Women in Identity prepares ID Code of Conduct phase 3, on costs of ID exclusion

Identity and ID documents aren’t the same thing – but, in administrative terms, they might as well be. Without identification, there is no reliable way for an individual to prove who they are. When that’s not possible, the whole societal framework of trust falls away, making it difficult to access services.

Positive spin usually frames the discussion in terms of digital inclusion. For Women in Identity (WiD), a UK not-for-profit group that promotes diversity and inclusion across the identity industry, it’s important to understand the crux of the issue.

“One billion people globally cannot prove their identity,” says Dr. Sarah Walton, executive lead of WiD. Identity exclusion means a large number of people aren’t getting the same chances as everyone who has a legal ID, particularly when it comes to government and financial services.

Now, with AI entering the picture, bringing traces of algorithmic bias with it, there is greater need for voices advocating for fairness and accessibility in biometric and digital identity systems.

“Diversity and inclusion in identity system design is widely acknowledged as being essential for fair access to basic services,”Walton says. “But there is little guidance available on how to achieve this.”

Women in Identity’s ID Code of Conduct aims to remedy the situation. The project has progressed through phases focused on trends and debates in the digital ID sector, as well as “The Human Cost of ID Exclusion.” Now, the organization is preparing to launch the third phase of the project, focusing on the economic costs of identity exclusion.

In a blog on WiD’s website, Professor Edgar Whitley of the London School of Economics outlines how his commissioned research on the business costs of ID exclusion is proceeding. The research, he writes, specifically “aims to better understand the resulting economic costs incurred by identity organisations (typically identity providers and relying parties).”

“Whilst there is evidence (and associated guidance) about how interoperability arising from following agreed standards can reduce business costs and avoid vendor lock-in, there is no equivalent data around the business costs of identity exclusion,” Whitley says.

He argues that “for organisations to ensure their products and processes are inclusive they need detailed evidence as to the costs they are incurring from identity exclusion.” Numbers reflecting lost customers, support expenses and other issues can help cost-conscious boards make investment decisions on which systems to use in support of identity inclusion.

Whitley’s research will be distilled into “a range of research outputs,” including a detailed report based on “academically rigorous data” that highlights various business costs arising from identity exclusion. He is currently seeking participants to interview as part of the research. (Contact details are included in the blog.)

Once phase three is complete, there is still the matter of designing and implementing the ID Code of Conduct – and sourcing the funds to do so.

But the ultimate goal, says Dr. Walton, is clear: to design “a set of guiding principles and how-to-guide for ID teams to help them and make bias more conscious and develop more inclusive products and services as a result.”

“Our mission is to drive the industry to build services that everyone can access.”

Biometric Update to host webinar with WiD in Spring

Biometric Update will be hosting a webinar with Women in Identity this spring to delve deeper into the issue of identity exclusion and the ID Code of Conduct. Stay tuned for more details on time, subject and how to register.

Article Topics

biometric bias  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital inclusion  |  ID Code of Conduct  |  identity management  |  legal identity  |  Women in Identity