The Future of Fashion Is Women: 3 Thoughts on Gender and Fashion

If you think this post contains tips for clothes and accessories to shop for on International Women’s Day – think again. This special day is all about diversity, empowerment, and social change. The connection to fashion comes from our industry’s room for growth, plus a few interesting factors in today’s fashion world that can promote feminist goals.

Diversity in digital fashion wins twice

A woman’s place is…everywhere. Still, we know that the percentage of women promoted to leadership positions in the fashion industry could be much better. McKinsey nicknamed this problem “the glass runway” and reported that only 14% of the leading fashion brands have a female executive. Another report found that women lead less than 13% of Fortune 1000 Retail and Apparel companies.

Another field that could use a major gender diversity boost is technology. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are fascinating verticals that suffer from a lack of female presence for decades. The world’s top five tech companies employ less than 35% women, and the female representation in the field has gotten worse compared to 1990.

But these disturbing numbers also present an opportunity. With the rise of fashion technology, we can increase female representation in both fields at once. Today, leadership in fashion also means leadership in tech and can influence the diversity rate of two essential verticals. That’s all the reason we need to invest in this cause on a regular basis.

Social impact makes a difference

Today’s consumers care about the values behind the clothes they wear. Issues like sustainability, ethical labor, and building a responsible supply chain influence purchasing decisions. Information regarding brands’ consideration of people and the planet can easily be found online. 

This is excellent news for gender-focused social impact causes. Even if diversity isn’t the first and foremost value fashion consumers look for, the fact that society cares more in general sends fashion brands a powerful message. Companies know that they can no longer ignore questions of gender-related to ads, size, design choices, and employment. Audiences everywhere observe brands, ready to make a conscious choice based on the values they recognize and connect with.

At Kornit, we know that our focus on sustainable fashion and apparel isn’t just great for the planet. It also encourages the notion of an industry that’s more aware and responsible overall, one that considers the social impact an integral part of the package.

Easy customization brings self-expression

A topic we’ve discussed extensively this time last year is body positivity. Women are done being told what size they need to be and want fashion brands to offer a wide range of sizes to fit everybody type. But size isn’t the only element we need to expand in order for society to be more inclusive. Easy and fast customization technology enables women everywhere to become their own designers, choosing bold printed taglines and fierce visuals. Breaking boundaries and giving women the stage and the technology to express themselves is crucial to promoting gender equality in our industry and beyond.

There’s still a lot more we can do to make the fashion world and our entire world more equal and diverse. Now that we have the tech tools to enable this change, there’s no reason not to join forces in making women’s rights a priority in our field and beyond. Women can and should run the world and the runway.