CSD Sponsors Women in Design Event
The CSD sponsored Women in Design Event took place on Tuesday 20th June 2006, at the Atlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster.
Spearheaded by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Science, Engineering, and Design (WISED) and the Associate Parliamentary Group for Design and Innovation (APGDI), the event was chaired by Claire Curtis- Thomas MP.
The keynote speech was delivered by the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon John Prescott MP and included presentations from Anita Brightley- Hodges FCSD- Managing and Creative Director- Still Waters Run Deep and Helen Atkinson- Manager and Creative Director- Integrity Design.
The main purpose of the event was to:
• To promote the role of women in the design industry amongst parliamentarians
• To seek to influence the development of public policy to facilitate greater equality
• To work with business to improve retention and recruitment procedures for women in the design industry
For CSD, it provided the ideal platform to launch it’s research programme dealing with Women in Design.
““All issues affecting the practice of design are the concern of CSD and the role of women is of particular interest in that we believe the female dimension has a lot to bring to ensuring design plays a vital role in the development of a civilised society.
We are pleased, therefore, to support the research analysis and development of the role of women in design” commented CSD Chief Executive, Frank Peters MCSD FRSA MIoD.
Increasingly, the design profession must reflect a greater gender and ethnic balance.
The Chartered Society of Designers has recognised this need and is taking positive steps to promote awareness of such issues to its members and the design profession. And it is investing a great deal of time, effort and money in developing initiatives that allow it to get across this message.
Diversity and inclusion are now key criteria to membership of the professional body and in obtaining design business accreditation.
Whilst many emerging economies are seizing design as a means to sell their wares, the UK is truly lucky to have such an already established design sector, both in terms of design education and practice.
But it is also lucky to have the only professional design body in the world with a Royal Charter, 3,000 members in 34 countries around the world, a design business accreditation scheme, a commitment to professionalism and a consciousness of promoting opportunities for ethnic groups and women in design.
CSD has already begun to research into these areas, as it is essential for the profession, society in general and specifically for the Society’s future membership strategy.
• CSD is proposing to set up a forum to discuss and monitor these issues and to seek research funding to undertake the exercises outlined above.
• CSD will also allocate funds for an annual budget to progress this initiative. (As CSD receives no government or outside funding, the amounts will be small - but it is able to call on an enormous amount of effort from members and its partners in education.
The most effective way to conduct meaningful research will be for the Society to undertake a long term career mapping exercise.
Frank Peters added that “Our relationships with design education will facilitate a significant starting statistical base, regionally, nationally and internationally. In addition, our CSD membership structure which mirrors a designer's career path will facilitate a long term meaningful study.”
CSD has a dialogue with:
3,000 members
2,500 design consultancies and in-house teams
2,000 design courses
34 countries
