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.

Why I Left Research

Gold
Monday, March 27, 2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Share the love for this talk
Why I Left Research
Speakers: Lisanne Norman
Link:

Summary

After 7 years of working in UX Research Leadership roles, Lisanne left the field behind to return to education. In this talk, she will discuss the significant challenges she faced as a Black woman in UX leadership that ultimately culminated in a leave of absence and then subsequent decamping from the field. The retention rate for WOC researchers is low in the field, and there is an inherent need to understand what are some of the root causes and what can be the potential solutions to retain and potentially re-engage more WOC researchers whose perspectives, experiences, and expertise are needed in this field.

Key Insights

  • Early mentorship and a supportive diverse team were critical to Dr. Norman's initial success in UX research.

  • Large tech companies often have majority white, male teams with little diversity recruitment or clear career paths for researchers of color.

  • Microaggressions and assumptions about leadership roles can undermine the authority of Black women in UX research.

  • Pay inequity persists even when Black women researchers deliver more work and leadership than their white counterparts.

  • Startups may posturing about diversity but often replicate exclusionary cultures with favoritism and poor management.

  • UX researchers of color frequently take on extra DEI and recruiting responsibilities beyond their official roles.

  • Being authentic in the workplace is exhausting when constantly navigating where vulnerability is safe.

  • There is a critical lack of data and conversation about the demographic makeup of UX research teams.

  • Effective change requires systemic action: consistent bias training, managerial support, diverse recruiting platforms, and accountability tied to reviews and bonuses.

  • Embedding DEI into education, onboarding, and continuous team evaluation prepares organizations to be genuinely inclusive.

Notable Quotes

"The best job I ever had was with those two female VPs who believed in me and gave me a chance."

"At Dell, 90% of my design team was white and overwhelmingly male—a sharp contrast from my earlier team."

"I literally would have to jump up in meetings to introduce myself as the director just to be recognized."

"I learned about gross pay equity between me and my white counterpart despite doing more work."

"Startups promised limitless growth but often had cultures of microaggressions, isolation, and favoritism."

"I found myself doing recruiting and DEI work on top of my UX research job—work that wasn’t mine to do."

"You constantly perform calculus every day figuring out where you can be your authentic self."

"We need more co-conspirators who actively use their privilege to interrupt microaggressions and bias."

"There isn’t a pipeline problem; there are people out there—you have to invest in networking and recruiting properly."

"Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging goals need to tie into annual reviews and bonuses—it's everybody’s work."

Ask the Rosenbot
Ariba Jahan
Team Resiliency Through a Pandemic
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Lada Gorlenko
Theme 1: Intro
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Ariel Kennan
Building a Design Culture
2017 • Enterprise Experience 2017
Gold
Christian Bason
Expand—Rethinking Design for Public Challenges
2022 • Civic Design Community
Rachel Posman
"Ask Me Anything" with Rachel Posman and John Calhoun, Authors of the Upcoming Rosenfeld Book, The Design Conductors
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Mark Interrante
AI for Prioritization (3rd of 3 seminars)
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Josina Vink
Navigating the pitfalls of systems thinking in service design
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Spencer L. A. Stultz
Why Social Justice Frameworks are Necessary for Successful DEI/JEDI Initiatives
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Deanna Washington
Connecting the Ops: Plenary Panel and Closing Circle
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Robert Fabricant
Shifting dynamics: The evolving relationship between researchers, participants, and organizational systems
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Angy Peterson
More Than Technology: Personalized Public Sector Experiences
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Kristin Skinner
Five Years of DesignOps
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Laura Gatewood
Beyond Buzzwords: Adding Heart to Effective Slack Communication
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Karen Pascoe
Developing Experience Teams and Talent in the Enterprise
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Kate Kalcevich
Designing inclusively with AI
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Ariel Kennan
Theme 2 Intro
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold

More Videos

John Cutler

"It is impossible to survive in this industry by pushing against the current all the time; you must put yourself in positions to leverage the current."

John Cutler

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

December 3, 2024

Darian Davis

"By observing Jeff's concerns and asking questions, I was able to show empathy and distract myself from getting defensive."

Darian Davis

Lessons from a Toxic Work Relationship

January 8, 2024

Dave Gray

"Our communications is all over the map — email, Slack, Hangouts, face-to-face, GitHub — it surfaced some gaps we didn’t fully appreciate before."

Dave Gray

Group Activity: Making Sense of DesignOps

November 7, 2017

John Cutler

"I never thought I'd say this, but can someone please for love of God, just make a RACI so we can align on who's responsible for things."

John Cutler

The Alignment Trap

November 29, 2023

Abby Covert

"Simplicity is not always the answer to complexity, but understanding often is."

Abby Covert

Stuck? Diagrams Help

October 27, 2022

Mark Interrante

"Use four simple questions to find out what people really want and why — it avoids misaligned efforts."

Mark Interrante

Collaboration Flows in Product Development

June 9, 2017

Devon Powers

"Naming things like the 'vibe shift' is powerful in shaping the narratives around future developments."

Devon Powers

Imagining Better Futures

March 9, 2022

Prayag Narula

"Design research—they need each other. They are much, much better together."

Prayag Narula

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

June 10, 2022

Peter Van Dijck

"Your short term memory is the context window; too big, and the model has trouble accessing everything."

Peter Van Dijck

Hands on AI #3: Claude Code for UX people

October 22, 2025