The traditional role of women is to decorate the home and bring up the children. Repairing, adjustment and reuse of objects has also been part of their task. They are cultural bearers who are transferring traditions to the next generation and transforming them to fit the current situation. In this way they have the ability to contribute to a sustainable future, provided that they are empowered with the appropriate tools and authority to do so. On the other hand, professional designers are often engaged in sustainability projects in cooperation with lay people, but lack competence in gendered roles. To improve the conscience and knowledge of gender and women´s particular potentialities, would mean a considerable contribution to a sustainable development. This raises the question of how the topic of gender should be included and linked to the matter of sustainability in design education. Another question is how to become aware of and change the gendered traditions and attitudes among teachers and students.
The aims of the investigation have been: To find efficient ways to implement the topic; To uncover differences in students’ and teachers’ behavior according to gender; To detect weak points that need to be particularly elaborated. The investigation is a case study of Oslo and Akershus University College (HIOA), As its design education is quite similar to others’, the outcome should be of international relevance.
In 2017 a plan for the implementation of diversity in education and research was launched at (HIOA). The Department of Product Design has followed up by two events with focus on gender. A lecture on gender and design was held for the master students, followed by a questionnaire to be returned anonymously. A seminar was held for the teachers, followed by the same questionnaire procedure.
The analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative data from the two events: Minutes from the lecture and the seminar, and the answers to the questionnaire. HIOA’s implementation plan for diversity, governmental documents and research literature has also been be used.
The outcome of the student and teacher events were analysed separately and compared in order to find differences in attitudes and in ideas for implementation.
The investigation showed that the students had more radical views than the teachers and were more open to include the topic. They clearly realized the link between gender and sustainability. The female students were more enthusiastic than the male. Among the teachers most of the females had a positive attitude to include the topic, both at a general level and in several of the courses. The male teachers constituted the most reluctant group, but they welcomed an implementation of the topic in two specific courses. In conclusion, making male teachers more conscious of and competent to implement the topic constitutes the major challenge.
The outcome of the two events constitutes a useful and foundational information resource for further work.
8a. Gender, inclusivity & human rights
