Today, over half of all design graduates are female, and about 54% of all designers are women. However, it is still a male dominated industry that has yet to break the glass ceiling. In a recent study at RISD where 71% of the emerging undergraduates are female, only 6% of the designers they learned about are female. Though there were and are many men to impact the history and world of graphic design, there have been great female designers right along side them. In books of graphic design history women are rarely mentioned. For example, the Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers, which contains information graphics from the 1840s to the present day mentions only 25 women designers out of a total of 357.

Some women have broken through the glass ceiling and become top designers and successful businesswomen. But even today’s design industry related media, such as magazines, books, talks and awards tend to be male dominated. The industry is much more female saturated these days but women are still going unnoticed.

“Many women in the design field want to be acknowledged for the ideas and work they produce, as opposed to being singled out for the fact they happen to be women.” – Liz McQuiston