Building a More Inclusive Future: Real-World Stories From Our Diverse Community
We believe in the power of technology to bring people together, create shared experiences, and make the world a more connected place. Done well, the metaverse could be a positive force for inclusion and accessibility, bridging some of the divides that exist in today’s physical and digital spaces. Over the past decade, Meta has pioneered and shipped the most important breakthroughs of VR, MR, AR, and wearable technology. We are building Reality Labs products to be something that billions can benefit from, and equity and inclusion are at the core of that work. “Consider Everyone” is one of our Responsible Innovation Principles, and it requires that we build products that work for a diverse, global community.
Building Inclusion Into Our Product Development Process
We’ve been investing in efforts to embed diverse voices throughout our product development process, ensuring that all Reality Labs products from hardware to software experiences account for the diversity of the communities we serve. The Reality Labs Inclusive Product Council, made up of diverse employees working to build our future technology, is a required checkpoint early in our product development process where hardware and software product teams receive valuable feedback and insights to help them consider diverse perspectives and get connected to critical product equity resources. This council helps us identify potential risks and ensure that our products are designed with the needs and experiences of diverse communities in mind, including communities that are historically underserved. From ensuring our onboarding flows make it easier for anyone to learn how to use new technologies to pressure testing product use cases to creating more ways for people to authentically represent themselves in the metaverse with their avatar, the Inclusive Product Council plays a critical role in providing teams with insights that can make all aspects of our products more inclusive.
Building With Communities
We’re also committed to building the metaverse with diverse communities, not just for them. Over the last three years, we’ve piloted and launched the Meta Equity Co-Design Lab, a lab focused on bringing in external stakeholders that represent communities that we know from research have historically been underserved in technology and face added risks to participate as equal collaborators in our design process. Our aim with the Equity Co-Design Lab is to invite historically underserved communities into our design process and ensure their unique needs and concerns are addressed. To date, we’ve run co-design sprints with over 55 external experts representing diverse communities and lived-experience expertise.
Through co-design, we’re working on prototyping mixed reality headsets that everyone feels comfortable wearing, co-creating new avatar experiences that make everyone feel seen, and building new use cases that help us drive positive changes in people’s everyday lives. We know that centering the people who have often been underserved by new technologies helps us build better products.
Here’s what a few external experts had to say about their participation in co-design sprints for both software and hardware products we’re building across Reality Labs:
“One of the most rewarding aspects of this co-design sprint was the opportunity to be part of community participatory research and co-creation in action. It was both fun and challenging to work alongside Meta’s global product design and equity teams and fellow co-designers to create an avatar experience that felt truly inclusive and representative of diverse communities.” See more here.—Peace Perrie Ojemeh, Ecosystem Developer, Ethereum Foundation
“As someone who has been creating VR entertainment for literally tens of thousands of people around the world and has watched them wearing VR headsets to watch our VR experiences at lightartvr.com, I have always had some notes and ideas about how to make wearing a VR headset a more intuitive, inclusive, and comfortable experience—especially in that I work with different groups of people varying in head size, headwear, physical needs, and mostly using VR for the first time!“I was honored to participate in Meta’s latest product co-design sprint. I felt seen and acknowledged to be given a seat at the table. It was really inspiring to be included in this important creative process and work with other designers and co-designers and share what I have learned in the past few years.”—Samah Safi, Co-Founder, Light Art VR
“My experience in Meta’s co-design was such a rewarding time fueled by our shared commitment to creating a product that embraces inclusivity at its core. Navigating the complexities of designing for diverse disabilities and individual needs, we were all so united in our mission to make this technology accessible to as many people as possible. The sense of being included and heard throughout the process filled me with a deep sense of purpose and gratitude, knowing that our collective efforts were making a tangible difference in people’s lives.”—Annie Segarra, Accessibility Advocate
In 2024, we’re continuing our efforts to co-create our future technology with diverse communities by building hardware and software products that not only work well for everyone but that also benefit people’s day-to-day lives. The creators featured in the Worlds of Possibilities video above bring this to life by showcasing:
Ways people with disabilities can use our Quest headsets in their daily lives—for example, Annie Segarra using Supernatural to work out in VR. See Meta Quest’s Accessibility features here. You can follow @annieelainey on Instagram.
Diverse Meta Horizon Worlds creators like Ang’l creating new spaces that build communities. Learn more about the Juneteenth Culture Hub and A Better World Black art museum.
How creators like Alana use Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to connect with their community and share their culture and heritage. Give her a follow @thefancynavajo on Instagram, and check out #SeeTheIndigenousWorldThruMyEyes to experience first-person Reels from Alana and other Indigenous creators sharing their cultures and businesses through smart glasses on Instagram.
The metaverse will be bigger than any one person, company, or country, and maximizing its potential requires continued cooperation and collaboration. For example, last year Meta was proud to sponsor Economist Impact’s Inclusive Metaverse Index, a research-backed framework illuminating how all countries and communities can ensure they are best placed to benefit from the new era of innovation that the metaverse will usher in.
“Consider Everyone” is more than just a principle for us at Meta—it’s the foundation of our work. By designing with diverse communities, not just for them, we can create products that are not only useful and accessible but also have the power to bring people together and make the world a more connected place.
