Why- WHY- aren't women involved in the design of the items they use???

[rosepoet]

I'm barely 5ft 3"...so why do fridgefreezers have the fridge at the top? So that the top shelves are hard to reach? Why do induction cookers have 'touch controls' - guaranteed to turn off/malfunction, when you...you know, COOK with them and the pan boils over, or you have wet fingers? Why are kitchen cabinets designed for giants? Why do they sell soup stored on the top shelves in super markets- turning into soup bombs! Why? Because they haven't bothered to consult women, that's why! If you know of any brands of fridge freezers with the fridge on the bottom, please let me know...!

Kitchen cabinets are usually on adjustable legs so you can have your worktop at varying heights. It's just that, unless you ask, it will be built at 890mm or so.

I'm a shorty (5'2 1/2) and the toilets at my work (a building we had built from scratch btw) are too high. I literally have to hop on and off, my feet dont touch the floor when I sit down. Everything in the building was designed with the building owner in mind (who is 6'3) when in reality, I run the building. We've already had to have the fire panel lowered so I can do basic fire alarm tests and maintenance.

Cookit- Citroen C3 Picasso is the best I’ve driven for feeling like you can actually see what you’re doing. As an occasional bonus, it’s so square that v tall DH fits in (but he’s not having it because it’s Mine).

'I am average heigh (5’10)."

Since when is the average height for women in the uk 5 10 lol

Don't be silly

Here's a thought off the top of my head...

Some of the things which women (on average, not all) find challenging are more down to strength rather than height. So maybe girls' PE lessons should include a lot more strength exercises than they typically do? We really had nothing which encouraged us to develop strength when I was a girl, especially upper body and I don't think there's been much change on that.

My legs are, of course, quite strong from the amount of climbing on stools and chairs I have to do.

Of course it bloody well is a sex issue not a height issue. How many men are under 5’5 compared to how many women? Not only that, women are built differently so a 5’8 woman (significantly taller than average) will have longer legs typically than a 5’8 man (pretty average) so will sit lower down on a seat.

Please do read Caroline Criado Perez. Everything is made for the male body eg car airbags, medicine - and women are everything from inconvenienced and annoyed to dying as a result.

Also thanks for the car recommendations! Isn’t it ridiculous that I’ve always felt embarrassed to ask for which cars are good for women to drive? This was until I realised that my line of vision while driving is very different to that of my DH. I stopped driving almost as soon as I started and really need to start and a car that actually “fits” me - a slightly smaller than average woman - I think is probably essential.

'I am average heigh (5’10)."

According to Wikipedia, in 2009 the average height was 5'9.5" .... for a man. 5'4 for a woman.

It may be a little more now, but clearly the average height overall is more like 5'7"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listoffaveragehumannheight_worldwide

*@MIdgebabe

Try men’s jeans?*

Yes of course, all those men's jeans designed for those of us who are 5'1

So Cookit would you like the same products made differently for women? So a slimmer range of cordless drills for eg? Considering women come in all shapes and sizes?

I'm 5'7" and DH is 5'10". We had to argue with our kitchen fitter to raise the height of the kitchen cabinets because he wanted to put them at the 'standard' height, which would have been too low for both of us.

Even so I do find that I often struggle to reach things off high supermarket shelves (and I'm usually a couple of inches taller in shoes) so I feel the pain of those who are less than my height. I have a friend who's 4'11.5" and her life is a constant challenge.

Re lighter, smaller power tools for women.....someone's already marketing these, in America. But I won't link to them because they're grim. They're - surprise! - a violent pink and the advertising copy is vomit-inducing ( no man would be caught dead using this beautiful pink drill. It is light enough to easily carry at just under 3.5lbs but also heavy enough to get the job done. At pink power we know you work hard and we want to help ....etc etc)

has anyone found a car that is good for women?

My SMax is absolutely fine. Even the voice recognition recognises my delicate girlie voice.

What you need is a car for short people though, not women. I'm 5'7" with long legs so what is good for me won't be good for you.

So Cookit would you like the same products made differently for women? So a slimmer range of cordless drills for eg? Considering women come in all shapes and sizes?

No of course not. But products should be tested by people of all shapes and sizes and presumably 50/50 between men and women and should probably then be manufactured to fit the average. So the average height across both sexes is probably 5’5.
The issue is that a lot of things are tested against men and men’s bodies only. For things like seat belts, airbags, medicine etc this can be fatal.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/23/truth-world-built-for-men-car-crashes

So the average height across both sexes is probably 5’5.

More like 5'7" in the U.K.

Tools with 'large grip' and 'small grip' might be good. As to weight, I'd have thought a lighter cordless tool was easier for everyone to use - presumably a lot of the weight is the battery so I'd have thought they'd have got lighter over the years as battery technology improved?

And this whole - this is a height issue not a women’s issue is really bugging me.

Should we all pretend that women are just as likely to be 6 foot with size 10 feet as men?

tall.life/height-percentile-calculator-age-country/

At 5’10 you are in the 98th centile for women in the UK.

The height distribution is very different between the sexes. Body fat % too for instance.

Thanks for the link Cookit I see the point!

Everyone struggling with car seatbelts has definitely adjusted them as far down they will go have they?

My cars have always had about 3 different height settings for seatbelt (where it attaches to the frame you can notch it up and down). I'm very short and DP is very tall so ours goes up and down like a yo-yo

The car thing is interestingagain partly about body geometry. I'm tall and don't have my own car so drive a lot of different hire cars. My legs always get wedged under the steering column. If I had the seat the right distance back I can't reach the wheel properly. Againlong legs, short body the opposite of men. My partner is the same height and finds airline seats more comfy as he has shorter legs.

Men's jeans! It is also hard to find them in a 35 inch leg and then they are not shaped for people with actual hips so if they fit your thighs they are massive round the waist.

Yes, we always adjust all our seatbelts to the lowest setting as soon as we change a car (DH is not very tall either). They still rub my neck and I'm 5'5", not tiny.

Everyone struggling with car seatbelts has definitely adjusted them as far down they will go have they?

Yes, of course.

Of course I’ve adjusted it! 🙄

I'm a (female) Product Designer the answer is:

Because enough women aren't taking STEM subjects. Most women's upbringing and education doesn't encourage them into engineering subjects so they just don't end up in these roles.

Back at uni I was one of 3 females on my course of around 60. I was the only one of the 3 who went into industry as a Product Designer the other 2 converted to teaching.

Whenever I got a good mark it was 'because they feel sorry for you for being the only girl' suppose that's irrelevant.

But I also find it a lot harder to change jobs than my male friends, even though I got the best grades and once I'm in the company progress the fastest. There is still a bit of a stigma against employing women/mums when they are so many men to pick from.

I love the fridge/oven/cupboards etc being high up as the kids can't reach them. I am fairly tall so it's not a problem for me and I expect that if I designed them I would still make them a suitable height for me regardless of being female.

If everything matched the average there would be a lot of uncomfortable people

By all means cater to short people with options but it’s not always the best designed world for tall people anyway

Yes of course, all those men's jeans designed for those of us who are 5'1

And with waists and hips.

My legs always get wedged under the steering column. If I had the seat the right distance back I can't reach the wheel properly.

My last two cars have had adjustable steering wheels. I also find that having the seat back more upright is better for "wheel position".