First, it’s fantastic that @WordCampUS extended their speaker app deadline with the goal of building a more diverse speaker slate. Excellent move and a big step in the right direction. (2/16)https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/wordcamp-us-call-for-speakers-extended/ …
-
-
Show this thread
-
But it also reinforces that diversity is still lacking in the
#WordPress community. In an ideal world we don’t need extensions because we simply have a vibrant and diverse group at the start. (3/16)Show this thread -
Even so, I love that
#WordCamp US is working hard and taking positive steps toward better diversity. WordCamp Europe really performed poorly when a similar issue came up for them in February. Vague promises, minimal action. (4/16)https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/diversity-at-wceu/ …Show this thread -
Many folks in the European
#WordPress community were dismissive and rude when challenged for having zero Black or African representation among organizers — I won’t quote tweet them here but they’re linked in the article. (5/16)https://masterwp.com/wordcamp-speakers-need-to-get-paid/ …Show this thread -
Racial diversity isn’t just an American thing. There are ~10 million people of African descent living in Europe, and ~7% of French and ~3% of British residents are Black. Having zero representation doesn’t add up. (6/16)
Show this thread -
Back to the US: it’s not just about diversity seminars or application extensions. There are systemic reasons why
#WordCamp struggles with diversity on stage. (7/16)Show this thread -
Most importantly, speakers and organizers need to get paid. Traveling to San Diego is a big deal. Asking folks to foot that bill unfairly privileges people with more income or whose companies pay for the trip. Not everyone has that, so they get excluded. (8/16)
Show this thread -
Organizers shouldn’t work for free either. It is a crazy hard job and lots of big companies get rich off the goodwill of the WordPress community. Let’s pay organizers what they’re worth so they don’t burn out. (9/16)
Show this thread -
Organizers also shouldn’t be able to say “but we’re just volunteers.” This came up during the Europe diversity debacle. Being a volunteer shouldn’t be a way out of holding the conference to a reasonable diversity standard. (10/16)
Show this thread -
Diversity requires you to put your money where your mouth is. That’s why we pay all contributing writers. And why we have equal pay and profit sharing for all our employees. Same should be true for speakers adding huge value to
#WordCamp. (11/16)https://howarddc.com/how-we-built-our-equal-pay-system/ …Show this thread -
We need to diversify our
#WordPress hiring pipelines too. Entry-level hires become veteran developers who become speakers and organizers. If our hiring pipeline is mostly white men, guess who’ll end up on stage? (12/16)Show this thread -
Every company has the tools to build a more diverse tech team. Check out
@UnderRepdInTech and@BTPipeline to get started. (13/16)https://blacktechpipeline.com/jobs/howard-consulting/ …Show this thread -
The things that work cost money: paying speakers, removing hurdles from your job apps, hiring from bootcamps and non-traditional pipelines. That’s why we see resistance to these ideas – because they require an actual investment instead of just a performative one. (14/16)
Show this thread -
Diversity can’t be wished into existence, even by the most caring and empathetic organizing team. Diversity in tech is fundamentally a problem of financial empowerment, and you can’t change the financial equation without changing the way actual money is distributed. (15/16)
Show this thread -
Next year, let’s not get caught flat-footed again. Instead, let’s start spending real money today to make
#WordCamp a better place tomorrow. (16/16)https://masterwp.com/wordcamp-speakers-need-to-get-paid/ …Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.