Words by Camilla Chafer

Camilla Chafer considers the implications of technology styled specifically for women

The race to attract more women to the gadget fold has inspired most manufacturers to address not just the functionality of technology but also the style. Sony now offers a colourful range of Vaio laptops in orange, green, blue and pink alongside its black and white versions. Medion has produced a pink laptop smattered with crystals clearly aimed at the female consumer. Most mobile phone manufacturers offer a “feminine” phone. Nokia recently offered two phones – the 6111 and 6230i – in floral Cath Kidston prints and has just announced the new N76 flip phone in black or metallic pink. Interestingly LG has taken a different tack and introduced phones in “chocolate” and “red wine” – not nearly as off-putting for many women as LG’s sparklier competition.

Career coach Joanne Mallon says, “Products must be appealing, to a degree, otherwise they would never sell and most people want something that is aesthetically pleasing. However, a woman who perhaps works in a predominantly male environment won’t want to present herself in a way that makes her uncomfortable or appear inept.

“Women are perceived strongly according to how they present themselves. Stamp yourself as too girly and you may not be seen as a leader or a manager in the workplace. If she wants to be taken seriously and wants say, a pink mobile phone, she’s going to have to be very assertive and confident, a successful communicator. If you let one side of yourself dominate then that is how you will be viewed. There’s nothing wrong with personalising your equipment to your tastes though, especially if you are working in a very ‘grey’ environment. You just have to realise what the rest of the package projects.”

It’s a sentiment Susi Weaser, editor of the “girl’s guide to gadgets” website Shiny Shiny (www.shinyshiny.tv), agrees with. “I think we have to accept that whilst some of us might love sparkly laptops, we’re going to look lightweight if we use them. It’s a decision as to whether you feel comfortable working against that.”

Fashion editor Gemma Cartwright normally uses a Packard Bell PC with 17-inch monitor, but was loaned a pink laptop for a conference abroad. “I sat down in the press room and the older male journalist next to me said, ‘A pink laptop? Are you serious?’ His comment did annoy me and I felt the need to justify myself by saying it wasn’t actually my usual laptop, but afterwards I thought I should have just said ‘yep, dual core processor, it’s brilliant’ and shut him up.”

Freelance writer Alexandra Brown used to be an Operations Director for a financial services company in the City. “A few years ago I had a company-provided mobile phone and I’d switched its cover to baby blue. During the senior managers’ meeting, which was all men, I’d left it on the table. They spent most of the time trying to wind me up about my phone. Comments included ‘it matches your eye shadow’, and ‘my daughter would love this’. I came out feeling like an idiot.” It’s experiences like these that put women off using more colourful equipment in the workplace, regardless of functionality. “I’d have loved to have had something more stylish or feminine,” recalls Brown, “but I wouldn’t have taken it as I know it would have been given to patronise me.

“Now I work alone, I have an orange Sony laptop and a pink retro-styled phone. My experience has changed in that I don’t feel judged by the technology I have, but I would never have used these in my previous role.”
Mallon agrees the reason that many women don’t adopt the more creative technological tools is a fear of being seen as silly or “little girly” by colleagues, especially male peers or those in a higher position. “Manufacturers dressing technology up to make it more appealing to women often end up infantilising them,” she says. “They can be very patronising and most markets don’t respond well to being treated like idiots.”

So what do women want from their technology, if it isn’t what is currently on the market? Cartwright says, “I think we’re still at a point where people assume a professional, high-spec laptop is going to look boring but I think more customisation is key. The company I bought my laptop from was great at letting me pick and choose what I wanted to add and remove, so I could double the processing power and get rid of unnecessary software.

“I’d like a combination of style and good specs, but at the end of the day, it has to come down to the specs. I can’t do my job if I have a nice-looking piece of kit but it won’t run the software I need it to.”

Weaser argues that it is the transferability of the product that will appeal. “Something that is stylish enough to work in both the office and a bar after work. The BlackBerry Pearl is a good example – the ‘pearl’ appeals to women but has a function too. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll see no default colours. Black first, pink next, it’s so tired. Standard styling – black and grey – is still seen as more professional but manufacturers are getting more creative with metallics and pearlescent finishes that don’t patronise.”

It isn’t just that manufacturers have missed the mark when deciding what women want from their technology – it’s the often unspoken gender bias that still permeates some office atmospheres. Most women will not take up technologies beyond the standard office equipment as used throughout their companies. Similarly, companies will find themselves unable to offer more stylish equipment until they are assured they are not acting in a patronising manner.