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Notices and Press Releases

Women's Design Service : 'Equal' doesn't mean the 'same' Don't treat women equally

By taking gender differences into account, better environments can be built.

You wouldn't design a nursery with adult sized furniture. Or distribute disabled parking bays equally through a car park. And no one would consider giving planning permission for a brewery next to a mosque.

However, when it comes to gender difference, designers, developers and decision makers rarely design to clients' differing needs...

How treating men and women 'equally' hasn't worked

For instance, men and women's toilets are almost always allocated equal space within cinemas, theatres, and shopping complexes; yet it's evident by the huge queues that form outsidew omen's toilets that treating the sexes 'equally' like this simply doesn't work.

Our public transport infrastructure is another example of how treating men and women 'equally' has led to flawed design. Most of it was developed for the requirements of the originally male commuter, while the complex journeys of women with caring and other responsibilities were not taken into account.

Men have lost out too. For example increasing numbers of men look after young babies but find that nappy changing facilities are only available in women's toilets.

Creating a better environment for everyone

At Women's Design Service, our aim is not only to highlight these issues, but to provide academics, planners, architects, designers and decision makers with the information they require to help create better built environments that meet the needs of both men and women.

This is why we have been working on an UrbanBuzz funded project, in partnership with Queen Mary University of London, to design a new website called Gendersite.org. It's the definitive online resource for gender and the built environment.

Up to date information at your fingertips

Gendersite.org lists books, bibliographies, broadcasts, conference papers, journals, reports, unpublished PhDs and more. The site also features case studies highlighting the issues around the subject of gender in the built environment. We welcome your contributions to this resource and would like to encourage all users to notify us of any new research as it becomes available.

Why not take a moment to visit now?

To find out how Gendersite can help you with your future projects, visit http://www.gendersite.org now - where you'll also be able to register for more information on the up-coming major Gendersite event to be held on 2nd October in the Octagon at Queen Mary University of London.

In the meantime, if you have any questions get in touch by emailing gendersite@wds.org.uk. We'd be delighted to hear from you.

To register now for more info on the Gendersite event on October 2nd, visit http://www.gendersite.org/registration.php

This project was supported by the UCL-led by UrbanBuzz Programme, within which UEL is a prime partner.