EQUITY CENTERED
BUSINESS DESIGN
ACTION AREAS
'23-'24
www.reallygreatsite.com
Here at Openhouse, we imagine an economy that reflects the needs and desires of everyone, especially historically underserved consumers. We are constantly exploring new opportunities for BIPOC consumers to assert their agency and close the world’s equity gaps.
These are the research areas we are exploring in our mission to close the gaps:
Health
Equity
Mutual
Aid
What would it look like to better engage with, care for, and treat people as individuals?
How can businesses close the mutual aid gap in communities with dedicated ongoing action?
Tech
Inclusion
How can we design technology with more content created by more diverse users?
The Brief
Health
Equity
It is impossible to provide comprehensive care for an individual because of the way our healthcare system is divided, specialized, and disease-focused.
Even the messaging used by the wellness sector is frequently unclear, contradictory, or inconsistent.
Both sides routinely exclude marginalized voices who suffer from debilitating illnesses and diseases from the discussion.
Our identities shape, inform and define how we live our lives in all respects, including how we view care.
To care for the whole person, we must create a healthy ecosystem.
It has never been more crucial to normalize conversations and care related to chronic illness, mental health, incapacitating events, and disability in the wake of COVID-19.
What would it look like to better engage with, care for, and treat people as individuals?
Tech Inclusion
At the heart of true tech inclusion lies a powerful message: technology should align with every user's needs.
It starts by giving voice to those who are underestimated, ensuring they participate in developing such innovation and understand their importance as equal players within this space.
To achieve meaningful transformation, we must go beyond just talking about participation; instead embarking upon an educational journey focused on understanding how different backgrounds interact differently with technologies and work together for broader accessibility measures across platforms. Inclusivity is not only achievable but essential - let us embrace it!
The Brief
What would it look like to center the margins?// underestimated voices?
What would it look like for technology to be created by underestimated voices?
How can we increase digital accessibility so that everyone has equal access to information, functionality, and experience on digital platforms?
Mutual Aid
Businesses have untold soft power around the world. On a global scale, we have seen the effects of lobbying on our political landscape.
But what if we could harness the power of everyday businesses on a smaller scale? What if "corporate responsibility" is transformed into something more profound--solidarity?
Mutual aid can significantly affect the business world by creating new ways to help and support each other that differ from the dominant framework.
In the world of business, mutual aid can mean:
The formation of worker cooperatives, where employees collectively own and manage the business and make decisions democratically,
The Brief
Putting together networks of small businesses that help each other by sharing resources and information instead of trying to win the market
Businesses supporting community-led efforts to address social and environmental issues Instead of relying only on the government or non-profits, businesses can help meet the needs of marginalized and vulnerable communities by working together.