Inclusion, Diversity and Innovation by Annie Jean-Baptiste
"Everyone has a story with the power to crack you wide open."
-Oprah
At the end of the day, everyone wants to feel seen, validated and thought of. It’s a universal need as human beings, and I believe we can all take proactive steps to help underrepresented voices have a seat at the table, no matter what industry we work in. My role is to help product teams bring multiple perspectives to the table at key points in the process, like during user research or testing, so that communities that have been underrepresented get to provide their point of view. This practice is called product inclusion, and it helps make products better for everyone.
As a proud Haitian-American, I feel a responsibility to ensure that underrepresented voices are heard and thought of in the product design process. My parents, who are both Haitian, instilled in me a commitment to service and for speaking up even when your voice shakes. I carry that responsibility in all aspects of my life.
I also believe that when we have diverse perspectives together making decisions, the outcomes are better for everyone.
I've seen first hand the magic that our community can bring to innovation and design. There is a long legacy across industries, from the renowned artist Basquiat to the work Victor Glemaud does to make all body sizes included in his beautiful designs.
Here are some principles I personally live by:
There is no they, there is only we: You cannot build anything for a community without getting their perspective at critical points in the design process and allowing their feedback to shape the trajectory of your plans.
Diversity is the core of innovation. For everyone. When you build for an underrepresented group, the solutions benefit all of your consumers.
Profit and People are not mutually exclusive. By ensuring that you think about historically underrepresented users and building more equitably, you can grow your consumer base and build your business. Because at the end of the day, everyone just wants to feel seen.
One of the first product inclusion projects was working with camera sensors. Because cameras are a window into the world, our team knew that it was critical to ensure all skin tones were accurately represented. It was incredibly inspiring to see Googlers across roles pitch in on this work and get excited about building inclusively For more on that work, take a look at this video
So how can you take action and build more inclusive products? A few ideas:
Commit to constantly testing and iterating.
Seek out diverse perspectives at key points in the process
Understand that empathy + action can make significant impact. But take the time to learn about those that may be left out and bring them into the fold.
Annie Jean-Baptiste is the Head of Product Inclusion at Google. She leads Product Inclusion strategy across the company, including consultation, communications, scale and research and created the framework 2 years ago as a way to ensure underrepresented users felt seen throughout the product design process.
Annie is passionate about making the web and Google’s products work for underserved communities while ensuring that Google is a place where everyone shines for their differences. She’s responsible for working with Google product teams and senior leaders on the creation and execution of their inclusive design strategy. She formerly created programs related to Diversity talent management and career development within several technical product areas within Google.
She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (go Quakers!) with degrees in International Relations & Political Science. She is an avid Boston sports fan & loves to bring her dog Hercules to work. She currently is based in San Francisco.
Outside of Google, Annie is a former American Heart Association spokesperson and a One Young World ambassador, focused on healthy lifestyles in underserved communities. She is also a former Hack the Hood mentor.
She currently serves as an intrapreneur in residence at the University Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and a member of the IEEE's Ethically Aligned Design for Business Committee, The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. She’s been inducted into the Haitian Roundtable’s 1804 society as “One to Watch” and inducted as one of the 30 Black Stars for Face to Face Africa in 2019. She currently serves as a board member for KQED.
She’s also been covered in Vogue, Essence Magazine, Business Insider, Teen Vogue, MSNBC, CNBC, ABC, Cheddar, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, the Root, the Council of Fashion Designers of America Annual Report, The Miami Times, Boston Globe and Fortune Magazine.
For more on product inclusion and building equitably, follow Annie on social media at @its_me_ajb . Her book, Building for Everyone, is available now.
