We Belong
September – December 2022
Product Manager, UX Designer
Problem Space
From school to workplace, Asian women in STEM face many barriers including lack of support, confidence, and sense of belonging.
This can be seen in:
Gender gap in STEM starts in School
Many girls in Asia encounter psychological, familial, and pedagogical barriers in engaging with STEM subjects.
Glass ceiling for Asian women in STEM leadership
Asian women are the least likely to get promoted to managerial positions 1 in 285 Asian women in Silicon valley was an executive (compared to 1 in 123 white women and 1 in 87 white men).
Amplified barriers resulting from intersectionality of identities
Alfred et al. (2019) found that the intersectionalities between STEM, gender, and race amplify barriers for Asian women.
Objective
We want to promote high school East Asian girls' shared identities with female role models in the STEM industry to enhance their sense of belonging. Ultimately, we hope to encourage them to meaningfully engage with advanced STEM courses and career-related opportunities in the male-dominated STEM space.
Design Process
To achieve our goal, we went through several iterations and user testing to refine our ideas.
Initial Idea Generation and First MVP
User Feedback
Mentors may be unresponsive in chats and that may lead to negative impact on students.
Version 2: Second MVP
User Feedback
Users like the videos idea and the ability to post how they feel and gain a community of support
Version 3: Wireframe on Figma
User Feedback
Experts in the industries may not feel comfortable posting videos, having other ways to show representation in the industry would be helpful
Results
After numerous iterations and refinements, we successfully developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The MVP is an app that allows users to share career advice, connect with career-forward women, and watch videos that allow for career exploration.This MVP was then subjected to rigorous testing with a select group of potential users, allowing us to gather valuable feedback and insights.
Takeaways
This project enhanced my user testing and research skills. Its focus on impact challenged me to prioritize user needs and comprehensive research before ideation, a shift from my solution-focused engineering background. This experience highlighted the importance of user-centric design and taught me valuable technical skills like Figma and video creation.