Design Justice and Ethics

**Originally written for the course Designing Experiences at Bentley University

Design involves a multitude of aspects to come to fruition.  Justice and ethics are increasingly important factors to consider while designing, and they center on the people who are normally marginalized during the design process (design justice).  As a designer, it is necessary to use non-exploitative solutions to design so as to appeal to all groups.   Typically, designs appeal to the center of a bell curve, while the margins are excluded from consideration when making decisions.  The needs of those in these margins are left unmet, and in some cases, this can have fatal consequences. 

When designing for the middle of the bell curve in the automotive industry, the group that is focused on is that of average male anthropometrics.   This leaves out marginal groups, like those who are physically disabled, those of outlying statures, and most significantly, women.  Nearly half of the world’s population is women, and more than half of licensed drivers in the United States are women (Statista).  The needs of women and men in the car are crucial to the safety of both drivers and passengers due to the physiological differences and accessibility concerns that set the two apart.  Despite making up such significant portions of drivers, car safety for women is rarely addressed by automotive companies and continues to be ignored in the world of design justice and ethics. 

There are about 14,386 car accidents per day in the United States and 5,250,873 police-reported accidents per year (Forbes). Although there are more women drivers, they are statistically less likely to get into an accident than male drivers.  Despite this fact, women are 17% more likely to die in a car crash and 73% more likely to be seriously injured than men.  Women make up the most substantial group of drivers, but automotive companies continue to disregard the needs of this majority.  Crash tests are conducted on a male test dummy called Hybrid III, which has been used for the last forty-eight years.  The dummy measures about 171 pounds and is 5 feet 9 inches, which does not accurately represent the modern male, let alone a woman.  While female crash dummies do exist now, they are not required for safety tests, and very few companies choose to use them in even one of the required four safety tests.  These female dummies are also more or less just scaled-down male dummies, lacking the physical differences between women and men, like weight distribution, physical build, and seat position in the vehicle.  They measure to be 4-foot-eight inches and 105 pounds, representing the smallest five percent of women by 1970s standards. 

This issue raises many red flags in the field of design justice and ethics.  The exclusion of women from design decisions upholds the power dynamic that men have held for centuries and holds women at a lower value than their male counterparts (Lib Article).   Designers in this field need to increase their knowledge through collaboration with a more diverse group and foster conversations of inclusion in these design features.  The automotive engineering industry lacks a proportional representation of women in the workforce, henceforth stifling their voices in these conversations of design.  Women make up twenty-four percent of motor vehicles and equipment manufacturing jobs and eighteen percent of automobile dealers (Deloitte).  Furthermore, the women in the industry have expressed that there has been little change in attitudes towards women in the field, and in many cases, they feel that it has gotten worse in recent years.  The issues within the industry’s workplace atmosphere and openness to a larger female workforce are limiting the voices being heard in design spaces and restraining the progress of automotive safety.   Some experts in the automotive industry disagree with the sentiment, feeling that the issue cannot be alleviated solely with the implementation of female testing dummies.   They suggest that improving injury outcomes lies in understanding the reasons for women’s vulnerability to certain types of injury. 

It is in wide contention whether testing with female crash dummies is the most effective strategy for improving the safety of automobiles for women (Forbes 2).   Many influential groups and individuals support the idea that better representation of females in safety testing is necessary and that the current standards are unfair, like Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.  Others, like Matt Reed, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, believe that you first need to figure out why women are being injured at higher rates and that this is a separate issue from the lack of crash dummy representation.

From my research and personal opinion, the most immediate course of action to be taken to solve this issue in design ethics is the implementation of requirements for the use of female crash dummies.  The utilization of male-sized dummies leaves out more than half of licensed drivers in the United States, who have distinct physiological and anatomical differences that can put them at risk in an accident.   Implementation of new crash dummy requirements would improve seatbelt and airbag designs as well, further improving safety features for women.  These features are implemented into a vehicle as lifesaving measures, but are often designed with the male build in mind.  They are not only uncomfortable for women but also serve as inadequate protection measures, as they can exert dangerous levels of pressure on the female body during a crash.  The likelihood of a woman sitting closer to the steering wheel also increases the odds of injury from an airbag and makes women more prone to whiplash and chest injuries.  More sophisticated crash dummy testing that includes diverse sets of bodies needs to be implemented.  We should not only account for the average man but also those taller or shorter than average, women of all shapes and sizes, people of varying ages, and pregnant individuals.  These test dummies would be able to accurately mimic the muscles and important organ positions in each of these bodies to most effectively combat the injury threshold in a traffic accident for all people.  From these improved testing practices, new seatbelts should be able to adjust tension based on the shape, size, and posture of the individual to minimize the risk of injury without the hassle of manually adjusting each seatbelt.  For pregnant individuals, there should be options to use seatbelts that redirect any impact from a possible accident away from the abdomen. 

Furthermore, the everyday comfort and safety of vehicles can be improved in a myriad of ways without infringing upon current crash testing mandates.  Seats, pedals, and steering wheels should be highly adjustable to the comfort of every driver.  Expanding the customizability of these features would not only improve driver safety but also comfort.  With these enhancements, there should also be a wider margin of visibility adjustments.  An improved design of car mirrors and doors to reduce blind spots would be especially helpful for drivers who seat themselves close to the steering wheel. 

As a longer-term solution to this design dilemma, the representation and inclusion of women in the automotive industry should be a priority.  Women should be involved in every stage of vehicle design, from the conceptual designs to the physical production to the C-suite of important automotive companies, to ensure that female voices are heard when making critical decisions in the design process.  With it being an extremely male-dominant field, it is often overlooked by women, so the increase of representation in the automotive workforce should begin in early education.  The promotion of STEM-based interests and careers throughout educational curricula at the elementary to high school level is key in encouraging interest later in life.  Programs that encourage engagement in project-based classes can spark curiosity in the field that will lead to a dedication to studies of the topic.  To specifically reach out to young girls, it is important not to focus on the adversity that comes along with being in a male-dominant field, but rather focus on the trailblazing women in STEM.  Normalization of women in this industry and leadership roles early on is key in fighting the negative attitudes toward women in these positions. 

Redesigning the safety features in the automotive industry and promoting a strong STEM education to young girls is a key solution to the ethical dilemma of the exclusion of female drivers from safety considerations.  It is a vital step in creating vehicles that protect all drivers equally.  The principles of design justice and ethics allow us to reimagine the way that vehicles are tested and adapted to all people.  Designing for the margins ensures that those who are most impacted by an issue are engaged directly throughout the design process (Bellwether).  Looking at these issues from an equitable lens will help us continue moving forward in these industries that discount large groups of the population. 

 References

Anon. 2018a. “Read the Principles.” Design Justice Network. Retrieved November 22, 2024 (https://designjustice.org/read-the-principles). 

Carlier, Mathilde. 2023. “Total Number of U.S. Licensed Drivers by Gender.” Statista. Retrieved November 22, 2024 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/198017/total-number-of-us-licensed-drivers-in-2009-by-gender/). 

Elsesser, Kim. 2024. “Will Female Crash Dummies Improve Road Safety for Women? The Answer Is Complicated.” Forbes. Retrieved November 22, 2024 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2024/02/20/will-female-crash-dummies-improve-road-safety-for-women-the-answer-is-complicated/). 

Epker, Eva. 2023. “Fasten Your Seatbelts: A Female Car Crash Test Dummy Represents Average Women for the First Time in 60+ Years.” Forbes. Retrieved November 22, 2024 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaepker/2023/09/12/fasten-your-seatbelts-a-female-car-crash-test-dummy-represents-average-women-for-the-first-time-in-60-years/). 

Robinson, Ryan. 2024. “Women and Diversity in the Automotive Industry.” Deloitte United States. Retrieved November 22, 2024 (https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/manufacturing/articles/diversity-women-in-the-automotive-industry.html). 

Lindberg, S., Rossitto, C., Knutsson, O., Karlström, P., & Männikkö Barbutiu, S. (2024). Doing Good Business? Design Leaders’ Perspectives on Ethics in Design. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 8(GROUP), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1145/3633067

Walker, Amber. 2024. “Lost by Design: Designing from the Margins Toolkit.” Bellwether. Retrieved November 22, 2024 (https://bellwether.org/publications/designing-from-the-margins-toolkit/).