Streamlining an Inclusive Design Practice
Summary
Often times our design principles become a propped-up trophy that we're proud of but never truly use. Or we don't even realize this trophy may be dusty and needs some cleaning up. This ideology could be applied to our design principles or design process, and hinder us from creating a more updated practice that is inclusive and equitable for our teams to interact with, understand, and improve our products. The very practice and values that our teams live by should be embedded with inclusion and equity at the forefront of what we do, not the end. This talk is meant to help reimagine what an Inclusive design practice could look like for you and your teams, in hopes that you'll be able to walk away with a framework or awareness of a streamlined practice that's conducive to a diverse team. As an Equity-Centered UX Strategist, I collaborate with Design teams to ensure we're building toward a more equitable practice that's foundational and not faulty.
Key Insights
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Performative equity arises when companies advocate DEI but fail to take practical, sustained action.
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Between 2022-2023, DEI roles were laid off at a higher rate than non-DEI roles, signaling low corporate prioritization.
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Inclusive design is deeper than accessibility, centering on systemic inequities and lived experiences.
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Inclusive design should never be a one-person job or a checkbox exercise but a shared organizational responsibility.
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Embedding land acknowledgements meaningfully can shift from performative to genuine inclusivity.
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Diverse representation in design includes intersectionality of race, disability, class, and language, not just surface diversity.
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Practical tools include integrating inclusivity into design systems, ethical research checklists, and mandatory inclusive design checkpoints.
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Creating safe spaces with multiple ways to share opinions empowers introverted or marginalized voices.
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Lived experience is often more valuable for inclusive design than purely academic or technical knowledge.
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Sustained inclusion at leadership and decision-making levels, not just event-based representation, is critical for true equity.
Notable Quotes
"Performative equity occurs when an organization advocates for DEI but there’s no practical action being undertaken."
"Hiring a DEI team and then completely letting them go after less than two years is performative, not intentional."
"Inclusive design isn’t about a 1, 2, 3 checkbox. It’s about interpersonal work unraveling historical inequities."
"It’s not just about the customer experience but also the employee experience, and they must coincide."
"Land acknowledgement done as a checkbox is performative; when embedded, it becomes a practice of respect and inclusion."
"The responsibility to uphold equity should not fall on one person—it’s everyone’s responsibility."
"We have to ask who is not in the room and whether representation truly reflects the target audience."
"Lived experiences like poverty or homelessness bring a richer, deeper lens than a textbook study ever could."
"Active listening means actually implementing the feedback or suggestions given—not just hearing them."
"Good design ops cannot be executed without inclusive design at the center, with culture humility and intersectionality as core."
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