Here a little bit of research on women, creativity and gender inequality
How many times did you find yourself judging something or someone when you actively did not want to judge it? Nothing is more human than that and it has a name: unconscious bias.
Some theory
Kahneman and other researchers studied how that works suggested that the human mind processes information with two systems: System 1 which is in charge of quick decision making that does not need conscious processing and System 2, which examines the available information more thoroughly and makes deliberate and reasoned decisions.
The key is here: Our System 2 is “slow and lazy” and leads to this very human behavior that makes us steep in our prejudices unless we make an effort to overcome them.
The problematic
That’s exactly what happens when we prejudge based on gender roles, racist or cultural stigmas. The way most people are socialized leads to a problematic way in how System 1 processes and makes interpretations about reality.
Specifically talking about design and visual arts, women have systematically suffered from this unconscious bias as traditional roles limited their contribution in culture and arts and barred them from artistic professions and training until 1870. This historical and patriarchal approach still makes women’s career a challenging domain full of burdens and obstacles.
References:
·European Parliament (2021) Women in arts and culture − Artists, not muses
·Skov, T (2019). Unconscious Gender Bias in Academia: Scarcity of Empirical Evidence. Societies 10,31
·Whitten Brown, T (2019). Why Is Work by Female Artists Still Valued Less Than Work by Male Artists?
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