Tips for Designing Inclusive Forms

Inclusive form design means ensuring form labels and input options respect privacy and the wide range of social identities.

All elements of a design deserve care and attention, but some provide unique opportunities to make our audience feel seen, valued and understood; forms are one of them. While existing systems may encounter challenges due to current data mapping there is no excuse for new projects to side-step inclusivity when it comes to form design.

Determining the need for demographic data is step one. Then, if it is deemed necessary, here are some tips for making your forms inclusive.

Ask only if necessary

Sex, gender-identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, weight are all examples of sensitive data. While there are cases, such as medical forms, where it's necessary to ask for sensitive demographic data, there are many cases where such questions are frivolous, such as when setting up a food delivery account. When we merely need to know how to refer to someone, asking for pronouns meets the need.

State why

When collecting personally sensitive data, be sure to state the reason why you are asking for their information and details about how it will be used/shared. At a bare minimum include, "We require this information so that... This information will only be shared with..."

Image of portion of a form that states the reason and use for asking for personal data, "We require this information so that we can provide proper medical care. This information will not be shared outside of the medical team." — When it's necessary to collect personal data, inform the users of the reason and with whom it will be shared.

Provide inclusive options

Provide inclusive options that are broadly representative. Traditionally, form options have been cisnormative, gender binary and heteronormative, which does not respect the range of identities that exist.

Sex

Sex refers to our biology and traditionally, the options for sex have been binary, female or male. However, providing only a binary option excludes intersex individuals. An inclusive label commonly used for this question is "Assigned sex at birth" as the wording takes into consideration the topic of gender identity.

Gender

Gender differs from sex as it is how we feel and express ourselves, which can correspond or differ from our anatomy or assigned sex at birth. Cisnormative forms with the binary option of man or woman, excludes non-binary individuals who are agender, pangender, bigender, genderqueer, androgyne, intergender, gender-fluid, and various other genders. For gender-identity, include non-binary options. In the case of honorifics, "Mx" is a gender-neutral title.

A required "Title" dropdown field. — Including "Mx" as a title/honorific introduces a gender-neutral option.

Sexual Orientation

Heteronormativity assumes that romantic relationships are only between a man and a woman, which excludes people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual, pansexual, demisexual, abrosexual and many more.

Avoid "othering"

When providing a field for people to indicate an option that is not provided, avoid using "Other" as it can have a negative tone. Other can convey separateness and reinforce exclusion. Consider using the phrases "Not Listed" or "Self-describe". These terms show humility on the part of the designer/organization as it acknowledges that additional options are valid, but not listed.

Two form fields: Marital Status and Sex — Using the phrase "Not Listed" or "Self-describe" avoids "othering"

Ask for pronouns

One's identity is important so as a matter of respect, we should refer to individuals correctly. It has been status quo to assume that by knowing a person's sex we could infer how to refer to them, but this is short-sighted. Asking for pronouns ensures we respectfully use the right language.

A "What pronouns do you use" form field with multiselect. — Allowing people to provide their pronouns respects how individuals want to be referenced.

Make it optional

Unless input is absolutely necessary, make fields optional or allow people to select "Prefer not to say". Also, consider if the question is necessary at all (refer to the first tip).

A required Weight form field with the option to Prefer not to say. — Whenever possible, make fields optional or include "Prefer not to say" on required fields.

Final Thoughts

Our own experiences and identities are always front of mind, but as designers of things that touch the lives of many, we should not overlook the full range of experiences and identities that exists. To respect human differences, forms should be designed for accessibility, usability and inclusive representation. And, remember that our identity and language can change overtime.

My pronouns are she/her.

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