Expand Your Network: Making Your Group, Conference, or Company More Inclusive and Diverse

Is your group, conference, or company basically just a sea of white men? Lots of people see this, but aren't sure how to remedy it. We'll learn how to expand your network, as well as become a more welcoming environment, all with only a little bit of feeling uncomfortable.

Presented at Agile & Beyond 2017.

Transcript

1. Expand Your Network Making Your Group, Conference, or Company More Inclusive and Diverse
2. @crebma I develop software at Test Double (@testdouble) I run Self.conference (@selfconference)
 (Psst - May 19-20th, 2017)
3. Self Awareness
4. Who do you interact with?
5. Who do you follow on twitter?
6. When you think of people you know or admire in the community, do they all look the same?
7. Start There.
8. Expand Your Network
9. So many lists of people to follow
10. Make a point to say hello to people in groups or conferences that are different than your usual group
11. Make new friends at local groups/meetups
12. Group Awareness in Your Company
13. When you’re recruiting, are your candidates generally homogenous?
 Why?
14. Word of mouth recruiting
15. Your job posting has “Straight White Dude™” written all over it
16. “Culture fit” interviews
17. Make sure your company offers benefits that are equally awesome for everyone
18. Care publicly and take action when your public figures say all kinds of weird things
19. Hire a diversity consultant
20. Sponsor groups and conferences
21. Support continued learning
22. Group Awareness in Your Group
23. Invite speakers that are under- represented in the community
24. Make new members from under-represented communities feel welcome, without calling them out
25. Have a good code of conduct that you understand
26. Reach out to local groups like Girl Develop It or Blacks in Technology to find speakers
27. Don’t center social hours around alcohol
28. Group Awareness in Your Conference
29. Have a good code of conduct that you understand
30. Reach out to local groups like Girl Develop It or Blacks in Technology for your CFP
31. Ask others in your community for recommendations of speakers to invite
32. Reach out to national organizations like @CallbackWomen to get your CFP out
33. Submit your CFP to the Technically Speaking newsletter https://github.com/catehstn/technically-speaking/
34. Partner with organizations like Girl Develop It or Blacks in Technology
35. Offer scholarships, free tickets, and discount codes to under- represented communities
36. Always give your speakers and volunteers free tickets
37. Cover travel expenses
38. Offer child care, closed captioning, signing, and/or a quiet room
39. Do Research
40. Ask for help
41. You don’t have to do everything at once
42. It won’t always be perfect
43. Go get started!