Reference Man

The insidious impact of "Reference Man"

There are serious imbalances in the way our society designs and makes products, and minorities and women bear the brunt of this imbalance.

Seatbelts are safer for men, and medicine is tailored to the needs of cisgender white men. Even stab vests, vital protection for police officers, protect men better than they protect women. These are just a few examples of a much bigger problem. This imbalance has been going on for decades, and is only recently being addressed.

There are serious imbalances in the way our society designs and makes products. The person responsible for this is an individual called «Reference Man», and he doesn’t exist. Instead, it’s an average used by scientists and engineers for decades. «Reference Man» is a statistical shorthand, a blueprint to use when designing products, implementing safety features, researching preferences and testing innovations.

If you’re wondering about the colour of Reference Man’s skin, it’s white. He’s a caucasian man, which only intensifies the problem. People of colour and from cultures outside the Western European/American sphere are not well represented when scientists and engineers keep using Reference Man as their benchmark. Our push for a fairer future includes everybody.

Because by using this blueprint, we have ended up with a world where diseases are more easily detected in cisgender white men. Chairs are more comfortable, technology more in tune with their preferences.

And frankly, we think this needs to change.

We need more diversity in engineering. Now.

What are we doing about it?

• Flexible work hours

• Paid hours for exercise

• Paid time for voluntary work

• Secure channels for whistleblowing

• Yearly workplace satisfaction surveys - speak your mind! We’re listening

ODA

We also partner with ODA-Network, the leading, non-profit meeting place for women in tech in the Nordics with more than 7500 members. Their mission is to increase the number of women in tech, women leaders and women business owners. Read more about how they contribute to create a better future for businesses and society.