My approach to diversity and gender inclusivity at work
— Erica Scolaro, Product Designer @ Pennylane
As designers, our actions regarding diversity and gender equality have a massive impact on our product. By incorporating diverse perspectives, we can create products that better meet the needs of a wider range of people. This can lead to increased accessibility, usability, and overall satisfaction among users.
Very early on, upon entering my new company Pennylane (a platform that allows business owners and their accountants to collaborate efficiently and grow their businesses), I asked myself, who are we designing for? What is our gender demographic? Fortunately we have genderless profiles on our app, meaning that we don’t have any gender specific data reflecting our user pool. I say fortunately because if it wasn’t the case, we would make assumptions based on how the profiles identify. If a company doesn't know the gender of its users, it may be more likely to design products and services that are inclusive and accessible to all genders. It can also help to encourage diversity in the user base and prevent any gender-based segmentation or targeting. It is also important to note that by not collecting gender data, companies can respect users' privacy and help prevent potential harassment or discrimination.
To find statistics about the gender demographic of our accountants users, I referred to the association Femmes Experts-Comptables where I learned that 66% of the accounting workforce is made of women. Sadly, the following figure was that only 26% of the Certified Public Accountants were women. (Source)
In my quest to fight gender stereotypes and to help any type of representation feel welcome on our product, I suggested we start using inclusive writing: a way to write a very gendered language like French in a more, well, inclusive way.
By emphasising inclusiveness and recognition of individuals of all genders, we are sending the right message. Some people were sceptical about adopting this style of speech but to quote Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter, who wrote The Power of Habit, about the science of habit formation in our lives: “Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped”.
Another example of the way we handled diversity in our company appeared when we were redesigning the illustrations to use all over our product. Many suggested that because we care so much about our users, they need to be the main subjects. In an effort to be fully inclusive and diverse, those representations would need to feature individuals of various races, body shapes, ages, genders, and abilities. Since our team does not represent such a wide ray of diversity, and therefore we might make a mistake trying to represent all of them, we decided to exclude the people and focus on “office related objects”.
This experience made us realise the importance of being mindful of biases, such as internalised misogyny, that can subconsciously affect our decisions and actions in the workplace and in our everyday lives. But what is it?
Whether at work or in the media we consume, we see women being discriminated against everyday. This sets an unhealthy precedent and makes it very difficult to see ourselves tear another woman down.
Finding your place in a male dominated work environment is hard enough, nevertheless we need to remind ourselves that women are our allies and not our competition. As independent as we think we may be, we have many preconceived notions about how a woman should exist that stem from societal expectations and gender norms. It is important to be conscious of this, not only about other women but also in regards to yourself. Remember – empowered women empower women! An example of a very small action that I take on a daily basis to encourage positive bias is to always give the floor to women during stand up meetings.
A lot of the great achievements we enjoy today as women, are due to major feminist icons who fought for our rights. My way to not take that for granted is to passively educate people about them. When I need placeholder names in my designs I use the ones of Simone de Beauvoir, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem and many more. Next thing you know, they become a conversation piece during coffee breaks. For your female coworkers, knowing women’s achievements expands their sense of what is possible and nourishes their self esteem. For the rest of them, knowledge of women’s strengths and contributions builds respect.
As designers, we recognise that our work towards diversity and gender equality is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and a commitment to doing better. It is important to remember that this work will never be over and that we must remain vigilant in our efforts to create a more inclusive workplace and products that better meet the needs of all individuals.
Our experiences have taught us the importance of being mindful of biases, such as internalised misogyny, that can subtly affect our decisions and actions in the workplace and in our everyday lives. While the work may be ongoing, we are committed to doing better and making a difference.
We must continue to challenge ourselves to recognise and overcome these biases in order to create a more positive and empowering environment for all.
