Many institutions, from workplaces to healthcare and aged care systems, are designed for a mythical “normal” person: linear-thinking, neurotypical, able-bodied, and culturally dominant. They were clearly created by unicorns, because in real life, humans are messy, complex, and intersectional. When someone embodies multiple marginalised identities: neurodivergence, First Nations heritage, caregiving responsibilities, disability, or other overlapping factors, these systems frequently fail spectacularly, and the failure is often blamed on the individual.
This presentation explores the collision between intersectional human experience and systems that assume simplicity. Drawing on experience in public sector regulation, healthcare, and Aboriginal research, it examines how policies, processes, meetings, and communication practices create compounding barriers for people whose lives do not fit a single axis of identity. Masking, code-switching, and navigating unwritten rules are survival strategies, not flaws, but they come at cognitive, emotional, and cultural cost.
Using humour, absurdly relatable examples, and real-world reflections, the session reframes these challenges as system design failures, not personal deficits. Delegates will see how simple adjustments: clearer communication, predictable processes, culturally safe environments, and neurodivergence-friendly practices can dramatically reduce the need for people to contort themselves to fit into imaginary templates.
Ultimately, this session asks organisations to stop designing for unicorns and start designing for real humans: messy, brilliant, intersectional humans. Because when systems acknowledge complexity instead of punishing it, everyone benefits: participation increases, cognitive load decreases, and organisations become more resilient, inclusive, and downright less ridiculous.