March 8 is International Women’s Day, and while it should perhaps be Women’s Day once in every two days, on this day in particular we shine a spotlight on the bigger picture.
It’s a day recognised and celebrated by the United Nations, and a crucial part of the new Sustainable Development Goals that were agreed and adopted by the global community in September last year. That sounds very grand and lofty, but in reality it is a chance for all of us—you, me, civil society, the private sector, and governments—to actually make some important decisions about things that end up affecting real lives.
One of these important goals is achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls. It’s important for a whole bunch of interrelated reasons. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
The 2016 theme for International Women’s Day is [I]“Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”[/I]. It is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their communities as we aim to give gender inequality a firm expiration date.
[B]I’d love for us to share who our female UX roles models are. Who are the women that inspire you in your UX work? Why?[/B]
Your role models and heroes might not have ‘UX’ in their job title. They might be a well-known business leader with a customer focus, or they might be relatively unknown, lacking recognition for their valuable and inspiring difference. They don’t need to still be alive. Lots of people who I want to be more like sadly aren’t around anymore.
- [B]Which women inspire you in your UX work or your design career?[/B]
- [B]Who are the women who have made a difference to how we do things in our field?[/B]
- [B]Which big events in our field’s history were driven by women?[/B]
- [B]What is it about these women that you find inspiring?[/B]