March has earned a reputation as a month dedicated to celebrating everything a woman represents. To recognize the equality and to honor the many strong, intelligent, self-assured, creative, talented, and attractive women in the world. There is strength in sexuality, femininity, and various perspectives and outward manifestations. The Interior Design sector is notable for its never-ending roster of outstanding female interior designers, both past and present when it comes to recognizing women.
Women have always battled to get a seat at the table in the world of design, as is the case with practically all professions. Any design enthusiast will tell you that Elsie De Wolfe, a great interior designer, was the first woman to pursue a career in the field. Elsie Cobb Wilson, Ruby Ross Wood, Rose Cumming, Eleanor Brown, and Frances Elkins were her immediate successors. Together, these women have a long history in the history of design. In the past, it was thought that women shouldn't work. The only profession deemed socially respectable was decorating. Interior design is a reasonably simple sector, to begin with, and enables women to take time off from their careers to raise babies. Anyone can produce a business card up until the licensing of interior designers becomes widespread. But, until males entered the field in greater numbers after the end of World War II and began to view it as "serious" and lucrative, interior design was regarded as a frivolous activity. Most A-list companies are currently run by men, even though men still outnumber women by a ratio of more than two to one. Even though they outnumber males in the field, prejudices against women are nevertheless widespread.
I've developed a great deal of respect for my female classmates as male interior design students, largely because they are so adept at communicating wholly original concepts. They are constantly offering something new. Women are also straightforward with their intentions, which is another positive trait. Even though I'm not a great admirer, it's always so lovely to see feminine or soft themes everywhere. I'm grateful. Be it feminine or masculine, every design merit praise and recognition. Every designer matters. Every design counts. Buildings do not define us, and neither do prejudices about our gender, color, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. But just as we constantly negotiate expectations of what women, men, people of color, and people who are able-bodied or disabled are supposed to look like, our ties to structures and spaces influence how we live.
We all, in the end, have the same ideas, in my opinion, as we continue to work toward gender parity and equality. The lifestyle of a designer, which we recognize will influence how we view the world, how we can create and build to promote a better environment, and how we can influence future women in the field, goes beyond just a job. Being flexible and up-to-date is made possible by this lifelong enthusiasm that is continuously changing. I'm trying to tell all the women out there that you can be whatever you want to be, that you are powerful and self-assured and that you will make a difference in whatever field you decide to go into. As an example, think of Elsie De Wolfe. Your professors, your family, and many people out there understand that you can achieve great things; and that, of course, includes the building environment and design industry.
Photograph by: Ma. Louise Anne Mortel
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