Designing a World around Women
Hosted by: UT Austin Re-sonate
Visit our Live Broadcast Booth: Sunday, March 7, 2021, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Recommended Grades: 6th, 7th, 8th
30 minute sessions repeat each hour: 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
Join student leaders of Re-sonate to explore how we can use technology to "Design a World around Women." Re-sonate will have continuous live discussions as we discuss design flaws in every-day products and draft solutions with your help.
Each 30-minute session will consist of 3 sections: 1) Modern design flaws, 2) the “design thinking process,” and 3) creating solutions with technology.
Part 1: What are some examples of recent, gender-biased design flaws?
- Ex. 1: Google News (contained word embeddings that stereotype women and men)
- Ex. 2: Amazon Hiring Algorithm (favored verbs that were more commonly found on male than female resumes)
- Ex. 3: Apple Card Algorithm (women were offered worse credit lines than men)
Audience Q1: What are some examples of gender-biased design flaws that you can think of? Try a few Google searches and let us know what you find.
Part 2: What technological method can we use to resolve gender bias in design? We can use the “design thinking process.”
- Empathize with what your users (other people) need
- Define a problem statement that your users identify with
- Ideate with others to brainstorm as many technological solutions as you can
- Prototype a model or product that helps to solve your user problem
- Test your prototype continuously - before and after you release it to your users.
Part 3: How can we use technology to tackle the above design flaws?
- Ex. 1: Connect with other women online to identify what gender bias issues are present in society.
- Ex. 2: Remove algorithmic bias from company hiring, speech recognition, online news, and more.
- Ex. 3: Learn how to build an app or website that can help increase women’s access to technology around the world.
- Ex. 4: Create an electronic women’s products dispenser for public restrooms.
Audience Q2: How do you want to use technology to resolve gender biases in design? Let us know in the chatbox!
The discussion thread is available for everyone to use. Throughout our sessions, we will post helpful links in the chatbox to help you start your own women-oriented design project.
30 minute sessions repeat each hour: 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.