Encouraging the exchange of knowledge
Anna Moldenhauer: Why did you found the "DDC Women's Table" format?
Judith Augustin: The Women of DDC were founded in 2019 by seven female members of the DDC. This group had noticed that female designers did not have the same presence in the association as their male colleagues – in photos and events, but also simply in terms of numbers. At that time, the proportion of female members was about 20 per cent, now it is about 28 per cent. Women designers have always been very active in the DDC, but they were less often included on a panel, for example.
Sophie Dobrigkeit: Our commitment to the visibility of women designers also led us both to join the association. The format was founded for visibility, mentoring, entrepreneurship and of course for exchange. Mentoring is generally an important point for the DDC Women's Table, as well as for our other format Learn & Burn.
What exactly do you offer as part of Learn & Burn?
Judith Augustin: The DDC Lab for Female Leadership Learn & Burn is a platform we developed during a DDC Women's Table to encourage women to take up leadership positions as well as to go into self-employment. At least that's what the first episode, which took place in 2021, was about. In several sprints before that, we tried to find out what the problems are in the careers of female designers, why the transfer to leadership positions often doesn't happen. Based on this question, we developed a programme consisting of lectures, panel discussions and workshops. The next edition will follow in 2024 with an expanded focus, as we want to pick up women at every step of their career.
Sophie Dobrigkeit: That is a point that is very important to us, because mentoring does not exclusively mean that older, experienced female designers explain to young women starting out in their careers what to do. We are convinced that women can use the exchange with each other at every point in their professional lives and so our programme is also designed to be age-independent - for the young designer to the professor emeritus.
Why are women designers less visible in the cross-section?
Judith Augustin: There are structural reasons for this, for example, young female designers are given preferential support. But in parallel, these young talents are not shown what they can create from the funding. Since there is no further transfer, they quickly hit a glass ceiling and their careers tend to regress. In addition, there are learned patterns – since there are fewer women than men in leadership positions, and fewer female professors, there is a lack of female role models for the next generation. These are exactly the points we are working on.
Can you give me an example of how you promote the careers of female designers?
Judith Augustin: The DDC Women's Table doesn't want to offer a belly-shop where every female designer can choose something. It's about community and exchange, because that creates an enormous transfer of knowledge.
Sophie Dobrigkeit: The design industry seems innovative, but it is precisely in the area of gender equality that there is a lack of progress. This is also due to the fact that designers are mostly self-employed or work in very small units. The female designers therefore have less access to corresponding structural support, as would be the case in larger companies in other sectors. We try to create this structure. I have noticed myself that the exchange about one's own questions with other designers is the first big hurdle. Many topics are similar and communication about them already triggers changes.
The programme is very diverse, what is your focus?
Sophie Dobrigkeit: The starting point for the respective programme items is often that we ourselves are enthusiastic about something.
Judith Augustin: At the beginning, we worked on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, among other things; we thought about what we were interested in and offered events on these topics – such as climate, sustainability, history or design education. In the meantime, it has developed in such a way that we spontaneously take up topics that are "in the air", so to speak, that are relevant at the moment.
How are you financed?
Sophie Dobrigkeit: That is a very good question. So far, the DDC Women's Table has been run on a voluntary basis by us as hosts and organisers. We were able to get funding from the state of Hesse at least for the Learn & Burn project. Due to the regularity of the events and the structure that we have developed, the offers have become fixed formats of the DDC.
What are your current projects?
Judith Augustin: Among other things, a digital book table in the run-up to the upcoming book fair, where we discuss books that have been published this year and in which female designers were involved. For this, we invite female authors to present their works. We will also present a cooperation with the creative industries of Hesse at the Book Fair.
DDC Women's Book Table
9 October 2023
6-7pm
Via Zoom, registration: Hier klicken
