Equity Considerations

 

When to Use These Considerations

  • When you are starting a project, or ideating on a solution

  • When you are planning on launching a product or solution

  • When you are looking at updating a product or solution

  • When you are building up use of a product or solution 

  • When you are planning to sunset a product or solution

How to Use These Considerations

  • Read through the questions from start to finish

  • Choose one (or as many as you want, based on your capacity) to use as a probe into your current solution or product

  • As you address each consideration, move on to a new one

  • Refer back to these considerations when you begin solutioning or updating produc​​​ts

What to Do If You Answer "No" to a Consideration

​​​​These considerations reflect the types of questions, statistics, and priorities that should be centered in the research, ideation and solutioning to create more equitable solutions. Each category will have questions for your team to consider as you compile additional research, ideate, design and develop during your solutioning process. This is not an exhaustive list. As this is a living document, additional questions and considerations will be updated and added as best practices and industry standards continue to evolve.

Note: This is a living document. As standards and terminology continues to evolve, regular reviews will be conducted to ensure that this information is up to date.

  • Ability

    Questions to Ask

    • Have you considered accessibility standards during the ideation and design phases?

    • Have you used tools like Microsoft's Accessibility Spectrum to address barriers that those experiencing permanent, temporary, and situational accessibility needs might face?

    • Are there any health, social, economic, or other well-being factors that may impact level of engagement?

    • Have you thought about the barriers that someone who is an English language learner (ELL) would have using this solution?

    • Have you used the simplest, most common language possible in your solution?

    • Have you created a design library that involves images of people with a wide range of abilities?

    • Have you created a user testing base with representation from people with a variety of needs?

    Further Considerations

    • Have you requested a digital accessibility team to assess your solution for additional accessibility considerations?

  • Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation

    Questions to Ask

    • Have you used gender neutral terms (e.g. by default, use gender neutral “they” as a singular pronoun when referring to someone; avoid using language that implies there is only two gender, such “he or she”, etc.)?

    • Have you provided options to identify in a gender inclusive manner (e.g. provide options such as “non-binary”, in addition to “woman” and “man”, etc.)?

    • Have you created a design library that involves gender neutral, gender-expansive and orientation-diverse images (e.g. same-gender couples, individuals who expresses their gender in a non-conforming or androgynous manner, etc.)?

    • Have you thought about unique barriers that trans and non-binary individuals face, along with the broader 2SLGBTQ+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning) community?

    • Have you involved gender-based and orientation-based data in your research, when possible and appropriate?

    • Have you created a user testing base with 2SLGBTQ+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning) representation?

    Further Considerations

    • What personalization and validation methods have you included in the design?

  • Race & Citizenship

    Questions to Ask

    • Have you adequately considered unique barriers that Black, Indigenous Peoples and other racialized groups face - both as a whole and as individual racial identities?

    • Have you involved race-based data in your research when possible and appropriate, for example from secondary sources and consumer insight teams?

    • Have you created a racially and citizenship (ie. individuals with citizenship and those without) diverse user testing base?

    • Have you created a design library that involves racially diverse images?

    • Have you considered the effects of current and historic discrimination on racialized communities, in particular Black and Indigenous communities, and how intergenerational trauma may impact interactions?

    Further Considerations

    • Have we gone the extra mile to establish transparency for communities where there is a need to build trust?