Check out this incisive article in Architect Magazine highlighting the ways in which lofty ideas for diversity in design often fall flat when it comes to putting them into practice. Imani Day writes:
Instead of blaming the design industry, we should embrace a deeper level of strategy that differs from simply meeting quotas. For example, architects should invest in a pipeline of emerging designers through mentorship and programming that also enables and enhances recruiting. When we know and grow multifaceted types of talent from a diverse pool, it is more likely that we will hire a wider range of people. And when interviewing, designers must look beyond the polished portfolio to the potential of the human being before them, who may think or lead differently.
Mentorship, programming, and recruiting are important points of interaction while designers are still developing academically and professionally, and are thus key intervention points with the greatest potential to affect real change down the line. This is what our efforts with dxdf are all about — looking towards the educational design pipeline to enable more diverse candidates to break out into the industry.