Updated: Information about the diversity fund for W3M

Jeff,

With apologies that this comes in right up against the deadline, please 
find below the framing of the diversity fund for you to take to W3M today.

Name: Diversity fund

Description:

The purpose of the W3C diversity fund is to increase participation at 
TPAC, by people who could otherwise not attend.

To apply to the diversity fund you should be from a group that is 
under-represented in the web community, and unable to attend TPAC 
without financial help.

When you apply, you will be asked to explain (in one or two sentences) 
what perspectives you will bring, and which areas you would like to 
contribute to
during TPAC. You are not required to self-identify as belonging to any 
particular group, but If you are comfortable sharing that information it 
will help
us ensure the fund is balanced across different under-represented groups.

"The definition of "under-represented" means different things to 
different people, and the language used is also different depending on 
where you are.
For this reason we've chosen to give some specific examples, but this is 
not an exhaustive list. None of the labels for the different 
under-represented
groups are universally accepted; please understand that these examples 
use labels or concepts which may be geographically- or 
community-specific, and that
does not mean that only those labels and concepts are relevant for this 
fund.

Under-represented groups include (but are not limited to): people with 
disabilities/disabled people; people of color/BAME people; women; 
LGBTQIA people;
people from outside of Europe and North America; indigenous people; and 
refugees.

If you are thinking of applying to the diversity fund but you are not 
sure whether you should, please get in touch. We will answer your 
questions in confidence,
and can offer any help you might need to complete the application.

Selection criteria:

* We will prioritise new W3C participants and established participants 
who have not previously attended TPAC.
* Where we know which under-represented groups applicants are from, we 
will prioritise diversity amongst the people to receive assistance.
* We will not use the written quality of applications as a metric, 
recognising that people find writing difficult for many reasons 
including it being a
foreign language, cognitive disabilities, and reading/literacy 
difficulties.

Selection committee:

This is still under discussion in the Inclusion and Diversity CG (IDCG). 
The proposal under discussion is:

* One person from each of the sponsor organisations.
* Two people from the W3 team.
* Two people from the IDCG.

Proposed timeline:

This is the proposed timeline, based on an outline provided by Jeff:

* Week of 18th Feb: Announce diversity fund to AC and issue a first call 
for sponsors, with the request that commitments are made by 1st Apr (so 
we can
announce sponsors at the AC meeting).
* 8th or 9th Apr: At the AC meeting, announce sponsorship total to date 
and invite any last commitments before the end of the week.
* Week of 12th Apr: Announce the process and timetable for application, 
selection, and notification of 2019 recipients.

The process and timetable is where the IDCG will turn its attention, 
once we have the selection committee agreed.

The timetable will need W3M to approve this information at its meeting 
today. I appreciate your help with this, despite the short notice.

Léonie.
-- Director @TetraLogical

Received on Wednesday, 13 February 2019 08:47:32 UTC