FAQs

The Female Design Council (FDC) is the premier professional membership network and advocacy organization for women in design, architecture and the applied arts. The FDC’s mission is to advocate for equity and tangible gender parity in the design industries and provide access to professional opportunities for our members.

The FDC is a widely inclusive organization, and members include architects, curators, interior designers, graphic designers, woodworkers, industrial designers, textile designers, sculptors, glassblowers, metalworkers, jewelry makers, design writers, ceramicists, educators, archivists, gallerists, and hundreds of other professionals in the business of design. Our members make meaningful connections with fellow industry trailblazers which transform into amazing collaborations, career opportunities, new clients, sales, and more.

If you are in the fields of design, architecture or the applied arts, this is the right organization for you. Go to Join FDC and choose individual membership.

FDC was born out of an inclusive energy and support for an under-supported group: womxn in design. We believe it is important to clarify our gender inclusivity.

When we use the gender descriptive of ‘women' or 'female-identified’ or womxn this includes anyone identifying as female, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, non binary, trans and intersex people who live their daily lives as women and all transgender persons who feel they have a connection to and respect for the community.

Female Design Council (FDC) was born out of inclusive energy and support for an under-supported group: womxn in design. We use the term ‘womxn’ to actively signal our community’s gender inclusivity.

While we may also use the term 'female-identifying’ to address our member base, we welcome anyone identifying as female, gender-fluid, gender non-conforming, non-binary, trans, and intersex who is seeking community.

We are committed to continuous learning and ongoing dialogue with our community. We welcome feedback from our FDC members and the greater design community on how to continue fostering an increasingly inclusive ecosystem.

At the moment we are happy to have men attend appropriate FDC industry events, however we are only extending official membership to female identified creatives (see above for clarification). We are not excluding anyone, but rather focusing our energy on this much needed female-identified group. The male perspective is always useful in our discussions and we welcome any female supportive, male-identifying person(s) to our open meetings and to paid events.

FDC presents one to two events per month, rotating quarterly panel discussions, professional development workshops, community meetings and social networking events throughout the year. Please check our events page for up-to-date information.

Volunteer opportunities are generally limited to members only. We rely on member volunteers to drive our organization forward, and there are many opportunities to volunteer.

If you have an interest in supporting FDC in other ways (event ideas, corporate contacts, donations or brands looking to support our mission), please email info@femaledesigncouncil.org

Members are welcome to publicize their events and campaigns to fellow members through FDC email newsletters.

To submit an event, please email us. Include a description of the event, your involvement, and any relevant dates, times, locations, costs, and links to register in the body of the email. Send a high res logo or photo too. If you and/or the project are on social media, send us your tags so we can give you shout outs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

You can access all of your benefits from the moment you join. You will also receive a welcome email upon purchase of the FDC membership and when dues payment have been processed which will include a guide to member benefits. Annual membership dues are non-refundable and must be paid in U.S. currency. Membership dues are renewed on an anniversary-year timeline. Any fees incurred by the member when processing are the sole responsibility of the member.

All FDC Memberships are for a required, 12-month membership commitment.

The FDC allows a monthly payment plan. This is at a slightly higher rate to accommodate our increased processing fees for monthly payments. Monthly memberships agree to an annual commitment and will be automatically renewed each month for one year.

FDC members who choose to renew or return to membership after time away may return at the returning Professional Member annual rate of $400.

Membership benefits are exclusive to paid FDC members and are non-transferable. Benefits cannot be shared, including access to the private WhatsApp group or event attendance. Individual memberships apply only to the purchaser or the company on their behalf. This policy also applies to business/creative partners; companies with two lead partners must purchase individual memberships for each person.

Members will receive communication by email regarding notice of membership expiration. Members will be considered Active until 30 days post-expiration. If you were once a member, but your membership has expired, you can always return at the returning member rate of $400.