Designing for Diversity (Panel) -WIE ILC 2021

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Speakers:  Cecilia Odonkor, Systems Design Engineer, Zimmer Biomet

Daphne Ong, Systems Engineering, General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada 

Aisha Robinson, Master of Applied Science Student, Carleton University in the Systems and Computer Engineering

Jasmine Shaw, Systems Engineer, General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada

All too often, we come across products which are not designed with the diversity of their user base in mind. These are everyday items such as mobile phones that are too large for the average woman’s hand, or sidewalks that are not wide enough for a wheelchair, and health-critical devices like antibiotics that did not undergo clinical trials beyond the 95th percentile male. Unfortunately, it is women and gender minorities, people with disabilities, and people of colour who are often left paying the price of malfunctioning devices. In this session we will raise awareness to the urgency of ensuring intersectional representation in design. We explore poignant examples of products from biotech, artificial intelligence, and defense. We propose increased adoption of diversity in design by three key means: Individual responsibility, a regulatory framework to create incentives for organizations, and corporate responsibility to implement design standards and align with regulations. This framework acknowledges the duality and necessity of both individual and organizational change. By encouraging designers, advocates of diversity & inclusion, product managers, and other key stakeholders to adopt diversity in design through whatever means is accessible to them, we hope to create products that better serve the needs of our population.

Speakers:  Cecilia Odonkor, Systems Design Engineer, Zimmer Biomet

Daphne Ong, Systems Engineering, General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada 

Aisha Robinson, Master of Applied Science Student, Carleton University in the Systems and Computer Engineering

Jasmine Shaw, Systems Engineer, General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada

All too often, we come across products which are not designed with the diversity of their user base in mind. These are everyday items such as mobile phones that are too large for the average woman’s hand, or sidewalks that are not wide enough for a wheelchair, and health-critical devices like antibiotics that did not undergo clinical trials beyond the 95th percentile male. Unfortunately, it is women and gender minorities, people with disabilities, and people of colour who are often left paying the price of malfunctioning devices...

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