Let’s Talk Diversity
Diversity has been a buzzword in tech for years — but what does it mean in 2020? To get to the root of the topic we partnered with Pixel Pond for our first-ever panel discussion on workplace diversity. ‘How to Put Diversity into Your Design’ saw three guest speakers discuss what inclusivity means in 2020 for product designers, teams and businesses. Here’s a recap of what we learnt:
Diversity in Product 🚀
Eli Montgomery, UX designer and product leader, kicked us off with a reminder that “Diversity is a fact.” They explained that creating a diverse product should never be too far out of reach: “The world that we live in is diverse. The cultures that we encounter every day are diverse. The internet itself is diverse. You don’t have to include diversity; it should already be there.”
The conversation moved on to highlight the importance of UX researchers and the role they play in shaping inclusive products. Amina Aden, UX specialist, pointed out that one of the largest obstacles is “Removing yourself and your own personal biases (in user interviews).” This could mean allowing a conversation to flow naturally around diversity and letting yourself go off-piste from a discussion guide — “That’s where the magic happens.” Rob Curtis, chief product officer, chimed in.
Diversity in the Workplace 🚀
The discussion moved away from diversity in the product lifecycle and towards the experiences that minority communities face in the workplace. Amina brought up the concept of compassionate leave in the wake of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests: “Compassionate leave may not be your parents passing away, it could be something as simple as understanding that your black colleagues are going through quite a lot and that maybe they should have time off…This is what diversity actually means.”
Things quickly moved on to discuss how integral hiring is for a diverse workplace. Our panellists touched on the idea that it isn’t enough to just champion diversity in junior roles, but that positions of leadership have an undeniable influence on any organisation. “How are you retaining that talent?” Amina Aden asked. “I was reading the other day that queer people in design who have visible LGBTQ+ peers and leaders were 20% more likely to be totally open about their identities than compared to environments with scattered (LGBTQ+) visibility.”
Diversity in the Future 🚀
We ended the conversation discussing allyship and the importance of speaking up for those around you. Eli shared an anecdote around the Black Lives Matter movement: “When the protests started happening, I was lurking in the Slack channels to see if anyone would say something, and nobody did. So I found a white ally and was like, ‘hey, here’s an article, I know you and I share similar thinking, would you mind sharing this on my behalf to just get the conversation started?’ And it worked.”
One of the most important messages to come from the discussion was how we can all as individuals be allies — even when the wider community isn’t. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to amplify the voices of those who aren’t listened to, so that together we can normalise their message for change.
You can catch the full discussion on Pixel Pride’s Vimeo account here.
