Beyond binary: designing for gender inclusivity
Last updated on September 10, 2020
Something I’ve been ruminating on for a long time is our lack of gender options when users register for products and services. I’m not the first one to notice this, but it’s still happening, and it’s more prevalent than we realize. Even if you identify as cisgender, this is a need that affects many of your users, as well as friends, family, and colleagues.
Max Masure wrote a great article on why cisgender people should be normalizing pronoun usage that I would recommend for cisgender people to help educate themselves. In this article, they mention how cisgender people can normalize gender diversity by including pronouns in their email, LinkedIn, website, etc. I think designers can take this a step further by adding more gender inclusion to the products we work on. Gender inclusion in our products is a small action that can have a considerable impact. As designers, we advocate for the people we are serving, and so many of us say we are empathetic. Shouldn’t a cisgender designer’s empathy also extend to gender identity?
How to Design Beyond Binary
The most common places that users identify their gender are in onboarding experiences or their user profiles. In many cases, this is the first impression that someone gets from our products. It’s essential that onboarding is minimal and transparent because people have very little at stake at this point in the process and can easily leave an onboarding experience if they determine they don’t like it or aren’t comfortable with the questions asked.
Similarly, people will delete their accounts with products if those products can’t meet their needs. Gender inclusivity is especially relevant for companies that specialize in social media, health, finance, insurance, etc. Anywhere that gender data is gathered by an organization, we have an opportunity to do better. So let’s talk about how to be gender inclusive in our designs.
Don’t ask for gender unless you need to
In any experience in which we request information from people, we should be asking ourselves, “what information is most necessary for us to gather” and “how are we using this information to help our users?” It is best to minimize what we ask of people to reduce the effort they have to put in, especially when they are still learning to trust us. We’ve all experienced the horrors of filling out lengthy forms. Forms are often considered an annoying experience, so much so that autofill exists. The same logic applies to asking for gender information. While researching apps I have on my phone, I found a lot of them keep my gender information. In many instances, it makes sense. Each experience is different, and I know that gender plays a part in many marketing campaigns, but if you don’t really need gender information, try not to ask.
If gender information is necessary, let people understand why
When we do ask for gender, it’s always a good idea to let our users know why. One emerging trend in onboarding experiences is explanatory text associated with form fields. Offering information to users in this way cultivates a trusting relationship from the moment a user begins interacting with our product. If I am onboarding with Pandora, a music streaming service, and they ask for my gender I might wonder why they need it and how they would use it. They let me learn more about why they ask for this by explaining that they use gender to personalize my experience, allowing me to dig deeper if I’d like to understand their reasoning further. This helps me trust Pandora and their motives and gaining a user’s trust is invaluable. Gaining a user’s trust is invaluable and can make all of the difference in transforming a casual user to a devoted one.
Provide more gender options, or let users customize their gender
Gender and sexuality in humans is fluid. We can Google “how many genders are there” and get a myriad of answers. Our gender can be expressed in so many different ways with so many different words, so why should we funnel people into a few options when so many more exist? There is so much more to gender and sexuality than a simple form can contain, so this is why I recommend allowing for multiple gender options, or even a custom gender selection. Facebook is one product that currently allows users to do both. These features are Facebook’s way of embracing a world that is not binary, allowing people to change and transition as they unravel their gender identity. These are especially valuable when presented in the context of social media so that people can be socially seen in the same way they identify.
Let people pick their pronouns
In the same breath, allowing people to select their pronouns is also essential. I use the pronouns she/her/hers, though I am comfortable with they/them/theirs. When a person shares their pronouns, they are naming the pronouns that they want to be referred by. It is respectful to use someone’s chosen pronouns, just as it is to use their chosen name. Pronouns can be used to clarify how someone identifies with their family and friends, or in something as simple as an email to a colleague. This customization can make all of the difference to people who deal with gender dysphoria, a feeling of discomfort or distress that occurs with people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics. By using someone’s chosen pronouns, we can help them feel more comfortable, more trusting. This small change can mean a significantly more positive experience for many of our users.
Let people change their gender and pronouns at any time
Even when users complete an onboarding process, we need to allow them to change their gender and pronouns at any time. People who are transgender and non-binary share this part of their identity at varying times in their lives. Our users may come to share this information at any given time, just as they would with sexual orientation, depending on what they are comfortable with. We can’t assume that the gender and pronouns someone signs up with are constant and forever. Can you imagine how meaningful it could be for someone who is genderqueer to be able to use something as simple as a form to finally be able to share their gender and pronouns? Or how frustrating it would be to be unable to?
Cultivate content that isn’t binary
Last and not least, we need to cultivate content that isn’t binary. This can be anything from stock images to articles on personal finance. How many stock images are we going to have to look at with white/straight/thin/cisgender people in this lifetime? How many articles do we have to read that speaks to all people in the same way? Representation matters, seeing ourselves in popular culture is important. As a gamer, I can’t begin to tell you how much it meant to start playing RPGs where I could play as a woman character. I’ve had to find stock images for the past ten years of my life, so I know that options can be limited and that better options tend to cost more. I know that data related to transgender individuals aren’t as common as we would like. But the more we can include gender diversity, the more will be able to find better imagery, better data, and better resources. We have to try our best and advocate for better representation in the products we are working on now as culture shifts take time.
The Business Advantage
Inclusive design always has a moral value. But if you’re someone who cares about inclusivity and wants to build inclusive work, you’re going to have to get good at answering “what’s the business value?”
You might be thinking, “why can’t we do what is right simply because it is right?” As someone who has been dealing with this question since the day I stepped into my career, I want to tell you honestly that I have felt that way too. But making a business case for the work we do is key to becoming a leader, to making change happen. The good news is that making a business case for something we are passionate about is an excellent way to learn how to win over stakeholders. For me, going to bat for the issues that mean the most to me is an easy thing because I will give it my all, and in most cases, I can win them over. Systemic change is about every little thing we can do better, it can be hard, but it’s worth it.
On the other hand, if you’re someone who is reading this article asking why you should bother with building work that isn’t gender binary, you’ve come this far, and I respect that. I’ll do my best to answer this question.
Don’t Leave Money on the Table
Can your business afford not to serve:
- 1.3 million adults are projected to be transgender
- 62% of Americans say they have become more supportive toward transgender rights
- 80% of “Gen Z”, believe that gender did not define a person as much as it used to
You might also say that transgender stigma can make users run away from your product. In some cases, this could be true, and it could be more problematic if your business is serving conservative clients. But we should never forget that our world is ever-changing. Millennials and Gen Z are coming into ages in which they have buying and voting power. If your product, especially an aging product, does not build support among younger generations, it is at a much higher risk of eroding. Additionally, products like Facebook have included gender diversity in their designs, and I do not see conservatives out there trying to ban it. Maybe they simply haven’t noticed it? Regardless, I suspect that gender-inclusive design will do more good than harm, especially in the long run.
Competitive Advantage
If you’re in a newer organization or serving younger audiences, inclusive design can be one of the most advantageous moves you can make. Let’s take the example of Ellevest’s onboarding experience. In this, users can select from the options of male, female, and non-binary. For a business that is disrupting the financial industry, Ellevest is using gender inclusion to their advantage. Financial industries notoriously suffer from outdated and hyper rigid values. Ellevest has sought to go against those old financial industry practices and mirrors their values in the design. Doing this helps Ellevest stand apart even further from the industry it seeks to disrupt. This design also captures a new, younger, and specialized set of audiences, which is invaluable to startups.
Better Audience Segmentation
Audience segmentation is essential and the better we can do it, the more likely we are to gain sales and leads. Imagine what it would be like if we were able to serve a completely “new” subset of users from male and female and specialize in their needs. I can guarantee that people who are transgender aren’t going to have the same health needs or financial needs as a cisgender individual. As the number of people who feel comfortable expressing their transgender identity increases, I anticipate we will need to segment their audience needs better.
Getting Ahead of the Big Data Curve
One of the issues we currently are facing in all products is a lack of data representing people who are transgender. As I mentioned, I anticipate that this will change quite quickly in the coming years and is already changing now. Getting ahead of this trend could be a massive win for any organization. There are businesses out there already doing this, but the time to invest in this segment of big data is now.
Attract Diverse Candidates
Businesses should know diverse teams with inclusive cultures are more profitable. Attracting diverse candidates requires many considerations, but one way to attract these candidates to your team is by being mindful of inclusivity in your products.
In a report conducted in 2017 by McKinsey & Company, 1,000 companies were analyzed on their diversity and correlation between diversity and profitability. This study also measured longer-term value creation from diversity initiatives. Here are a few things they found:
- Companies with a diverse workforce are 35% more likely to outperform those without diversity initiatives.
- Companies in the top 1/4 for gender diversity are 21% more likely to have a better financial return.
A Message to Transgender and Non-Binary Readers
My gender experience is my own, and while I work to listen and understand the experiences of others, I do not always get it right. Your experience likely is not the same as mine. In writing this, I seek to be an ally as well as make our designs better, more inclusive. However, please leave a comment if I have missed the mark or if you feel I have not represented your needs, particularly if you are genderqueer. I’ll read over your responses and work on editing this piece to be better, and you will have my thanks! You are also welcome to message me privately if you are not comfortable commenting, feel free to email me.
Special thanks to Jules Monza, who was kind enough to share their innovative insights on gender-inclusive design.
