Designing for Intersectionality

With Tanya Powell

@tanya_powell | hello@tanyapowell.co.uk

• I'm a Software Engineer at Gamesys
• I volunteer at EmpowerHack
• I'm one half of an amazing podcast called A Large G&T

How I got involved with intersectionality discussions

• Diversity is one of the favourite buzzwords in technology and usually refers to getting a gender balance
• Great for me because I'm a woman
• But I'm a Black woman and the Black part is rarely talked about
• Does that mean my gender is more important than my race? Erm...nope
• Thought it was time we all started celebrated the different intersections that make us whole

What happens when a popular product doesn't take other identities into consideration?

The Snapchat Problem

I’m deleting Snapchat, and you should too

by Katie Zhu

• This is quite literally yellowface, a derogatory and offensive caricature of Asians
• And even for those filters that aren’t as overtly offensive, they subtly reinforce white superiority and reveal the lack of diversity in the product’s creators. Many of the lenses (flower crown, butterfly crown) whitewash users’ skin and lighten their eye color.
• Tech is full of white male elites, and without people of color both present and occupying positions of power and decision-making, our future will only continue to get more white

The team behind Snapchat

Task

What you need to do

What flight to book

• Flying From: New York JFK airport
• Flying To: Mauritius Island, Mauritius or Nadi, Fiji

• Flying From: London (all)
• Flying To: Mumbai, India or Kingston, Jamaica

Things to consider during the task

• How do you feel when trying to book the flight? E.g. frustrated, completely fine, it was easy to do
• What improvements do you think the website you were on could make to improve the experience you are having?
• Do you think the people making the website considered other languages and cultures when initially making the website? Or were they an after thought?

Fearless Futures Briefs

Birdsong Brief

• Does we all conform to the British/Western standards of beauty?
• Do some of us deny our cultural/religious identities to conform to these standards?
• Do we see, accept and celebrate the beauty of each intersection that makes our single identity?

Chayn Brief

• Abuse of any sort is normalised in many cultures
• When conducting user research be aware of different cultures and tailor your questions for different cultures and other intersections of our society (e.g. different religious groups)
• How Western society sees abuse is not the same in various communities across London, even if you do not agree it's important to be respectful of other's views so you can tailor your questions accordingly

Just Like Us Brief

• Many children live in homes where cultural/religious beliefs dictate their feelings towards the LGBTQ community
• When conducting user research ensure you target a wide range of cultures and religions to gain a more diverse understanding of the problem
• Use your time to do secondary research so you can try to find out why different cultures and religions are not comfortable or accepting of the LGBTQ community
• Tailor your questions for different cultures or religions

It's important to conduct secondary research on the different intersections of our society before conducting your primary user research

Remember to be understanding and empathetic, even if you don't agree with the user's viewpoint

Thanks for partcipating

https://tanyapowell.co.uk/design-for-intersectionality/

You can talk to me here @tanya_powell