For the future of the Web, Diversity is non-negotiable

Very short talk given at IndieTech Summit 2014 (http://indietech.org/summit).

Explaining why diversity is a non-negotiable prerequisite when we want to build the future of the web. Talk given in context of the IndieTech Manifesto (https://ind.ie/manifesto/) which also stresses diversity as a core element.

Transcript

1. @ffffux For the future of the Web, Diversity is non-negotiable My name is Lena Reinhard, I'm a marketing, community and project management expert, a CEO of a small software company and I’m a committer to the Open Source Projects Hoodie (@hoodiehq) and CouchDB (@couchdb). ! And I want to show you why diversity is non-negotiable when we want to build the future of the web.
2. @ffffux What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences. ! Life is plurality, death is uniformity. (Octavio Paz) Diversity Matters “What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences. Life is plurality, death is uniformity.” – Diversity means variety and dissimilarity. It is a state and process of involving people who are different from each other in a group, and it aims to create an inclusive culture.
3. Age Socioeconomi c Class Personal Background Sexuality Gender Ability Physical + Mental Health Physical + Mental Health Language Skills Education Ideas Experiences Lifestyle Appearance @ffffux … and more Diversity Matters Diversity includes age, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, personal background, gender and far more.
4. Lifestyle Skills Education Age Socioeconomi c Class Personal Background Gender Sexuality Ability Physical + Mental Health Physical + Mental Health Language Ideas Experiences Appearance @ffffux … and more Diversity Matters People do not fit into a single box, they fall into a variety of different dimensions. Everyone of us has had different life experiences and perceives the world differently. Thus, we need to care as well about the intersections of these groups.
5. @ffffux Diversity Matters Diversity enables proper representation In total, only 0.27% of the entire world population are designers and developers, not all of them professional ones, and it’s still a very small and too uniform crowd. In comparison, the world population is a highly diverse group of people. ! When we want to build the future of the web, we’ll have to build it not only for us – but for everyone. This is an act of representation. And it means: (1) we’ll have to build it with the highly diverse group of people in mind. And (2) we have to be a diverse crowd ourselves. Without diversity, it won’t be able to build the future of the web.
6. @ffffux Diversity Matters In natural settings like rain forests or coral reefs, diversity is the default. It ensures the stability and long-term existence and prosperity of cultures. Tech is an artificial environment where diversity is not the default – we have to take care for it ourselves. ! Sources: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ecology/Community_succession_and_stability http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v405/n6783/full/405228a0.html#B8 http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/culture-and-diversity/main picture: N. Tackaberry, https://www.flickr.com/photos/23629083@N03/6869912427 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.de
7. Diversity enables complex solutions better decisions more innovation @ffffux Diversity Matters First, diversity is just the right thing to do. As various studies show, diversity also enables us to solve complex problems better and faster, be more creative and stimulated through persistent exposure to minority perspectives, make better decisions and generate more innovation.
8. Diversity enables complex solutions better decisions more innovation @ffffux Diversity Matters Design processes are problem-solving processes - and the question is *whose* problems we want to solve. Most parts of our tech world today are ostensibly meritocratic and exclude marginalised people by default. In addition, each of us, including you and me, also needs to be aware of the privileges we have because of our own origin, ethnicity, gender or other reasons.
9. Diversity enables us to think and act beyond our own limitations @ffffux Diversity Matters Creativity is a driver of good design and engineering. It is the ability to see connections and relationships where others have not, and it’s the result of making unexpected connections between things we already know. Hence, creativity depends on our life experiences. This is why diversity is essential to good design and engineering on a very fundamental level.
10. Diversity enables us to think and act beyond our own limitations @ffffux Diversity Matters Only if we ourselves are a diverse group of people who thus are capable of imagining the wide array of possible values, we can uncover an equally wide array of possible design approaches and results which then can offer built-in solutions for a wide range of people. ! Only moving beyond self-referential modes will enable us to develop infrastructure, processes, products and work that resonate with the broader population. And it will finally enable the results of our work to become a primary catalyst for social and cultural change.
11. @ffffux For an independent, decentralised, free future of the Web, Diversity is non-negotiable Diversity Matters The future of the web can’t be an indoctrinated, patronizing top-down solution. An independent, decentralised, free future of the web is of highest relevance – and we’ll only be able to build it with diversity. ! This is why everyone of us has to actively work on diversity and it has to be deeply embedded in everything we do. Because diversity is a non-negotiable prerequisite for the future of the web.