Despite great progress over the last decade, the number of female engineers remains limited. A study in the US showed that the number of women entering engineering as a course of study is around 20%. Of these, 40% do not continue professionally as engineers. Causes are manifold, but a consequence is that most products and systems are designed by men, even if the products are for the female population. The role of women in product development is limited to participation in market research and testing. The presentation will give examples of gender bias in products and highlight the importance of using the innovation potential of women in product development through some successful cases. The presentation will close with an analysis of causes and possible actions to develop and tap into this potential.

Luciënne T.M. Blessing is a Professor in the Engineering and Product Development Pillar, and Co-Director of the SUTD-MIT International Design Center, at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) since 2016. Previously she held positions at the University of Luxembourg (Vice-president for Research, Chair of Engineering Design and Methodology, Chair of the Ethics Review Panel); Technical University of Berlin (Chair of Engineering Design and Methodology, Vice-president for Research and International Relations); Cambridge University Engineering Design Centre (Senior Research Associate and Associate Director); and University of Twente in the Netherlands (Lecturer). She received her MSc from Delft University of Technology (NL), a PhD from the University of Twente (NL), an honorary Doctorate from Mälardalen University in Sweden, and the Peabody Visiting Professorship at the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering. She has taught a large number of workshops and conducted research in engineering design, design innovation and systematic design for a variety of public and private organizations. She was co-founder of the Design Society, Editor-in-Chief (Europe) of the journal Research in Engineering Design, and co-author of DRM, a Design Research Methodology, a textbook widely used worldwide. Her research interests include empirical studies into the design process; design methodologies and early stage methods; product service systems; user experience and product meaning; design research methodology, design theory and transdisciplinarity.