steminist blog
Why Productivity was Never Designed for Women
Guest Blogger: Kate Yugai
How I stopped forcing myself into systems that were never built for me.
When I was a kid, my bookshelf had an odd logic to it. On one side: colourful children’s stories. On the other: Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and a few mysterious books on productivity whose authors I can’t even name today. I grew up thinking this was a normal combination. I would finish a chapter of a fairy tale and then, out of pure curiosity, flip open a philosopher’s essay on… something. Thinking, reflecting, planning - all of it felt natural, almost inevitable.
I didn’t realise it back then, but I was already being shaped by systems written entirely by men - long before I even knew what "productivity" meant.
By the time I became an engineer, those early habits had matured into a full-blown obsession with time management. I devoured everything: Getting Things Done, Atomic Habits, 7 Habits... Systems, frameworks, matrices - if a productivity guru published a book, I probably read it.
And every time, the message was the same:
- Be consistent.
- Build routines.
- Treat every day like a clean, predictable slate.
Except my lived reality as a woman - and especially as a woman in STEM, working full-time, raising a child, carrying the invisible emotional load - looked nothing like that. My days were not identical. My energy was not linear. My life was not a straight line.
But I kept trying to force myself into these male-designed systems.
For years, I blamed myself for not being consistent enough. Not disciplined enough. Not "uncluttered" enough. I thought something was wrong with me because I couldn’t follow a rigid routine - especially during phases in my menstrual cycle when my brain felt foggy, my motivation dropped, and I just needed softness instead of structure.
I didn’t even question it. I simply assumed, "If these systems work for successful people (men), then failure must be my fault."
It took me more than a decade in engineering to realise the truth:
I wasn’t failing the system. The system was failing me.
Most productivity philosophies, from classic time-management to modern "life hacking," were written by men, for men, in male-structured environments. Historically, they come from worlds where someone else handled household labour, childcare, elder care, and emotional caretaking - or where these responsibilities didn’t even appear in the mental model.
So of course these systems assume:
- Days of equal length and energy
- Linear motivation
- Predictable work blocks
- A single primary role (worker) instead of multiple simultaneous roles
- Zero interruptions for caregiving
- A body that does not cycle monthly through biochemical seasons
These approaches simply do not reflect women’s lives - especially women in STEM balancing demanding technical roles, leadership ambitions, and the entire emotional architecture of a family.
Meanwhile, society still evaluates women by productivity standards that were never designed for us. And we internalise those expectations, often without noticing.
A colleague once told me, "I always feel like I’m sprinting through mud while everyone else is running on solid ground."
That sentence captured everything: the structural mismatch, the emotional consequence, and the silent exhaustion that so many of us normalise.
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Solutions: What We Can Do - Individually and Systemically
1. Build systems around cycles, not consistency
Women’s energy patterns often follow a monthly rhythm, not a daily or weekly one. Instead of asking, "Why can’t I be consistent?", we can ask:
- What is my high-creativity phase?
- What is my low-focus phase?
- When do I need rest vs. when can I push?
This isn’t about limitation. It’s about alignment.
Try mapping your work (deep focus, creative tasks, admin tasks) onto your natural cycle. Many women find they get more done with less effort - simply because they finally stop fighting themselves.
2. Make invisible labour visible
If you’re juggling engineering work and the emotional load of a household, that is not a "side task." It is labour. Count it. Name it. Include it in your time picture.
And if you’re a manager or ally: ask your team who is carrying caregiving responsibilities. Don’t assume. Don’t avoid the topic out of discomfort. Gender equity requires literacy in this reality.
3. Push organisations to redesign their notion of productivity
STEM organisations can:
- Offer flexible scheduling without penalising career progression
- Recognise caregiving in performance frameworks
- Adopt outcome-based productivity rather than hour-based
- Train managers to understand cyclical energy patterns and emotional load
- Build tools that actually reflect women’s lived experience
We already design complex systems in engineering. We can redesign this one too.
4. Create tools for women - not "shrink-to-fit" versions of male tools
There are apps for ADHD.
There are apps for biohacking.
There are binders for CEOs.
But where are the productivity systems for women who live in cyclical bodies?
Where is the planner that shows the real number of hours left after caregiving labour?
Where is the calendar that visualises emotional load next to tasks?
Women in STEM create incredible technologies. We can create this one too.
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When I finally understood that my "inconsistency" was not a flaw but a biological rhythm, something shifted. Instead of fear, I felt pride. Instead of shame, I felt clarity. And instead of trying to be a perfectly efficient machine, I started designing a life that works for the human I actually am.
I hope to see more women stop forcing themselves into systems that were never meant for them - and more companies start building structures that honour how women actually live, work, think, and create.
What about you? Have you ever tried to fit into a productivity model that simply didn’t match your reality? I’d love to hear your experience.
The mission of STEMinism.co has always been representation and inclusion - and this conversation is part of that work.
