Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

A New Vantage Point: Building a Pipeline for Multifaceted Research(ers)

Gold
Monday, March 30, 2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Share the love for this talk
A New Vantage Point: Building a Pipeline for Multifaceted Research(ers)
Speakers: Joi Freeman
Link:

Summary

The world is evolving. By 2044 the U.S. will be a majority-minority population. Africa and India are projected to fuel the world’s population growth over the next 30 years. With demographics shifting under our feet, how will we generate accurate and relevant insight if the interpreters are not cultural natives to the new demographic mix. This presentation will explore strategies to create pipelines for the next, most diverse generation to have open pathways and onramps to the next chapter of research, insights, and innovation.

Key Insights

  • A global marketing campaign failed due to interpreting consumer insights through a Western lens, missing culturally relevant meanings.

  • Diversity at lower organizational levels is insufficient; diverse decision-makers are critical to avoid blind spots and costly mistakes.

  • Product messaging focused on power resonated in Western markets but failed in religious or post-communist regions where choice was a better frame.

  • Diverse leadership correlates with improved company earnings—every 10% increase in higher-level gender diversity can increase earnings by 8%.

  • Diversity challenges extend beyond marketing and research into industries like AI and venture capital, where lack of diverse perspectives leads to missed opportunities.

  • Fenty Beauty’s success exemplifies how diverse founders address unmet market needs ignored by less diverse incumbents.

  • On ramps (entry opportunities) and broken rungs (career advancement barriers) limit diversity progression, especially for women and people of color.

  • Voice and agency matter; having diverse people present is not enough if they lack the power or safe space to express authentic views.

  • Organizations often underestimate the importance of diversifying research teams, not just participants, to deepen insight quality.

  • Creating open dialogue environments and sponsoring diverse talent are crucial to overcoming implicit biases and enabling authentic contributions.

Notable Quotes

"We lacked the insight to interpret what we were seeing in ways that were culturally relevant in those particular markets."

"Our Western view of power worked well in the US and Canada but didn’t play well everywhere else."

"Diversity at the bottom without diversity at the top means narrowing perspective from the top down."

"For every 10 men promoted from entry to middle management, only 7.2 women are promoted—showing the broken rung problem."

"We constantly put the burden on women of color to navigate their voice instead of creating environments where everyone’s voice has value."

"Fenty Beauty launched 40 shades at once, filling a gap no major cosmetic brand had addressed before."

"If you’re recruiting for research projects, look critically at your job descriptions for embedded barriers to diverse candidates."

"We need more diversity at all levels because that’s where truly interesting perspectives and challenges come from."

"Diverse teams help you ask better questions about who might be missing from the table or the project."

"To avoid bias in teams, it’s easier to gravitate toward what’s comfortable, but we need voices that challenge us."

Ask the Rosenbot
Peter Merholz
The Mysterious Case of the Missing UX Career Path
2022 • DesignOps Community
Trisha Terhar
Empathizing with the Empowered: Non-Researcher Responses to Democratization
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Sheryl Cababa
Living in the Clouds: Adopting a Systems Thinking Mindset
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Taylor Klassman
Shaping the Next Era of UX Research: Collaborative Forum
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Ben Reason
Making the system visible: The fastest path to better decisions
2025 • Advancing Service Design 2025
Gold
Briana Thomas
When Design Ops Comes in H.O.T. : A Tale of a Transformed Design Org
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Cheryl Platz
Merging Improv with Design
2019 • Enterprise Community
Sarah Williams
A Framework for CX Transformation
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Robin Beers
How to create actionable insight in the face of politics and silos [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
2023 • Advancing Research Community
Feleesha Sterling
Building a Rapid Research Program
2023 • Enterprise Community
Emily DiLeo
Stronger Together: Lessons Learned from UX Research Ops
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Kristin Sundermeyer
Design Ops Metrics
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Dr Chloe Sharp
Using Evidence and Collaboration for Setting and Defending Priorities
2023 • Design in Product 2023
Gold
Kelly Goto
Emotion Economy: Ethnography as Corporate Strategy
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Maria Taylor
Knowledge is Power: Managing the Lifeblood of the Design Org
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Dorelle Rabinowitz
The Magic Word is Trust
2018 • Enterprise Experience 2018
Gold

More Videos

John Cutler

"If you need to cross a dangerous river, you don’t paddle straight into it; you use the opposing force of the river to move forward."

John Cutler

Oxbows, Rivers, and Estuaries: How to navigate the currents of change (without burning out)

December 3, 2024

Darian Davis

"It takes at least one member of a team to choose to set healthy standards for collaboration."

Darian Davis

Lessons from a Toxic Work Relationship

January 8, 2024

Dave Gray

"We’re all in this together and figuring it out — making it up as we go along."

Dave Gray

Group Activity: Making Sense of DesignOps

November 7, 2017

John Cutler

"These aren't linear; every circle or box has multiple lines into it—our work does not fit neatly into trees or pyramids."

John Cutler

The Alignment Trap

November 29, 2023

Abby Covert

"Diagrams provide transparency in the face of uncertainty by showing what there is to know, even if the news is not good."

Abby Covert

Stuck? Diagrams Help

October 27, 2022

Mark Interrante

"Making issues visible, sharing models, and iterating versions of workflows helps uncover blockages and solutions."

Mark Interrante

Collaboration Flows in Product Development

June 9, 2017

Devon Powers

"Obsession with gadgetry and cool tech ignores the fact that most critical future changes are mundane and essential, like clean water."

Devon Powers

Imagining Better Futures

March 9, 2022

Prayag Narula

"Bring your research team as note takers and facilitators—they make excellent collaborators and help build feedback loops."

Prayag Narula

How to Empower Your Designers to Do Good Research – And Why You Want To

June 10, 2022

Peter Van Dijck

"Despite the worst user interface ever, cloud code is the most popular and successful agent that exists today."

Peter Van Dijck

Hands on AI #3: Claude Code for UX people

October 22, 2025