Published on 23.06.2022 under News, General, matrix gGmbH>MakeOpaedics, Open Innovation
Getting women interested in labs
Hello Adriana, welcome!
As part of our Creative Hubs & Labs interview series, today we want to talk about women in labs. First of all, please introduce yourself: Who are you? What do you do?
I'm Adriana Cabrera, an industrial designer from Colombia. I got to know the FabLab idea in Berlin and it made me stay in Germany. In 2016 I graduated from the FabAcademy at the Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Kamp-Lintfort. The technology, but above all the mindset of the FabLab movement, convinced me of this concept. Today I am an employee of the matrix and guru, i.e. a trainer, the FabAcademy and the Fabricademy. I am particularly interested in the combination of technology and textiles, i.e. smart textiles. This results in wearables or assistance systems that support people in their everyday lives.
What excites you most about the FabLab idea?
For me, a FabLab is an environment with machines, with knowledge, with exchange, according to the FabLab motto “make. learn. share.” At the local level, we implement ideas here – very concretely. On the global level, the FabLab thrives on exchange. We are like a worldwide family with similar thoughts and ways of working. We complement each other and work together. That's why I feel at home in every FabLab worldwide. We are united by passion. We want to do something. Of course, FabLabs also have to survive economically, but the idea of commercial exploitation is not in the foreground. What really drives us is collaboration, being part of a movement, democratization of knowledge and solidarity with each other.
There are still significantly more men than women in Creative Hubs & Labs. Why do you think this is still the case in FabLabs?
The FabLabs with the community are carriers and drivers of digital production. I think this more technological aspect appeals even more to men. I observe that women often have a different approach. You work differently.
How do women work differently?
women are more careful. You want to understand first. Men are much more explorers and willing to take risks. Women first have to develop this (self-)confidence. Therefore, the women need a little more time at the beginning. If we are only women in a group, then they are braver. There are already more women working in FabLabs. It is interesting to note that women build their networks differently. They tend to work more in groups and support each other, which fits well with the FabLab and Fabricademy. I experienced this myself when setting up the Fabricademy in Kamp-Lintfort.
Why is it important to get more women interested in working in labs? And why is it worth it for women?
Hm, why is it important to the labs? This is not easy to answer: having equality is an important principle in the FabLab and women bring a different perspective, socially and also in technological development. Just like interdisciplinarity, diversity is also an important aspect. In addition, women are often very well networked in the region. This regional networking is important for the FabLab to have an impact in the region.
And for the women it is exciting to take part, to work together. FabLabs are also a kind of playground for science and STEM. If women don't get to know this, they miss the opportunity to develop future-proof, digital skills and drive innovation. A lab offers the chance to try things out and experience that things are easy, that we can do things ourselves. In the FabLab I have the opportunity to simply learn: I can do it! It's learning by doing. Personally, I enjoy my journey of doing, of making, and the second important aspect is empowerment: I feel confident I can do this! Away from fear towards self-doing. It's so important to understand that I can do this. The first step is trying it out.
Facts & Figures Creative Hubs & Labs
34%
Graduates of the FabAcademy between 2009 and 2021.
25%
Authors of papers from the FabLab between 2017 and 2019.
(Source: Women in the Fab Lab Ecosystem)
24,3%
The proportion of women was determined by a survey of users of labs, MakerSpaces and similar cooperative platforms in 2015.
(Source: Topology, typology and dynamics of commons-based peer production in Germany, page 10 ff)
You have some experience with projects by and for women in labs. What exactly have you done in this direction so far?
Maybe just three examples: 1. I ran the Fabricademy program at the Kamp-Lintfort University of Applied Sciences in 2017 and thus set it up in Germany, which combines textiles with digital manufacturing technologies. An important goal was to create new role models. 10 women took part at that time. Today, alongside the FabAcademy, the Fabricademy is an established FabFoundation program that is offered globally. One could now think that this is a program for fashion designers or designers in general, but the students came from completely different areas right from the start, such as e.g. B. Energy and environment, business administration - very interdisciplinary. Empowerment was a very important aspect. In the end, these participants were very happy and very proud. Some even changed careers afterwards. One of them builds machines today. Inspiration on one's own career path and confidence in one's own abilities - these are central aspects. As a teacher, which is what I am in this program, that is a very big reward.
The second example was in South Antarctic, Patagonia. There I did research with the MIT Computational Design Group on how to produce materials in the lab yourself in order to be self-sufficient. It wasn't a project specifically by or for women, but I learned a lot from the women there. They showed me how to dye with blueberries and I showed them how to machine embroider.
And last but not least, I have been the innovation manager in the shemakes project since 2020 and am in charge of reputation management on behalf of the matrix. Shemakes aims to inspire, connect and empower innovators in the sustainable fashion industry. 10 European countries are involved in shemakes. The project is funded by the EU. Concrete learning and development paths for women, support for business ideas and economic networks as well as the development of female role models are the central building blocks of the programme. We have developed our own innovation method with the following steps: Background, Start, Preparation, Intervention & Definition, Bonding, Maturity. (more on that under Shemake's Vision, https://shemakes.eu/sites/default/files/doc/p/files/su_21oct31_d1.1.pdf page 56 ff). For example, we have established the development of role models as real roles in the project. We call them Gurus and Ambassadors. The gurus are the teachers and facilitators in the project. The ambassadors are ambassadors who go from lab to lab to integrate new labs and pass on experiences.
What would you recommend? What can a lab do to get more women active?
One way is to invite women into women's groups so that they have an environment where they are more confident. Another is to broaden the range of topics, for example what we are doing with the smart textiles in the shemakes project. So combine the technology with another topic as a field of application. Since women are often very purpose-driven, you can also talk about them sustainability themereach n. Concrete examples can be found in the paper “Innovation Ecosystems for women makers through textile labs and the shemakes.eu approach”. (https://zenodo.org/record/5169852#.YqL0Y-xBzqv, p. 228) These women, who are looking for meaningful work, find the opportunity in the FabLab to lead socially relevant projects with an impact. Is it possible to convey this message in the sense of: Here you can combine business with meaningful, socially relevant activity, more women feel addressed.
Attitude is key. The FabLab shouldn't just try to reach more women because that's en vogue, but because it's about collaboration. It takes an honest interest to really include, address and seriously inquire about the skills and interests of women. This requires openness. For the FabLab to truly live up to its claim of being an empowering environment, women must also be open to developing their skills, working on an equal footing with men, and pitching their ideas. Inviting is important, being open, not judging, so that the basis of trust grows.
Approaching girls helps to reach women. Girls who go to the FabLab also come if they are women. The FabLab is about knowledge transfer, exchange, openness - actually the ideal place for women to familiarize themselves with technology.
What would you recommend to the women reading this interview?
If you don't try, you can't really experience what you can do yourself! Just come and try. You dare!
Lessons Learned
1|5
Invite women into women's groups.
2|5
Take up sustainability issues in projects.
3|5
Approach the girls early.
4|5
Attitude is key.
5|5
Message: Business with meaningful,
socially relevant activity
.
