When producers manufacture a laptop computer especially for women, they put on a floral cover and present the product as a lifestyle accessorie, says Rune Nørager, associate professor and teacher at the Department of Product and Design psychology at Aalborg University. When the same laptop (in black) is advertised for men, the manufacturer talks about capacity and other technical specifications. What impact does this have on men's and women's approach to technology?

The prejudices existing between genders are highly influential in our ways of navigating the world. Unfortunately, the debate about prejudice frequently has a negative ring to it; but prejudices may also be conducive in our categorisation of each other into a series of ’crude categories’ in order that we can quickly pigeonhole and understand them.

“Naturally, a cooperation like this between the research environment and the business sector will require the scientist to be very conscious about what his or her research perspective is, for there are many agendas in play – the companies need to sell their products, and my duty is to write scientific articles. But the cooperation can easily qualify the process for both parties – I learn how the methods work in the companies, and the companies get access to methods based on the most recent knowledge”, states Marianne Graves Petersen, associate professor at the Department of Computer Science at Aarhus University.

A product design which may be spot on for Danish female users will not necessarily work in another cultural context. Therefore, if you want to be successful on the international market, you need – according to Mette Jakobsen from Lindberg International – to accept the premises of the individual country.