Re: IDCG ideas for consideration for building an action plan

Wendy,

Thanks, great additions!

- Judy

On 6/11/2020 1:55 PM, Reid, Wendy wrote:
> Judy these suggestions are all amazing! I've added a few of the books to my reading list.
>
> I spent the weekend doing some research and thinking about actions we could take to help the W3C with its diversity efforts. I'm going to list them all below for discussion on the call, I just wanted to give everyone time to review.
>
> I spent a lot of time thinking about how "easy" it can feel to participate, but how the relative simplicity presents barriers. Theoretically to participate, all you need is a computer, internet, and vast domain-specific knowledge that's often hyper-technical (see any problems there?). So much of what I think we need to do is to manage and lower those barriers where we're able.
>
> 1. Actions for WG/CG Chairs
>  - training on running more inclusive meetings (I found this post from HBR helpful: https://hbr.org/2019/09/to-build-an-inclusive-culture-start-with-inclusive-meetings)
>  -we do many "inclusive" things already by running mainly virtual meetings, using the queue system, and making our meeting minutes public
>  -can we do more? Are there ways to make new members more comfortable from the start, and can chairs receive training on how to do that?
>
> 2. Sponsorship/Expanding Invited Expert status
>  -we already allow for "observers" for non-members to join in on meetings as a recruitment strategy
>  -could we create a mechanism for sponsoring individuals to participate in F2F meetings, TPAC, or WGs who aren't affiliated to a member
>  -reach out and invite people from the community to participate if they have interest, or introduce new people to the standards process
>
> 3. Uses for the Diversity Fund + an ongoing IE fund for things like: 
>  -travel
>  -equipment (webcam, microphone)
>  -child/elder care
>  -costs for internet (do they need access to a better connection/plan for the duration of the meetings, are they maybe using an internet café or cellular service?)
>
> 4. Group actions to make new people/interested members more "welcome"
>  -explainers for every group that are regularly updated, written in plain language
>  -simplify and clarify the W3C homepages to be clear about our purpose and our work
>
> These are all really rough and I hope to discuss them. My overall thought is that we need to make the barriers to participation lower across the board, especially for smaller organizations/individual contributors.
>
> Looking forward to the call!
> -Wendy
>
> On 2020-06-11, 10:36 AM, "Léonie Watson" <lwatson@tetralogical.com> wrote:
>
>
>      On 11/06/2020 07:17, Judy Brewer wrote:
>      > Leonie, thanks for pulling together a meeting of the Inclusion and
>      > Diversity Community Group.
>
>      Thanks again for your suggestions Judy.
>
>      [...]
>
>      > community. Here are some possible ideas to brainstorm on, mostly phrased
>      > as questions. I'd welcome discussion on these on the IDCG list, in
>      > meetings, and in any other W3C fora, and also an expansion of an ideas
>      > list that might provide us good options to turn into an action plan.
>      > Some of these repeat a few things already mentioned on the list, and I
>      > also haven't captured them all.
>      >
>      > 1. _*Principles and practices*_: W3C has the TAG's *Ethical Web
>      > Principles* [1]; does anything in that that need updating to better
>      > capture current issues? W3C also has a proposed new version of the *Code
>      > of Ethics and Professional Conduct* (CEPC) [2] currently under Advisory
>      > Committee review, which goes into more detail on racism than the
>      > previous version.
>      >
>      > 2. _*Learning*_: There are many reading lists which have useful
>      > resources for learning about racism. It can also be useful to look
>      > specifically at the intersection of racism and technology, such as this
>      > list from Venture Beat [3]. Are there other reading lists on racism and
>      > technology that we could pull together, and perhaps curate a list that
>      > could serve as a resource for the web community?
>
>      This sounds like a really useful and achievable idea.
>
>      >
>      > 3. _*Discussion*_: We can let W3C colleagues know about discussions
>      > within the Inclusion and Diversity Community Group  [4], and also
>      > encourage discussions in other W3C settings. For instance, do we want to
>      > promote this as a discussion topic for our upcoming TPAC? Other events?
>      >
>      > 4. _*Participation*_: W3C doesn't do a lot of hiring, but occasionally
>      > does, and many of our member organizations do. Do hiring managers know
>      > where to reach out to to increase the diversity of candidate pools, and
>      > could that information be shared?
>
>
>      A lack of diversity within member organisations has been given as a
>      reason why nominating a more diverse set of people to participate at W3C
>      is hard. I like the idea that we could offer some guidance to help
>      address that particular argument.
>
>      >
>      > 5. _*Outreach*_: What conferences and events do we all show up to, and
>      > with what messages? Early on a few women in standards organizations
>      > started showing up to conferences such as the Grace Hopper Conference on
>      > Women and Computing, and talking to women engineers about what's so
>      > compelling about working in standards organizations. They had not heard
>      > of these opportunities from their managers or colleagues, and it took
>      > some spreading the word. Maybe finding different venues and talking
>      > about participation in standards organizations would be relevant around
>      > race as well.
>      >
>      > 6. _*Work areas*_: Are there any particular topics or issues that we're
>      > missing work on, such as AI bias around race? And looking at
>      > intersectional issues may be useful as well -- for instance, the
>      > intersection of racial and cultural issues with disability can doubly
>      > disenfranchise people from the training and mentoring opportunities that
>      > help bring people into the field. Are there intersections between race
>      > and other areas of W3C work that we could explore?
>      >
>      > 7. _*Individuals*_, _*organizations and communities*_: People have
>      > already raised ideas around diversity scholarships, and/or equipment
>      > support, for individuals. Could we broaden this approach to encouraging
>      > the web community to look for coaching, mentoring, partnering and
>      > support opportunities with local community organizations that could help
>      > feed a pipeline of engagement?
>      >
>      > 8. _*International context*_: Anti-black racism is an issue in many
>      > countries especially at this moment, and needs focused attention. But we
>      > should probably also continue to work on how this fits within braoder
>      > diversity issues that that W3C has worked on worldwide.
>
>      Good point. Recognising that racism is not only anti-black, but that it
>      affects many other groups around the world, plus diversity in its many
>      other forms - disability, gender identity and so on.
>
>      Judy, are there activities the W3C has already engaged in that you're
>      thinking of in particular?
>
>
>      >
>      > 9. *_Action Plan?_* Some of these ideas may not be a good fit for W3C,
>      > and a lot of other good ideas may be missing. If we think ahead a year,
>      > what kind of progress would we want to be able report, and what among
>      > these possibilities -- or other possibilities -- might help get us
>      > there? Anyone interested in starting to build an action plan from these
>      > or similar ideas?
>      >
>      > - Judy
>      >
>      > _*Refs*_
>      >
>      >  1. W3C TAG Ethical Web Principles:
>      >     https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/ethical-web-principles-20191204
>      >  2. Proposed new version of Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct:
>      >     https://www.w3.org/2020/05/CEPC
>      >  3. Some essential reading and research on race and technology:
>      >     https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/02/some-essential-reading-and-research-on-race-and-technology/
>      >  4. Inclusion and Diversity Community Group (IDCG):
>      >     https://www.w3.org/community/idcg <https://www.w3.org/community/idcg/>
>      >
>      >
>      > --
>      > Judy Brewer
>      > Director, Web Accessibility Initiative
>      > at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
>      > 105 Broadway, Room 7-128, MIT/CSAIL
>      > Cambridge MA 02142 USA
>      > www.w3.org/WAI/
>      >
>
>      --
>      Director @TetraLogical
>
>
-- 
Judy Brewer
Director, Web Accessibility Initiative
at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
105 Broadway, Room 7-128, MIT/CSAIL
Cambridge MA 02142 USA
www.w3.org/WAI/

Received on Thursday, 11 June 2020 19:58:42 UTC