proponent of conversation about today's most crucial issues while collaborating on ways to make a positive impact in our industry. As a practice our composition and values are strengthened by elevating voices from divergent backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We seek to facilitate and be a platform for empowerment across the board. We are perhaps fortunate to be in a country where it actively champions gender diversity as a national priority with inspiring women and mothers in positions of leaders and ministers and in that context, the World Economic Forum ranked the UAE as one of the leading countries for gender equality in the Middle East. It's important however to acknowledge that there are improvements still to be made across the profession and by no means rest with the status quo. Women today are well equipped, savvy about their obligations both at home and at the offi ce. An experience that I had fi rst- hand growing up under the wing of my mother, an inspirational working woman. She taught me that raising a family and having a career comes with complex responsibilities and rewarding fruits and that's where I see my future. I can assure you that we as ladies enjoy challenging an industry that historically and predominantly was inhabited by males, disrupting decades-old patterns and establishing a new, more inclusive design industry. Keep an open mind, be curious and confi dent. Do not be afraid to step up, come forward, be bold in accepting challenging roles and be willing to admit you do not always have the answers. Change in the industry is happening, do your best to be part of the momentum. Change in the industry is happeningWomen in design 29 March 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Vanessa Northway Associate head of school, School of Textiles & Design, Heriot-Watt University Dubai The design industry today comprises interior design, interior architecture and architecture, with fi ne lines drawn between all of these. The general feeling is that architects can design interiors but not vice versa. This means there are many architects in the industry who double up as interior designers but not vice versa, even though interior designers are specialists in the fi eld and architects possess a more general understanding of interiors. Clients are not always aware of the distinction and what it means, and as a result, architects are sometimes asked to create interior design solutions. Architecture is often perceived as a male dominated profession and interior design a female-dominated one. This perception is responsible for a greater number of women choosing to study interior design instead of architecture. After graduation, many women choose not to pursue their career in interior design and instead move into broader design careers. Men, on the other hand, choose not to practice architecture but instead move into interior design thereby causing a gender imbalance. The numbers support this – The American Institute of Architects counted 83,000 members at the end of 2012, yet only 18 percent are women. In contrast, according to Interior Design's recent Universe Study, of the 87,000 interior designers in the United States, a whopping 69 percent are women. Another UK study found that whilst only 22 percent of those working in jobs associated with design are women, 70 percent of A-level entrants for design-related subjects are female. For me personally, the transition into parenthood affected my career path in a way that was hugely positive! I was working in Taiwan for a garment manufacturing company as their senior designer when I had my fi rst child. I switched to working part-time, then when we had our second baby, I decided to start up my own business. There was a great deal of travelling I had to undertake in order to meet buyers, visit factories and go on sourcing trips, all of which just didn't really fi t well with two young children in a foreign country with no family support. I therefore launched my own kids wear label and undertook part time lecturing at a design school. By the time my oldest was fi ve years old, I had two businesses going and had moved back to the UK. I then moved to Shanghai to move into academia when the younger child turned fi ve, which was in 2006. At this stage, I became the primary breadwinner in the family, whilst my husband worked part-time and cared for the children. We moved to Dubai in 2009. At every stage, I have had the support and encouragement of my husband and I havhad the chance to experience a rich and fulfi lling career. Parenthood has never been a barrier to achieving any of my dreams. On gender-based pay – this certainly exists in the design industry. For example, a 2019 study by the Royal Institute of British Architects found that the pay gap in architecture is 15 percent in the UK. Today there are several measures to publicise pay statistics and hold employers accountable in an effort to close this gap. Personally speaking, I believe I have never been short-changed on the basis of my gender. My work and expertise have always been fairly valued, and I have always felt respected for my skills. Absolutely yes – there is a glass ceiling in design. This is an industry where over half of emerging graduates are female, therefore the lack of more women in workforce defi nitely leaves one pondering. Additionally, majority of senior roles are held by men – one study found that 67 percent of large interior design fi rms' partners or principals are male. Yet, all is not lost. Today there are creative networks that focus on the advancement of women in the creative industries through mentoring, coaching and portfolio reviews. There is a move bringing about change in the design industry work culture by advocating for better work life balance. It is a well-known fact that long hours – a trademark of the design industry – affect women disproportionately because they are mostly the primary caregivers and the responsibility of running the house falls on their shoulders. And there are steps being taken to eliminate the gender pay gap. Progress is slow but steady and it is important that the design industry comes up with resourceful solutions in order to be able to smash the glass ceiling.Next >