The Challenge
Women don't have as many opportunities and incentives to pursue a technology career as men.
That comes from misrepresentation in the field, uneven growth opportunities, salary gaps, and several other problems.
The limited opportunities for women to pursue technology careers compared to men come from a combination of societal biases, gender stereotypes, and systemic barriers.
I conducted six user interviews with individuals aged 18–40 years old to gather insights from those who are considering a career in technology, including those who have already built careers in different areas. The geographical scope is North America, where I gathered secondary research, and the participant criteria are for women who study and/or work in the tech field.
With the goal of crafting a persona that would guide my design insights, I crafted an interview guide with open-ended questions to delve into the concerns, transition processes, and needs of diverse backgrounds.
User Interviews
SheGuide
An application designed for women aspiring to pursue tech careers, serving to empower connections with female mentors and foster networking opportunities.
My Role
Product Designer
Methodology
Design Thinking
Timeframe
3 months
Key Skills
User research, prototyping, UX design
To achieve my interview's goals, I gathered pain points, motivations, and behaviors from my interviewees and organized them into key themes.
In this way, it became more clear where I should act to solve their main pain points.
Affinity Map
How might we encourage 18-35 years-old women to pursue a career in tech ?
PERSONA
Experience Mapping
Design Thinking Process
Design Hypothesis
By developing an application that facilitates connections between women in the tech industry and women interested in pursuing a career in tech, I anticipate an increase in women's motivation to build their careers in this field. I will know that I am right when I see increased women's enrollment in tech programs, successful career transitions, and improved confidence.
The Solution
What if my product is adopted?
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Career Transformation: more women successfully navigating career transitions into tech roles, breaking barriers, and shattering the glass ceiling.
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Increased Diversity: The tech industry would witness a surge in diversity, bringing fresh perspectives and talents.
Figma Prototype
Prototype Process
With my task flow in mind, I reunited UI inspiration and brainstormed different ways to iterate, exploring steps I should include for a smooth user experience.
Using Figma, I transformed initial sketches into low-fidelity wireframes for the first round of user testing. After five tests with five tasks, a usability matrix was created to inform iterations.
I conducted 2 rounds of user testing, with 5 users per round.
I organized user insights into a design prioritization matrix, to iterate according with time constraints.
From the user testing, I understood not only the usability issues with my prototype but also my own impact on creating a design. After iterating, it was time to develop a Design System and Brand Identity.
The Tech World Should be a Woman's World
The goal of this project was to develop a solution that could significantly reduce the gender gap in the tech field. Through extensive research, I discovered that mentorship played a crucial role in shaping individuals' perspectives and career paths. Inspired by these findings, I designed a mentorship app that would connect aspiring tech professionals with experienced role models. To measure the impact of my design, I focused on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as user acquisition rate, community engagement, career transitions, and industry-wide data.