parity.
par·i·ty / perədē / noun
Gender Bias in Design
Industrial design, its culture and its objects, plays a significant role in social constructions of race, class, gender and age. This project specifically explores the active and passive roles design objects play in circumscribing a female world. A seemingly passive design object can actually reveal the economic, social, and political climate to which it is born.
Parity Pockets provide an immediate solution to one example of gender bias in design: pockets in womenswear. These no-sew pocket extenders correct non-functional pockets in womenswear. At first glance, the pocket may seem trivial, but for roughly half the population the design of the pocket is a daily affront and reminder of the subtle side of gender bias that persists in the design objects all around us.
Since the 1500s the sewn-in pocket has historically been the exclusive privilege of men and men’s wear. The pocket symbolized access to money, autonomy and the right to privacy - things historically denied to women and continue to be. Current fashion industry “standards” in patterning women’s wear with non-functional pockets is a hangover from yesteryear and Parity Pockets are here to fix it!
3 fold strategy
1
Immediate fix
Provides solution to non-functional pockets.
2
workshop & empathy exercise
Creating awareness through interactive workshop.
3
online resource
Curated research and design projects.
Workshop materials
Resource Database
Go straight to the source.
