‘In Focus’ – An Interview with Mansi Gupta
Mansi Gupta (she/her) is the founder of Unconform Studio – a design and innovation firm focused on making design for women mainstream.
At Unconform, Mansi collaborates with organizations to help them get started with a Design for Women practice and apply a female-centric design lens to their products and services. Mansi has years of experience applying behavioural research & design strategy in social impact, including increasing financial inclusion among lower-income women in developing nations and designing games to research reproductive healthcare in rural India. She is the author of Unconforming, a newsletter on women and design.
Mansi holds a BA in Computer Science & Economics from Bryn Mawr College, and an MFA in Products of Design from the School of Visual Arts. She grew up in India, and is now based in Amsterdam.
Mansi Gupta |
Founder at Unconform Studio
“One of the reasons I’m developing a Design for Women practice is so that we can all have the tools to reflect on how bias might have seeped into our ways of doing, being, and designing – and how we can begin to change the way we create.”
Tell us about yourself and your work.
I am the founder of Unconform Studio – a design firm focused on making systems-level change for women. Having spent years leading women’s-focused design projects in the social impact space I realized that I was coming up against the same barriers again and again — be it in women’s healthcare or financial inclusion. As a result, I began to evaluate and critique our existing design processes and identify the ways in which these might exclude women and continue to leave their needs unmet.
I founded Unconform so that project teams, organizations and designers can be equipped with the tools they need to include women in their design process — and ensure that women have access to key everyday products and services.
When we only think of women on Women's International Day.
What challenges or barriers have you faced in your industry as a woman of colour?
The number one challenge I have faced is the idea that sexism does not exist in the workplace anymore, or that it is a “thing of the past.” As someone who grew up in India where gender gaps are huge, I moved to the States with the idea that it is a “progressive society.” And, being able to study at an all-women’s institution like Bryn Mawr, I truly began to believe it too. So, when I did find myself in situations where I was the only woman and the only non-white person, I didn’t even fully process the situation.. The idea that “things like this don’t happen anymore” can be one of the biggest challenges women, and especially women of colour, face in the workplace because it can get them doubting themselves about what they are truly experiencing. And, there will always be someone to tell you that it’s just in your head too.
A more recent challenge I’ve begun noticing is the way discrimination or sexism might seep into our structures, beyond internalized and interpersonal bias. As a result, we overlook the ways in which our tools, processes, and physical spaces are sexist and how they might perpetuate — or worsen — racial, gender, or other discriminatory gaps.
What are some strategies and approaches you use to cope with these challenges?
I once had a manager tell me that sometimes our perceptions can be really far away from reality. Although there is truth in her “advice,” she was telling me so in the context that she felt my perceptions were far away from reality while hers are close to it. What I learned from that conversation is that our perceptions seem like reality to us – and that’s okay. In difficult situations where you’re being told that what you’ve experienced is just in your head, it’s more important to understand what your perception is and acknowledge it, rather than try to bat it away as not real. Reality can have many faces, and your perception of what’s going on is also a part of it.
“You don’t always have to lead the change even though you might feel like it’s your responsibility to do so. If you want to support the change, figure out how you might be able to do so in other ways that also serve your needs at that moment. ”
What advice would you give to younger women of colour in your industry?
Although I’m sure I am saying this from a position of privilege: don’t be afraid to quit toxic workplaces if your situation allows it, whether you’ve been there for several years or just a few months.
You don’t always have to lead the change even though you might feel like it’s your responsibility to do so. If you want to support the change, figure out how you might be able to do so in other ways that also serve your needs at that moment.
How do you see the future of workplaces for women of colour?
It is encouraging to see not just the increased awareness, but the increased conversation about creating better workplaces for women of colour. However, we must continue to ensure that the conversations convert to impact and action. I believe that to take the work of internal DEI teams to the next level, there needs to be shifts in workplace policy and the norms around it. For example, because it takes longer to shift the mindset around bias, can we start with the parts that can be in our control, such as increasing transparency around salaries and chipping away at the pay gap.
Organisations also need to approach gender equity more holistically. Aside from their internal DEI practices, they must ask: how are we affecting the lives of (all) women? Do their internal DEI programs include maintenance, cleaning and support staff, for example? Further, how might their products and services, or their supply chain, be stagnating or worsening gender gaps?
A holistic approach to women in the workplace.
Today, the unconscious or unsaid expectation is that the women of colour on the team will design for women and people of colour, even though they have already been designing for men for decades. We don’t have the same expectation from men. Organisations must ensure that women (or other marginalised groups) are not facing the onus of leading change just because of their identities. One of the reasons I’m developing a Design for Women practice is so that we can all have the tools to reflect how bias might have seeped into our ways of doing, being and designing – and how we can begin to change the way we create.