Do Black UX Designers Get the Recognition they Deserve?
We’ve all been there. You’re sitting in an interview room for your dream UX or Product design position and get asked “Who’s your favorite designer?” But how many of us are able to name Black designers in the UX feild ? — not many.
And sure, there aren’t many of us. A recent article by Phys points to the latest diversity reports from Twitter, Google and Facebook, which say that less than 5 percent of the companies’ tech workers identify as black.
But it’s not like we don’t exist, it’s just that the few of us who are in the feild face an incredible amount of erasure. Many of us often feel silenced, underestimated, and siloed.
What exactly does this erasure look like?
It can mean you are treated like you are just a diversity hire in your place of work. It can mean sitting in a meeting feeling like your ideas are quickly passed over. It can mean working with people who constantly overlook your intelligence, skills and capabilities. It can mean reading articles about “Top UX Designers to Follow” and not seeing one Black person on the list.
We live in a society that has long taught us that Black people cannot be brilliant, savvy, and qualified. As a result, when we enter these spaces, many of us find that our voices are deemed irrelevant. The tech world has not yet completely unlearned this line of thinking. Too often, tech companies hire people of color, and then fail to treat us like we actually matter once we get there.
Last year, Fortune published an article which highlighted the experience of an anonymous Black employee at Facebook . From not getting peer reviews, to not being able to find a mentor, to people not collaborating with him — he felt extremely undervalued and isolated at work. One day he went to a team social event where he encountered new Black employees that he had never seen before, who looked as if they were placed there as props. He said the event reminded him of “Get Out”.
How can we ensure that Black UX designers get recognized for their work?
A collective. Where we UX designers can work together to make the tech space feel as rewarding as it should feel. This collective should enable UX designers to:
- Share their design work, case studies, research in order to increase exposure.
- Connect with others to collaborate on projects and share ideas.
- Express what is means to navigate the tech space as a Black UX’er and provide tips and resources.
The Black UX Collective is a space that aims to do just that. Whether you are a UX Designer, UI Designer, Product Designer, UX Researcher, IxD Designer, Product Manager etc — we want to hear from you. we want to learn from you, we want to support you as best we can.
We would love for you to submit stories to us here on Medium. Walk us through your case studies, something fun you are working on, or talk to us about how you navigate this field. We also have an Instagram page where we can post your projects if you send them to us.
No more hidden figures. You deserve to be recognized for your work. Welcome to the Black UX Collective.
