The GenderMag method makes user-facing technologies more inclusive. By pinpointing and addressing gender bias issues occurring within software and IT tools, the GenderMag method helps make IT more accessible to OSU’s diverse user community.
Contact: [email protected]
GenderMag is a method that helps you find and fix gender biases in technology workflows and interfaces, and even in your workplace practices. The method, created by OSU College of Engineering faculty and Project Co-directors, Dr. Margaret Burnett and Dr. Anita Sarma, is a set of guides and processes for identifying gender biases implicit in IT products including software, web pages, web-based forms, and support protocols. Using GenderMag, IT developers, managers, UX/UI professionals, and other IT professionals find and remediate gender biases in IT products. The outcome that is your IT product aligns with the OSU IT Strategic Plan initiative for gender inclusivity. At its core, the GenderMag method is a gender-specialized developer walk-through using personas that focus on five cognitive factors. The GenderMag method has been used in practice by organizations since 2016, in 45 countries across the world.
GenderMag methodology trainings are interactive sessions led by trained & experienced members of OSU’s IT community. Each training is done in small cohorts of 3-4 people and takes approximately 2 hours to complete. A use-case (preferably an existingIT system, webpage, software, etc.) is agreed upon by each cohort and used during the training session for applied learning.
All graduates of the GenderMag training course are welcome to participate in an ongoing community of practice group. This group uses a Teams channel for off-line communication. In addition, community of practice meetings are held occasionally throughout the year to help sustain a connection between community members, support GenderMag practitioners, and share insights.