Summary
In this talk, the inclusive design Ops program manager starts by addressing the varied definitions of inclusion and encourages embracing them all as valid. She links inclusion closely with inclusive design, which centers accessibility but also extends to considering exclusion based on race, culture, gender, trauma, and more. Highlighting partnership opportunities with HR and others, she urges finding commonality rather than division in how inclusion is defined. She previews upcoming talks by Laura on accessibility, Pat and Alexandra on global Design Ops, Monsey on feminist perspectives, and Jess on neurodiversity, positioning these as lenses to deepen the conversation. She connects inclusion intentionally to the conference theme of building Design Ops clarity, asserting that inclusion guides prioritization and decision-making. The talk closes with a framework—head (logical understanding), heart (empathy and vulnerability), and hands (action)—to prepare the audience for engaging with sometimes uncomfortable but necessary conversations and to inspire concrete next steps. Overall, she calls on Design Ops professionals to leverage their skills to lead inclusion initiatives.
Key Insights
-
•
Inclusion in Design Ops encompasses a broad spectrum including disability, race, culture, gender, and trauma.
-
•
Inclusive design focuses on the process and asks who might be excluded at every stage.
-
•
Different departments such as HR use different inclusion definitions, which can be harmonized through partnership.
-
•
Finding overlaps in inclusion definitions builds stronger relationships and collaborative efforts.
-
•
Intentional inclusion leads to clarity in Design Ops priorities and decision-making.
-
•
Design Ops professionals have the skills and opportunity to lead inclusion initiatives.
-
•
Upcoming talks will explore inclusion through accessibility, global perspectives, feminism, and neurodiversity lenses.
-
•
Inclusion conversations may cause discomfort due to their novelty in design contexts.
-
•
The head, heart, and hands framework prepares teams to engage intellectually, emotionally, and practically with inclusion.
-
•
Inclusion efforts help teams learn how and when to say yes or no by understanding what's important to people and the world.
Notable Quotes
"There are so many different definitions for what inclusion is and they are all correct."
"When I use the word inclusion, I’m usually using it in conjunction with the term inclusive design."
"The guiding question I’ve adopted is who might we be excluding now."
"Look for the commonality in our definition of inclusion rather than the differences."
"Inclusion is an opportunity to build relationships rather than create division."
"When we start being intentional about inclusion, we gain clarity in Design Ops."
"Design Ops professionals have the skills to lead these big initiatives like inclusion."
"Some of these talks might make people feel a little uncomfortable because we haven’t had these conversations before."
"The head is where we are logical and rational and ask why do we need to include inclusion in Design Ops."
"The hands is the part we love — action — to start doing things on your teams right after this Summit."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Sometimes it might be seen as something that is not necessary because our end users are practically colleagues, not actually paying customers."
Kit Unger Jackie Ho Veevi Rosenstein Vasileios XanthopoulosTheme 2: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"High functioning teams are built on trust and not control."
Mariesa LenzWhat Beekeeping Taught me about Product Teams
October 29, 2025
"Non-researchers often think you can just jump in and start asking questions, but that can be inefficient or risky."
Jesse ZolnaInviting the Whole Org to Come See For Yourself
March 30, 2020
"Propose new IC roles like a design problem: identify the need, gather research, and try it as an experiment with retrospectives."
Catt Small Micah Bennett Brian Carr Jessica HarlleeWhat's Next for ICs: Exploring Staff and Principal Designer Roles
February 22, 2024
"We’re experimenting but not yet planning AI product releases; the space is so open and exciting."
Louis Rosenfeld Billy Carlson Jon Fukuda Maria TaylorHow AI will Change DesignOps Tooling
October 3, 2023
"Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions — unintended consequences emerge when systems aren’t fully understood."
Sheryl CababaExpanding your Design Lens with Systems Thinking
March 28, 2023
"Key is a reminder that these metrics reflect what is authoritative and important to the customer and the business."
Saara Kamppari-Miller Nicole Bergstrom Shashi JainKey Metrics: Comparing Three Letter Acronym Metrics That Include the Word “Key”
November 13, 2024
"A well-framed project brief creates opportunities for creativity and better leadership alignment."
John DevanneyThe Design Management Office
November 6, 2017
"We put high-fidelity designs in Mural so stakeholders unfamiliar with Figma can still comment and interact."
Erika FlowersIntroduction to MURAL for UX
June 11, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How do organizations integrate customer feedback, survey data, and interview transcripts into a single research repository?
What design strategies can support community-led rebuilding of maternal healthcare in rural maternity care deserts?
In what ways can AI speed up qualitative data analysis without compromising insight quality?