Be inclusive, treat everyone fairly and provide for diverse needs and circumstances
Equity and diversity in digital design means that all children, regardless of their characteristics and circumstances, are treated fairly and have equal access to digital products and services, and the opportunity to use them in ways they find meaningful. It also means that children should not be treated unfairly or discriminated against through the design, operation or marketing of digital products that may impact their lives.
The principle of equity and diversity draws together three sets of children’s rights:
Non-discrimination: the right to be treated fairly and not discriminated against.
Family provision and alternative care: to ensure that parents and caregivers are supported, and that children living in alternative care do not miss out.
Special protective measures: to make explicit provisions for children with disabilities or those living in disadvantaged, marginalised or vulnerable situations, and empower parents and caregivers to support their children.
Equity and diversity does not mean that all children should be treated just the same, or that innovators cannot tailor their products to particular user groups. But innovators should prioritise fairness by recognising and addressing the diverse needs and expectations of the children likely to use or be impacted by their product or service and taking active steps to avoid or overcome potential forms of exclusion or discrimination.
I would like to please not make apps so expensive because people can’t all buy the apps they want
Child aged 7-8, Greater London
Relevant legal frameworks and guidance
Designing equity and diversity in products and services is mandated in specific ways by the UK Equality Act 2010, among other laws, policies and standards. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Equality Act 2010 Code of Practice gives practical guidance on how legal concepts in the Act. Inclusive design offers a good starting point to help digital designers provide for user diversity, particularly for those with disabilities or special needs. Yet this may not always be on the radar of digital designers. The UK Government offers an introductory guide to making a service accessible and guidance and tools for digital accessibility.
Design cases
Discrimination may be direct or indirect. An example of direct discrimination is content reinforcing prejudices about a particular group of children. In contrast, indirect discrimination occurs when artificial intelligence (AI) defaults to assumptions about a group of children, which results in their exclusion.
Discrimination can apply both to accessing a product and the experience of using it. For example, if children are targeted with hateful messages or girls’ safety and wellbeing are put at risk when they participate in some digital spaces, this contradicts the principle of equity and diversity.
TikTok can be sexist towards girls – for example, many people will say boys are better than girls and girls are pathetic
Child aged 11-12, Yorkshire
Discrimination may result from digital exclusion, difficult family circumstances or low digital literacy of those from marginalised or disadvantaged groups. Consider minimising cost and cultural barriers to using your product or service, and prioritise digital features that are inclusive, accessible and welcoming to all.
[I want] Dragon city to be free because if you can’t get gems, it’ll be harder to play.
Child aged 7–8, Greater London
Digital spaces are not a level playing field and offer few resources for children to overcome their differences. Yet, technology can help overcome exclusion or discrimination, for instance, by supporting children’s relationships with family in cases of separation or crisis.
Facebook [helps you] find family and friend [that] isn’t based on followers but friends.
Child aged 13–14, Yorkshire
Technological systems based on data analytics or AI may inadvertently embed forms of discrimination in their operation or outcomes, as ‘when automated processes that result in information filtering, profiling or decision-making are based on biased, partial or unfairly obtained data concerning a child.’ If your product or service contains automated decisions, consider including an easily accessible pathway for children and their parents or caregivers to object to such decisions. If profiling is one of your product features, consider turning it off by default.
Designing for equity and diversity means attending to multiple features or circumstances that can hinder children’s enjoyment of their rights. Unless clearly to protect them from harm, children should not be excluded on the grounds of their age, and nor should they be discriminated against:
On the basis of sex, disability, socioeconomic background, ethnic or national origin, language or any other grounds, and [nor should there be] discrimination against minority and indigenous children, asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, children who are victims and survivors of trafficking or sexual exploitation, children in alternative care, children deprived of liberty and children in other vulnerable situations.
The sheer length of this list of protected characteristics means there is no silver bullet solution to avoiding discrimination. In anticipating how your product may impact on children, remember that children may ‘use your products or services even if they are not designed for them’ and may ‘use your products and services in unintended ways’, and that children are as diverse as adults.
Put positively, it matters to children that they recognise themselves and feel they can belong to and participate positively and safely in the digital spaces they use. Therefore, our Playful by Design principles include ‘Be welcoming’ and call on designers to:
Prioritise digital features that are inclusive, sociable and welcoming to all, reducing hateful communication and forms of exclusion and reflecting multiple identities.
