Equity Principles

Incorporating an equity lens is a tangible way to consider the unique challenges and impacts on different societal groups and incorporate these learnings directly into design and development. The goal of doing this work is to create experiences that elicit a sense of belonging from all current and potential users, reflecting their unique needs, motivations, and past experiences. As we do this work, we’re guided by four principles.

Four Core Principles That Guide Us in This Work

  • Address unconscious biases – don't assume that our personal and professional experiences reflect all experiences.

  • Be inclusive by purposefully considering these principles and the needs of different groups.

  • Improvement in inclusivity does not stop at Day one. Think about Day two, Day three builds.

  • No matter where we are in a project, we can always take steps toward equity and improvement.

Introducing the right questions at the right stages of design is critical to inclusive innovation. The intent is to actively ensure that during the development process, teams are not inadvertently limiting potential target audiences based on their own personal and professional experiences. This approach helps lead to the creation of more diverse, inclusive, and equitable personas that can be used in the design and development process – either during early ideation or in later stage production – so that the needs of all possible users are considered.

The Equity Resource Hub’s resources can be used at the onset of any project, planning, solutioning or ideation; when you’re reviewing currently available services, products or solutions; when planning out updates for currently available services, products or solutions; and when considering which services, products or solutions to sunset. The specific application of an equity lens may look different depending on your role and team, but here are some examples of opportunities to apply an equity lens in different roles:

How to Apply Equity Principles in Your Role

 

Executive

  • At your leadership team meetings, use a question or two from the Equity Considerations page to frame your road mapping sessions or new solution exploration meetings to spur on equitable ideation

  • Frame your strategy sessions using the Equity Considerations

  • Connect team objectives to completing a run through of the Equity Considerations in reviews of current and upcoming products and releases

 

Technical

E.g., Developers, IT Analysts, Designers, etc.

  • Go through the Considerations to address current assumptions that determine the prioritization of features

  • Use the Documents and Glossary to understand the needs and motivations of underserved communities

  • Use the Inclusive Persona templates as you create personas

  • Involve Considerations in sprint planning

  • Evaluate product decisions with the Considerations in mind

  • Use the Considerations page to ensure the design of a solution is useable and takes into account a broad spectrum of needs

Manager

  • Connect team objectives to completing a run through of the Equity Considerations for current and upcoming products and releases

  • Go through the Considerations to address current assumptions of the types of projects in your road map

  • Use the Glossary to ensure that you are up to date on the current internal and external equity and inclusion terms and resources

 

Non-Technical

E.g., Product Owners, Business Analysts, Strategy, etc.

  • Go through the Considerations to address current assumptions of customer needs

  • Use the Documents and Glossary to understand the needs and motivations of underserved communities

  • Use the Inclusive Persona templates as you create personas

  • Involve Considerations in project road mapping

  • Evaluate business decisions with the Considerations in mind

  • Use the Glossary and Resource section to address research gaps with the most up to date terms

You can incorporate an Equity Lens into your own processes, with support from SMEs and resources from the Equity Resource Hub. If you need additional resources or support, please email the Equity in Innovation team at td.equityresourcehub@td.com.