About us
While demand for UX has exploded over the past few years, womxn and non-binary folx are still underrepresented in the field.
Hexagon is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the HQ based in San Francisco, with chapters all over the world. Hexagon first launched in 2013 as a small, local Bay Area meet up called XX+UX. We rebranded in 2017 and are now a community of over 7,500+ womxn and non-binary folx worldwide. Hexagon chapters host events and run mentorship programs.
We hope that Hexagon helps drive the conversation around diversity and inclusion in UX. Implicit bias in these areas is perhaps the greatest inhibitor of womxn’s growth — it affects how we hire, how we interact with co-workers, and how we recognize and promote “talent”. We know that diversity drives creativity, but change needs to come from within companies themselves and how they think about their own success.
Illustration by Libby Vanderploeg
“In the United States, fewer large companies are run by women than by men named John.
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the many facets of Hexagon
01—Community
We cultivate a culture of respect, support, and diversity; we encourage you to participate with your whole selves in Hexagon events
02—Mentorship
We offer opportunities to mentor and to be mentored through our 12-week program
03—Inclusion
Hexagon welcomes everyone who supports womxn and non-binary folx (see our code of conduct for more information)
04—Empowerment
We are a community of boss womxn and non-binary folx who believe that together we can lean in and help each other out
05—Growth
We encourage personal growth and exploration — sharpening skills for the workplace and beyond
06—Leadership
We inspire our community to lead, guiding them to step into UX leadership roles and embody greater change
becoming an Ally
Here are some tips we’ve adapted from Harvard Business Review on how to be a great ally.
First, listen! Listening in a way that inspires trust and respect is a fundamental relationship promise you must make, and then keep, with women who invite you to participate around equity.
Respect the space. Womxn’s conferences and ERGs are often one outgrowth of experiences of exclusion, marginalization, and discrimination. Tread respectfully into these spaces.
Remember, it’s not about you. Refrain from taking center stage, speaking for womxn, or mansplaining how womxn should approach gender equity efforts.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Learning about the challenges of womxn and non-binary folx may produce feelings of self-shame/self-blame that cause anxiety. The solution is more interaction and learning, not less.
Engage in supportive partnerships with womxn and non-binary persons. Share your social capital (influence, information, knowledge, and organizational resources) with womxn’s and non-binary groups, and ask how you can amplify, not replace existing gender parity efforts.
Allies challenge their own discomfort and assumptions, practice respectful behavior, and take action. These individuals are willing to educate themselves about the experiences and perspectives of people who are different from them. Allies often take action when they notice a situation in which someone is engaging in harmful or disrespectful behavior.
Allies actively work to co-create respectful, healthy, and productive workplace culture by respecting everyone and addressing disrespectful conduct against colleagues. An ally is someone who observes a problematic situation and actively tries to make a difference by assessing the situation. Strategizing how best to provide help and responding accordingly is also practicing ally behavior.