Why LGBTQIA+ inclusion is essential for fairer, bias-free technology

By integrating a multitude of perspectives into design, development, and decision-making processes, tech products and services can better address the needs and preferences of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The lack of LGBTQIA+ representation in technology impacts the whole industry. When people with similar backgrounds build tech, it often fails to serve a wide range of needs, values, and perspectives. 

This can lead to technology bias, where products don’t fully account for all users. For instance, facial recognition algorithms trained primarily on cisgender faces may struggle to accurately identify transgender individuals due to a lack of gender diversity in the data.

With a diverse workforce, technology can reflect the values and needs of all communities, fostering a more inclusive ecosystem where everyone’s experiences and perspectives are respected and represented.

Economic empowerment is another key outcome of promoting diversity in tech. By creating equal opportunities for underrepresented groups, the industry can become a vehicle for financial empowerment, enabling social mobility and helping to reduce income inequality.

Revolut is a company trying to change the tech bias towards the LGBTQIA+ community. For Pride Month 2024, the fintech platform collaborated closely with LGBTQIA+ non-profit organisation Oogachaga and The Greenhouse, a recovery centre for marginalised and vulnerable communities, to understand their critical needs and requirements. 

This is the second year Revolut is working with Oogachaga, having launched the ‘Diversity Card’ in 2023. Revolut’s in-app donations feature enables customers to support various non-profit organisations, raising awareness and helping fund their inspiring work. 

The platform offers users multiple options for donating: they can make a one-time contribution, round up spare change, or establish recurring donations. Revolut allows customers to contribute to causes they care about with these flexible options.

“As a company, we strongly support all marginalised communities and advocate diversity and inclusion. Everyone deserves to be treated equally so they can be the best versions of themselves,” says Raymond Ng, the chief executive officer for Singapore at Revolut.

“Our campaign in 2023 was highly successful. We raised close to S$47,000 for Oogachaga from over 4,000 donors, which went a long way in supporting Oogachaga’s cause. Given the overwhelmingly positive response, we decided to re-introduce the Diversity Card this year. We also onboarded an additional non-profit, The Greenhouse, to our in-app Donations platform this year to expand the awareness and impact we can create through this campaign.”

For Oogachaga, working with a fintech platform like Revolut gives the non-profit visibility to a segment of the population that might otherwise not be aware of its work with the local LGBTQIA+ community.

Oogachaga operates without a dedicated fundraising, marketing, or publicity team as a small local non-profit. These roles are typically managed by existing staff as needed, often at the cost of time and resources that could otherwise be devoted to delivering programmes and running services. 

Partnering with Revolut and utilising its resources has offered Oogachaga an efficient way to increase visibility and raise awareness.

”We have received feedback from community supporters that they were proud to support Oogachaga with a donation and also to be associated with a limited edition Revolut Card proudly,” explains Leow Yangfa, executive director at Oogachaga.

“One individual even commented on how, before the 2023 campaign, they had uninstalled the app, given other similar apps. However, with the introduction of the Diversity Card, they decided to return to Revolut and are now proudly using the Diversity Card when they travel!”

It is a similar story for The Greenhouse, which has worked to help its beneficiaries see themselves not as drug addicts or alcoholics but as trauma survivors with the potential to heal and support others. The organisation hopes the public will view The Greenhouse as a recovery centre and a committed community partner in fostering a more compassionate and inclusive society. 

They believe everyone deserves to be loved and accepted for who they are, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. 

Alaric Tan, the executive director at The Greenhouse, says the centre is grateful for Revolut’s recognition of their work and the people they serve, seeing it as a reminder that everyone has a role in building the communities we aspire to live in and creating a future where all belong.

“Many of our beneficiaries pay their recovery forward by becoming volunteer peer supporters and professional counsellors who serve at our centre and other centres,” explains Tan.

“While most of all funds raised are used to cover the cost of providing care to new beneficiaries, they also allow us to conduct free community campaigns and workshops that help prevent the kind of stigma, discrimination and bullying that causes trauma and addiction, as well as help community partners, learn how to care for those who have been affected by such experiences.”

For both Oogachaga and The Greenhouse, inclusion involves recognising diversity and ensuring that everyone is treated at the table as equals, even when it requires extra time and effort to create a truly welcoming environment. 

By donating or directing funds through the Diversity Card to both organisations, supporters help communicate to anyone who has ever faced shame, bullying, or rejection for who they are that they are loved, accepted, and supported. 

It is a straightforward approach to understanding diversity and practising inclusion—an elegant way to ensure everyone is treated with the same dignity and respect we deserve.

“Becoming a beneficiary of Revolut helps more people understand that those who suffer from trauma and addiction are good people who want good things for themselves and others,” explains Tan.

“It allows us to share more about our work so more people can understand and have empathy for the experiences of our beneficiaries—we are essentially a trauma recovery centre for those whose families and other communities have rejected for being different.”

While donations had a slight dip this year at S$30,000, Revolut’s Ng stresses that the platform’s end goal is to raise as much awareness and funds for the work that Oogachaga and The Greenhouse are doing.

The platform tracks the number of Diversity Cards ordered to benchmark how much awareness the campaign has raised.

”As for fundraising, we have a live in-app tracking mechanism that enables us to track the total amount donated to each charity,” explains Ng.

“This is completely transparent, and users can see the total amount raised for a charity from their app at any point in time.”

How other brands used tech to support the LGBTQIA community

Disney Star’s ‘Words of Pride’

The campaign addressed the lack of respectful language for India’s LGBTQIA+ community in the country’s 700 spoken languages and 22 major regional languages. 

Historically, terms for LGBTQIA+ individuals carried negative connotations, which were often reinforced in media. To shift this, Disney Star curated a glossary of respectful terms for LGBTQIA+ individuals, making these words accessible through an online platform with pronunciation guides and contextual examples.

The campaign enlisted the expertise of 150 linguists, queer groups, and allies, who conducted 30 months of research and dedicated 7000 hours to identify 246 inclusive words across seven regional languages. This initiative highlighted that Indian languages inherently have inclusive terms, though they were largely unknown.

IKEA’s ‘The Closet’

The campaign occurs in a bustling IKEA store in India where a central closet invites customers to enter with the prompt, “Many have lived here, can you?” 

Inside, visitors experience dim lighting, silence, and headphones playing the hurtful biases often directed at LGBTQIA+ individuals. 

Upon exiting, customers realise that while they can leave, many in the LGBTQIA+ community remain metaphorically “inside the closet.” The campaign encourages viewers to challenge stereotypes and foster inclusivity.

Vaseline’s Transition Body Lotion

Vaseline launched the world’s first clinically proven skincare product explicitly tailored for transgender women: the Vaseline Pro Derma Transition Body Lotion. 

Developed in close collaboration with Thailand’s transgender community, this lotion addresses unique skin concerns associated with hormone therapy, such as light sensitivity, irritation, uneven skin tone, and increased allergy risk.