Recently, philanthropist and businesswoman, Melinda Gates, spoke about the idea of reimagining the modern workplace. In an article published on LinkedIn titled,“We’re Sending our Daughters into a Workplace Designed for our Dads” she advocated,“new technologies, new business models, and new social movements are completely redefining what it means to go to work. So why don’t we take this opportunity—this moment of radical redesign—to advance equality and inclusion, and build the first workplace in history that actually works for everyone?”

In another article I came across, this perspective was applied to physical design of an office and how it contributes to (or detracts from) creating an equitable environment. According to the author, “Billions of dollars are spent by large organisations – particularly tech organisations – on ground breaking office design. Apple reportedly spent $5 billion on Apple Park in Silicon Valley and Google announced that it will be spending $13 billion on data centres and offices in the US in 2019.”

She argues however, that the types of features developed (slides between floors, swings, sleeping pods) are created with a largely young, white, male employee in mind. She challenges us to think about what big, bold, disruptive ideas exists for creating a workspace that appeals to women. I was fascinated by the idea that maybe our physical workspaces have hindered the advancement of women’s careers. I decided to talk with CHOP’s Director or Facilities Planning and Design, Natalie Miovski Hagerty, to dig into this idea further.

MB: How, if it all, has gender played a role in the spaces you design?

NMH: As a female working in the male-dominated architecture and construction industry, I’ve always worked hard to bring awareness to the female voice in my building designs. But I feel like this is a new opportunity to think about how we construct workplaces that are more in line with what women want. I think unfortunately, gender has typically played a role in the way the article you mentioned described – usually only in reference to female-focused coworking spaces or female-specific program spaces, like lactation rooms. However, I think one of the things we don’t do enough is empower women to use spaces however they want. For example, it was suggested that we put a computer in the CHOP staff lactation rooms, and my first reaction was, “can’t we let our moms have a few minutes in peace without having to worry about doing work and pumping at the same time?” But when I took a moment to reflect, I realized I was making that decision for them, and that wasn’t appropriate. As designers, we need to create space with flexibility, and we need to be better listeners to what the needs are. Additionally, we need to poke a little at it, the answers don’t just come out, sometimes people aren’t sure what they want or what options exist. It’s like the Henry Ford quote, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” While we need to ask and listen, it’s also up to us – both women and men – to come up with big, bold ideas.

MB: How do you gather information about what employees, particularly women, would like to see? What types of data do you look for when designing a space where people will spend so much of their time?

NMH:We are actually in the process of constructing a new office building right now (as you know!). One of the things we did was to bring in an industry expert who’s at the cutting edge of workspace research. We opened the door to employees by saying, how can we make your life better? Then through brainstorming and shadowing we were able to get lots of feedback. We really just kept pushing people to think about their day and not take any movement or current obstacle for granted.  When we wrote the observations down, we had a lot of “A-Ha” moments.
We also wanted to focus on creating healthy work spaces. One interesting thing that came out as frustration that tied back to gender differences was in relation to the experience of sitting at your desk. Many women wear heels of varying sizes, but when you’re sitting at the desk, your keyboard tray is in the way and you are not in the right ergonomic position. Often, you end up taking your shoes off – putting you in a bit of a vulnerable position. Men’s shoes are all fairly similar, therefore their body is always in the same position. We were able to find a design solution that would really help with equality – height adjustable desks! This allows everyone the ability to quickly make comfort and ergonomic choices for themselves.
Another area where gender differences come into play, is when we talk about fitness in the workplace. Many office buildings are offering fitness centers, but we wanted to think about how these can be optimized for everyone – do people really want to be working out at work, getting sweaty and messy around their colleagues? We heard that women are more sensitive to this than men – so before we offer something like that, we really want to understand what women would want to feel comfortable with an on-site fitness center. It can be a lot more complicated for women – hair, makeup, accessories – it’s not a quick and easy thing to get ready for work after exercising! What women wanted were simple design features like a place to put their brush or make-up that wasn’t wet (because typically the only counter space is next to a sink in an office building fitness center). This design feature benefits everyone – however it’s noteworthy that it only came up when carefully listening to women.

MB: What does human-centered workplace design look like to you?

NMH: I believe that human-centered workplace is about how we feel in the environment. The best analogy I can come up with is at CHOP, we have children that are going through infusion therapy. Imagine a child who is 3 or 4, but their chairs they’re sitting in for this therapy are made for adults. They’re in a space that was designed for them and their wellbeing, but they feel uncomfortable because the specific chair is oversized and overwhelming.  This has an effect on them emotionally. It can make them feel small and weak at a time that they need to be at their strongest. As that concept relates to women in the workplace, much of the furniture available was not designed with women’s frames in mind – especially petite women. There are women that are dwarfed by the size of their chairs. Imagine how that makes them feel! I definitely believe there is a psychological impact that details like this have, and I’d like to see the averages that are used in determining furniture design be re-assessed with a more female workforce in mind.

MB: Do you think workplace design can play a role in gender equality?

NMH: If you’re using the words workplace design to mean a more holistic approach or solution through both physical design and amenities, then yes, 100% it can play a role. To be honest though, I haven’t seen the big, bold ideas that would lead to increased gender equity, but I do believe that they could aid in leveling the playing field. There’s a lot of talk about the idea of daycare centers in workplaces, but too often it’s positioned as a women’s issue as opposed to a human issue. Having a daycare in one’s office, while in many ways convenient, automatically makes that parent the default primary parent, which doesn’t contribute to an equitable division of childcare. So when it comes to solutions for making workplaces more family friendly, we have to think carefully about unintended consequences.

MB: Is there anything you think women should be thinking about when it comes to their workspace, that could encourage gaining more equity?

I like an example in the book Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman: What Men Know About Success that Women Need to Learnby Gail Evans. She tells a hypothetical story; if there is a man and a woman who are equal (i.e. same years of experience, same position, same title, same salary, etc.) and there were two offices for them that were the same, other than one having a column in the corner (making it appear smaller), who would take which office? Evans suggests that the women take the smaller office, because they don’t think it matters – the symbolism of the “larger” office isn’t as important to them, and they know it won’t affect how well they will do the job. But when the rest of the office is asked, they perceive the person having the larger office as superior to the one in the smaller office.
I actually saw a similar situation play out here at CHOP – a woman was promoted to manager, over the man who was filling in as an interim manager. When it came time for her to move into the larger manager office he was utilizing, she said, “I’m just going to stay in my office, it’s no big deal.” But I encouraged her to sit in the corner office that she deserved and had worked hard for. This particular department saw space as a proxy for prestige and to me, this is an example of how space relates to power and equity. I think it’s something that should be recognized more by women in these types of environments.  Personally, I think we need to separate space allocation from prestige and self-worth, but that’s another blog!

Thank you to Natalie for her input, and for all of the work she does to create healthy, comfortable, connected workspaces for us at CHOP. I’d like to hear from all of you – what ideas do you have for making our physical workspaces more equitable and female-friendly?