Diversity, Inclusion and Representation in Product Design - Active Women Footwear

28 September 2022 –?I walk into SportScheck in Neuhauser Stra?e in Munich with a goal on my mind, I need a new pair of active footwear for my indoor sports. The days have gotten colder and I can’t train bare feet on the non-heated stone floors of my living room.

On the second floor I approach the section for female active footwear, with a sense of dread looming over me because I have had this experience all too often but I haven’t give up yet. I try every time I need a new pair, hoping this time around the answer will be different. I pick out three pairs turn to the shop attendant with hesitation I ask “do you have these ones in size 43?” ?Knowing fully well I don’t need to bother asking about size 44 or 45. He looks at me quizzically goes back to the storage comes out and says “ No, they go only up to 42.” With a smile on my face I thank him and say that I know what I have to do.

Trying to be helpful he offers up “ The men’s active footwear section is on the other end of the room. And that my friends, is the is story of my life but not just mine but that of every girl and woman, who till date are still being made to feel less a of woman or female when they choose to be active.

Our bodies are different, they are changing, they are evolving and yet this industry remains some worth indifferent to this change. Some adjustments have been made over the years especially in the casual/fine footwear some of which I will heartily acknowledge in this article but not nearly enough as it should be. Make no mistake this change didn’t start happening today – feel free to reference these two articles and lots more.

What is the meaning of diversity, what is the meaning of inclusion, what is the meaning of representation, when it comes to product design? How should current and future custodians of such important roles approach their tasks to continually meet the requirements of the ever changing and evolving human race.

Diversity – has several meanings

1.The state of being diverse – variety

2.The range of different things

3. The practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations (Oxford dictionary)

Inclusion

1.The action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure.

2. The practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those who have physical or mental disabilities and members of other minority groups. (Oxford dictionary)

Diversity in Product Design and Product Offering/Availability

How often do you review your standard product offering to understand if it addresses the right variety of customers consistently adjusting to include new profiles that haven't always been the norm.

Background Information based on personal experience

Between the years of 2004 till 2007, I suffered the experience of forcing my feet into shoes sizes 41 to 41.5 even though my regular casual shoe size is 42/43.

when I walked into a store where I could afford the shoe prices, rows of shelves featuring shoes for women between sizes 37 to 41 would happily welcome me. As soon as it went over 41, it was more like just strap some cardboard boxes on your feet and you will be fine. Considering the climate in Germany and the need for closed footwear over several months, my feet bare of witness of what happens when you refuse to diversify your product offering and availability.

Yes I am female, yes I am a 173cm tall and yes my shoe size is 42/43 in casual shoes and 44.5/45 in active footwear. Yes I am still a woman. It is necessary to understand the changes in the demographics and variety of your consumers when updating your product offering.

Changes in Fine/Casual Footwear

2007 I got introduced to the shoe brands GaborStore / Gabor / M-Retail and Paul Green who I have followed over the years purchasing their product offerings from Tretter-Schuhe Josef Tretter GmbH & Co. KG in Munich. ?Tretter, a family owned shoe business has been around for 75 years, understood that its okay to be female and have shoe size 42 and upwards. My eyes would light up like those of a child in Disneyland every time I came to the shoe section at Tretter that offered me gracious options in sizes 42 and above. Even at that my friends often teased me that I had Oma shoes (Granny shoes) but soon enough the product design at these two companies that I liked, caught up with the time. Understanding that even women on with shoe size 42 and upwards deserve to look trendy. ??

My first running shoes

Inspired by my then manager's first marathon, I decided to run my first half marathon in 2007. I had just registered for the 2007 SportScheck Munich Half Marathon. Regardless of the distance you choose to run, a good pair of shoes is a requirement.

I had an appointment at Runners point to get my first pair of running shoes. I had to run on the treadmill to give the consultant a picture of how my foot lands when I run, helping him determine what shoes would be ideal. He also measures my feet and then says I have no shoes for you in the women’s product line.

So it began, I got a dull grey large new balance men’s shoe in size 45. Next to my feet they looked like a boat, almost every shoe on the rack looked that way but they served me well and that was all I could wear.

This has continued over the years getting better as adjustments were made to the foot bed and fitting of male running shoes that somehow automatically seem to accommodate me and other women in my position. But these changes still do not reflect when I walk into retail stores selling active women footwear.

Am I not a woman if my feet do not fit maximum shoe size 42 when I choose to be active? Must I be sent like a freak of nature to the online stores to select one that could possibly fit without first trying them on? Isn't it possible to gather data and do proper market research to understand what percentage of the female population require what shoe sizes in the actual times we live in.

Dear Product designer where is the diversity in your product design and availability of product offerings to include the profile of the changing consumer?

Representation

On a brighter note accepting the fact that it hasn’t changed today but it may change sometime in the future if we lend our voices to it. On the 28th of September 2022, I make my way to the active men’s footwear section. It is then a brightly blue coloured pair of shoes catch my eyes, a sigh of relief at the least there has been an improvement in colours that are deemed acceptable for men to wear. I love the design but as usual I worry, they may make my feet appear larger than they are. As expected they did. I am still contemplating if I want them on or not, when I realised that I understand and recognise the word written on it. I say it out loudly with excitement – Adetokunbo. Beaming from ear to ear, I announce - that’s a Yoruba word, its from my country Nigeria. The young man assisting me with the sales looks at me puzzled and saying no. Its from a collaboration between a Greek Basketball player and Nike. I laugh out loud saying he maybe Greek but the word Adetokunbo is Yoruba. And if it turns out to be Greek then my dear friend we have both made the revelation that all Greeks must trace their ancestry to the Yoruba kingdom. We both laugh and thanks to google the mystery is solved – It is not one or the other but both.?Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek Basketball player of Nigerian descent. He resigned with Nike an extension of his long-term contract in November 2017, covering different items such as the pair of shoes I bought.

From that moment on the deal was sealed for me. These are my country man’s shoes and I will wear them proudly. Mind you I am not a basketball fan and I wouldn’t have known about Giannis Antetokounmpo but wanting a new pair of shoes gave me and this young man the opportunity to learn new things and to connect.

It is a different feeling knowing that the words written on these shoes, that anyone can buy without prior knowledge of the Yoruba language, is available to the broader public. ?It is an example of how diversity, inclusion and representation in Product design can broaden our perspectives. It can act as a conversation starter that enlightens the curious minds amongst us to learn about each other’s culture , language and differences. At the end of the day we are different and it is okay to acknowledge these differences, it is okay to acknowledge that we are not built the same way. It is even much better when we include all the others that do not fit that which we have always known to be the norm.

In conclusion – Dear Product designer from the active footwear industry and retailers - ?I long for the day when I walk towards the active women footwear section and I can say - can I try those 3 pairs in size 44 and the answer would be certainly will that be all for today.

Thanks for reading let me know your thoughts in the comment section

Yours Truly Elizabeth Nwafor?