INDUSTRY IMPLICATIONS: THE

‘THIRD’ BOX

Due to the recent shift in culture, the idea that choosing ones gender is as simple as a choice between two boxes on a form is outdated and is further increasing the need for Diversity and Inclusivity. The idea that gender is a societal construct is ever growing and therefore, todays consumers are being given the opportunity to make more thoughtful choices about their gender identities (Walker, Buchanan, Stott, 2015).

This trend is affecting the digital world in a massive way. In 2014, Facebook made a huge statement in favour of Diversity and Inclusivity by expanding their gender options from the binary male/female to over 50 different gender options which transgender activists hailed a big advancement (The Guardian, 2014).

This was a huge step towards Diversity and Inclusivity, as consumers were no longer labelled and restricted in their identity, instead Facebook allowed consumers freedom to make their own decision regarding their identity and in turn, revolutionised the way social media platforms labelled their users. Although Facebook’s impact on the technology industry has been slow, other social media platforms such as Tinder are now adopting the same approach in order to take a step towards Diversity and Inclusivity where their users feel the platform is a safe place where they are represented. Tinder did this by extending their sexual orientation options to encourage LGBTQ+ matches (O’Brien, S., 2019).