Girl Power: Women in Design
We were excited to be asked to speak about women in design on the KBIS panel Girl Power, because it’s something we actually think about a lot. Interior design is one of the few professions where women outnumber men – 69% of designers, according to ASID. That’s not surprising given that creative fields and the home has always been thought of as more appealing to women. But what changed over the years is that these smart women are also now amazing business owners and entrepreneurs in their own right.

This infographic shows women represent the majority of interior designers, while furniture manufacturing, construction, and commercial design are still dominated by men.
Some challenges still exist, of course. The furniture manufacturing side of things is still much more dominated by men. And there are the occasional male clients who think they can beat down our pricing structure or want to “win” in the decision process. The construction and commercial design fields are also more male than female, as we learned from our fellow panelists.
But for the most part, we’ve been lucky to have fantastic female role models in this profession. They have inspired us, mentored us, and lifted us up. One thing we most love about the design field is how much we all support each other and share tips, ideas, and solutions. We recently hosted a designer dinner to celebrate that sense of community.

Carolina Gentry (far left) and Beth Dotolo (second from right) interact with guests during their exclusive Black & White Designer Dinner hosted at last year’s High Point Market via Pulp Design Studios
We also try to give back individually and as a company, to pay forward the encouragement we’ve had from other women. We love to hire incredibly talented and smart young women to join our teams. And we empower them to find their voice within our company and creatively.
Expanding on that inclusiveness and sense of community is the best way that the design industry will be able to respond to new challenges and changes that we all face. We’re excited to harness that girl power to meet, and change, the future so that we are recognized by the power we harness and less by whether we are strong just because we are women.

Beth Dotolo (second from right) and Carolina Gentry (far right) served as panelists on the DMMTalks panel Girl Power: Celebrating Women in Design and Construction at KBIS 2019 alongside Jaime Derringer (far left) of Design Milk, Malene Barnett (not pictured) of Malene B Atelier, and moderator Amy Devers (not pictured), designer and co-host of the Clever Podcast.