Creative solutions will stem from equality and diversity, but, why is it so hard to do?
I'm Razi, a new addition to the UCD team who joined as a Designer a couple of weeks ago.
I have always been passionate about helping others. Still, these feelings have become much stronger over the last few years, and I feel an urge to help anyone interested in design (and especially younger women and people from ethnic minority groups.)
There are a few reasons that I feel this way:
I have a 12-year old daughter and, as she's growing up, I want to be a good role model
I'm at an age where I would love to give something back and pay for my duties as a citizen and as a decent person
Despite my career achievements, I had many challenges along the way as an ethnic minority person, and I’d like to break down barriers
Additionally, I'm always left wondering, though, if I could have done better if a role model had been present for me.
Like me, you may have also come across a vast amount of research on this subject online. So to summarise, here’s the upshot: employing a variety of people with different backgrounds and cultural differences will result in more creativity and a better outcome in any team.
Diversity fosters an environment for greater creative solutions, produces a bigger talent pool for employers and brings different experiences together to innovate together and can lead to an improved work culture.
Considering all companies would like to tick all the above by hiring a diverse workforce to accomplish diversity and authenticity, why is this proving so hard to achieve?
Here are 4 reasons which are based on my humble opinion and 10 years of experience of working in the marketing and design industry:
1. There's a cultural gap in the new and traditional industries. This may be because of the prospect, job certainty, and respect gained in the community. It may be that there is more motivation for a traditional career path to becoming a lawyer, doctor, dentist or banker compared to the newer and unconventional careers in creative industries and technology.
2. There’s a lack of knowledge and endorsement in the industry. Not many organisations talk about the diversity issue, and, even if they do talk about it, there is often no plan or a tangible outcome or effort to bridge the gap.
3. The lack of role models in the design industry is apparent now. If this shortage of inspiration is not addressed, this could present a challenge for the talent pipeline by alienating or deterring would-be designers who do not feel like design education or design jobs are for people like them.
4. There’s a lack of support for low-income families. Design can be a reasonably expensive profession to break into, meaning people can be priced out of entering this industry.
What's next?
For all the above reasons, I'm determined to make my dream come true by getting involved in Made Tech’s ambition to provide more opportunities for women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds to close the gap and inspire the future workforce to enter the design industry and make a difference in shaping the future of design.