Designing an inclusive future
Acknowledge, think, imagine, and act on building a future that addresses racial injustice and advocates for black lives
On May 25, 2020, 8 minutes and 46 seconds were captured on video. A police officer from the Minneapolis police department murdered an innocent black man named George Floyd. 8 minutes and 46 seconds of degradation, dehumanization. An act of inhumanity, recorded for all the world to see.
The past several weeks have been especially challenging. The deaths of victims like Mr. Floyd, along with Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, and far too many others (we’ll never be able to name them all) are traumatic because they can trigger pain from memories of personal experiences with racism. These recent events have catalyzed feelings of despair, anger, fear, and sadness across the United States and the world, reminding the world of the generational trauma and centuries of injustice to which the ruling classes subject black people.
The truth is they have forcibly endured a system built on violence and oppression to obtain and maintain dominance over them. This institutional system of racism and oppression and all its effects, are still in place today (of which police brutality is just one component). And this year, after months of stay at home orders and rising economic despair, we have reached a breaking point. Systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement cannot be ignored any longer.
Although words alone are not an adequate way to capture our feelings, the design community is deeply upset by the stream of brutal and inhumane acts and injustices against the black community. As such, continuing day-to-day business at this time can be a welcome distraction, but showing up for work can be difficult and isolating. Our colleagues are going through it.
As designers, it is our job to be deeply empathetic to the humans we serve — to understand, to think, and to imagine and act towards new futures where learn to better embrace each other as human beings. Addressing and combating these systemic societal issues that affect our world is deeper than our workplace.
Here is a framework for how we can approach embracing our colleagues in the workplace and beyond. The intention is to inspire designers and our surrounding community to think and act on forging a new future with diversity, inclusion and equity in all that we do (as diverse empowered teams, after all). We also wish that this conversation will incite action, whether that take shape in future dialog on this channel and among other spaces.
Acknowledge.
Many of us will not truly understand exactly how someone else feels, but we can begin to make sense of it all through deep empathy for how people have been treated through self-education and acknowledgement of the systemic problem.
Think.
“Think” is at the core of IBM. Apart from our company, thinking is best done after first acknowledging and understanding the problem. Critical thinking is a key component of learning.
Imagine.
Imagining is type of envisioning a result, and can be a critical and speculative form of thinking, especially when approaching problem-solving and designing more inclusive futures.
Act.
While the first three are necessary to create dialog, to effect change and actively combat racism and racial injustice, we’ll need to take action. We need to become activists. To actualize this activism can take shape in a variety of ways. It doesn’t just stop at marching in protests. We can start new conversations, speak up against any discriminatory behavior in the workplace, vote to enact policies, and more.
“It’s up to all of us — Black, white, everyone — no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting out [racism]. It starts with self-examination and listening to those whose lives are different from our own. It ends with justice, compassion, and empathy that manifests in our lives and on our streets.”
— Michelle Obama
While we are not proposing this framework will directly create solutions, we are positing that dismantling systemic racism will require cooperation of a diverse and empowered society — people with differing viewpoints, strengths, weaknesses, skills, cultures, and backgrounds. It will be slow-going, and will require intentional, sustained action. Likely, this will need to happen for as long as we live. We need to actively work together to disrupt the status quo towards an inclusive future.
Acknowledge
Barriers to positions of privilege in society exist in today’s world. In moving towards a more inclusive future we must first acknowledge that systemic racism and our own biases are impacting our society. And we can learn through self-education and conversations.
Systemic racism
Systemic racism is fundamental in everyday life — impacting which part of the city we live in, where we work, how we are educated, and how we purchase homes. The levels at which racism itself can manifest are both individual and institutional (systemic). Both perpetually affect the world in which we all live. Higher education and home ownership are the most effective ways for Americans to build wealth. Laws rooted in the Jim Crow era such as redlining segregate people of color, create barriers to accruing real estate wealth, and contribute to this system of inequality today. It shows face in wealth inequality, incarceration, representation, public health, and education. In the United States, this system operates on keeping white people in positions of privilege in every facet of life. Putting in the work to educate oneself on this structural system is to better understand the scope of the problem and its pervasiveness in society.
Bias
Implicit biases, or unconscious biases are drivers which further systemic racism. Every person retains cognitive biases and prejudices which profoundly impact the way we think and act. They’re baked into the biological wiring of our brains, and are influenced by our experiences growing up in a culture saturated by the media, conversations and interactions we’ve had, and our upbringing and education. They affect understanding and shape our decisions and behaviors. In the workplace, implicit biases can be expressed covertly or subtly through casual racism (such as one-off comments), or more overtly through harassment or exclusionary behavior. Biases can result in discriminatory hiring practices which result in non-diverse representation.
Biases in technology
Our biases must also be deeply and thoroughly examined in the way we approach the technology and the systems we create. Notably, this applies to cognitive systems and healthcare.
How we design for AI with ethical decision-making to minimize bias is vital, as we are creating systems that will impact millions of people. We also need to design AI systems with diverse teams at the helm, which hasn’t been the case in practice.
Recently, our CEO called for the sunset of facial recognition technology in a public letter to congress, which has a long history of police departments across the U.S. using the tech for mass surveillance and racial profiling. Since racial bias cannot be controlled for in these systems, this is a win for tech, a win for IBM, and a signal of broader policy change.
Watson Health, which leverages our cloud, analytics, AI, and block chain technologies, and all of our solutions must also be designed ethically with adjustments for mitigating bias. Since the quality of human lives are so closely intertwined with the healthcare we receive, our tech must responsibly and ethically value that relationship.
The as-is
In design terms, acknowledging the problem is like taking stock of the as-is before we can build the to-be. Can we really say our work environment is representative today? Can we say that every single person has the same level of opportunity? Can we truly say our biases don’t affect each and every one of us? The answer is no.
We must first collectively acknowledge, as a society, that this entity of systemic racism and our own biases are omnipresent. They are affecting the access to opportunities people receive today. This is the first, albeit small first bit of work in moving towards an inclusive future.
Think
As IBMers, THINK is core to our identity. It’s our history, our motto, and all that we do, first stemming from Founder Thomas J. Watson’s call for employees, at every level and in every role, to think.
“The trouble with every one of us is that we don’t THINK enough. We don’t get paid for working with our feet — we get paid for working with our heads. Feet can never compete with brains.
— Thomas J. Watson Sr.
Think magazine, June 1935
And think we did, about how racist and discriminatory thinking and policies are not only bad for society, but bad for business. IBM has long been ahead of the curve in terms of diversity and inclusion. In 1953, IBM’s first written Equal Opportunity Policy called for equal opportunity in hiring “Regardless of race, color, or creed,” 11 years in advance of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This statement comes with the acknowledgement that there always has been and likely always will be change that needs to take place to live in an inclusive and just society.
Design Thinking
Fast forward to 2013–2014 when a new flavor of thinking was born at IBM. With the formation of our reinvented IBM Design program and design thinking, we see problems and solutions as ongoing conversations, and one of the principles that guides us is diverse empowered teams. We believe that diverse teams design and deliver better solutions. Diversity enables more holistic thinking, doing, and solving. This human-centered approach is part of the bedrock of how we work. Different vantage points spawn innovative thinking, faster.
Design Research
Design thinking starts with research and deeply considering the humans who interact with us. We ask guiding questions such as… Are we being objective? Are we seeing the bigger or the biggest picture for our audience? Are we building and providing psychological safety for diverse teams to feel trusted and safe to do their best work and to thrive? Are we even applying research to thinking about and designing solutions? Is the research rooted in user needs and exposing gaps and opportunities to do better at meeting those needs?
Research helps inform the narratives that can help drive the urgency and clarity on what are the hills to define, design, develop, and deliver.
In a recent townhall, former president Barack Obama cited implicit bias research as integral to the work of a task force addressing 21st Century Policing when he was in office. He subsequently stated,
“To bring about real change, we both have to highlight a problem and make people in power uncomfortable, but we also have to translate that into practical solutions and laws.”
— Barack Obama
The concept of creating practical solutions backed up by research directly is reflected in the design practice of user research. Here are the IBM Design Research Guiding principles:
- Responsible advocacy for deeper understanding of the users and the world around them
- Putting form to ideas to quickly learn, reflect, and iterate
None of this happens without starting by acknowledging the problem. And putting these principles to purposeful action means that we must apply the practice of design thinking and design research to better understand a wider and more diverse spectrum of people, their lives, and how we can meet their needs. We must place our users — all of our users, including black lives — at the center of our work.
Imagine
One of our core values at IBM is “Innovation that matters — for the company and for the world.” A key part of this value challenges and inspires us to “dare to create original ideas.” Across all functions of our business, we operate with this in mind. And while design thinking is one way to quickly create original, innovative ideas, a new concept is emerging in the design world…
Speculative design
Speculative design is a way of imagining how society at large might be effected by design in the future. This emerging concept and how it can help designers with our UX practice is trending on the minds of designers today (since the mid-aughts). It focuses on forecasting probable future states, zooming out beyond what is just user-focused to a broader, societal focus. The goal is not to predict the future, but to use design as a method of exploring possibilities, in order to discuss and define a preferable future for humans.
“Speculative design is a discursive practice, based on critical thinking and dialogue, which questions the practice of design (and its modernist definition). However, the speculative design approach takes the critical practice one step further, towards imagination and visions of possible scenarios.”
The question is, how do we design better possible futures where black lives and the black experience matters? Can we use speculative design to imagine, and eventually create preferable (and more equitable) futures?
And, if we can apply speculative design as a way to create better UX in our solutions/products/services, can we do the same for prioritizing the problem of systemic racism?
Colleagues and friends reading this article, we implore you to explore practices, frameworks, and modes of design and design thinking as a way to imagine better possible futures.
Act
While acknowledging the scope of the problem, thinking deeply about it through research and iteration with diverse empowered teams, and imagining better futures are all necessary, it is all for naught without the most essential work. Act.
“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”
― Angela Davis
“Act” is integral to the term activism, a continual push for social change. In order to combat systemic racism and injustice, it’s not enough to be not racist, which is a passive behavior. Political Activist Angela Davis implores us to actively be anti-racist in all facets of our lives. And we must do it all the time.
Here are some actionable tactics to confront racism:
Educate yourself.
Learn about our deep history of racial injustice and bias:
- Here is a list of resources for self-education to get you started
Don’t be complacent.
Speak out:
- Advocate for black lives and human rights
- Advocate for embracing diversity, for change, for equality, for inclusion
- Call out behaviors of racism when and where it happens
Be vigilant.
Ask ourselves (out loud):
- Are we inclusive and representative in presentations, videos, conferences and panels?
- Are we fully acting on and aligning to our core values?
- Are we balancing the value we bring to each other with the communities we belong to and serve?
- Are we addressing the realities of pervasive bias?
- Can we adjust for data to address and re-balance biases due to inequalities?
- Can we review and include outliers within the data to address all inequalities?
- What are the most effective channels for addressing inequality and advocating for people?
Be open.
Be open to the ideas of other humans and work together:
- Nurture environments and cultures that provide psychological safety
- Embody empathy in all we do
- Care about people outside of ourselves, and show it
Take action.
Practice activism to bring about social change:
- Build community
- Sign a petition
- Protest in a locally organized event
- Vote for policy change
- Lobby or call your local politicians
- Utilize social media or other effective channels
- Write against racial injustice
- Join or hold a public or community forum
- Donate to non-profit activist groups
- Boycott anti-black companies and entities
- Apply your skills to support the cause
Conclusion
Now is the time to acknowledge that black lives in America have never had true equality, opportunity, safety, or security. It’s time to educate and converse with ourselves and each other, think deeply about this systemic problem, imagine inclusive and just futures, and then act on building that future. This needs to be considered always.
As an employee of the IBM company, each of us is personally committed to our Emb(race) pledge:
Amid COVID-19 and the challenges that come for many who are out of work, we’re all going through it. Let’s uplift all of the voices that deserve to be heard. Let’s be there for each other as allies and accomplices, and as humans. Let this be our true aim in celebration of the day we published this article, Juneteenth, and forever.
While this time feels especially trying, people are showing up. Challenges beget opportunities. We’re being heard and change is resulting. All of this brings hope for systemic change that is far too long overdue. By empowering diverse people towards a common goal, we all win.
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
Now, let’s work together to design a future that addresses racial injustice — one that truly advocates for black lives.
Black lives matter.
We invite our colleagues and friends to engage in critical thought, discourse, and activism for black lives matter— whether on Medium, in your work, or in the spaces you frequent. Contact Allison Biesboer or Will Fanguy if you would like to author a story on IBM Design.
Resources
A conversation with President Obama: Reimagining Policing in the Wake of Continued Police Violence | YouTube
Algorithmic Justice League | ajlunited.org
Artificial Intelligence’s White Guy Problem | NY Times
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna’s Letter to Congress | THINKPolicy blog
Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code|Book
Racial Justice Reading List | Google Docs
Talking about race | Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Unmasking Bias | Medium
We’re in a diversity crisis: Cofounder of Black in AI on what’s poisoning algorithms in our lives | MIT Technology Review
Work by Deb Raji of AI Now Institute | Google Scholar
Work by Mutale Nkonde | Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
Are you an IBMer? If you haven’t already, check out the pledge posted in the #emb-race Slack channel and explore ways to practically exercise activism in the spaces you frequent. You may also check out the Be Equal Ambassador Badge.
Meet the Authors
Allison Biesboer is a content designer, content strategist, storyteller, and editor of IBM Design on Medium. She is from the Minneapolis area and now resides in Austin, TX. She has been an IBMer since 2014.
Rob Pierce is a Design Manager for Life Sciences offerings and also Content Design Lead for Watson Health. He has been an IBMer since 2003, is a father of five, and has a goat named Maisie.
An enormous thank you to our colleagues who have contributed their valuable time and energy to providing feedback for this piece.
The above article is personal and does not necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
