August 2017 - diversity - mailman.ripe.net

Experiences from the Django community
by Erik Romijn 26 Sep '17

26 Sep '17

Hi everyone, I’m delighted to see that the RIPE community is taking important steps to improve diversity and inclusivity. As some of you might remember, I worked for RIPE NCC until 2011 and attended most RIPE meetings back then, though none since. Since then I’ve been doing a lot of volunteer work around diversity and inclusivity, in particular in the Django community. Django is the most popular web framework for Python, developed as an open source project for the last 12 years. In recent times, the Django (and to a different extent, Python) community has made large steps in diversity and inclusivity. It is not uncommon for Django conferences to have an approximate 50/50 split between men and women on stage, even though talk selection is usually blind (i.e. without information identifying the speaker). There is much work left to do though. I felt there may be resources, experiences and best practices that can be helpful for this group too, so I laid out a few things below. (I couldn’t reply to the existing thread, as I only just joined the list.) A fundament is that the Django community and events have a Code of Conduct[2] with a strong process behind it, including things like tracking repeat offenders and (limited) sharing of information between conferences. I recently became a member of the CoC committee that manages part of this. For example, prior to accepting speakers, conferences often send their list of names so the committee can compare that to their list of past incidents. In the interest of transparency, the enforcement manual[3] along with most internal documentation[4] is public. A CoC with a proper process is only a first step. Other efforts in the Django community include extensive outreach to marginalised groups, offering speaker mentors, financial aid programs, ensuring people moderate their alcohol consumption, accessibility information, live transcription, quiet rooms, childcare, and so on. As a side project, I maintain the Less Obvious Conference Checklist[1] which has a lot suggestions of this kind for conferences - most easy, some very hard - many of which can make an impact on inclusivity. Some of the lessons I learned along the way that I thought may be relevant, reading your other discussions: - D&I is more than “at this conference we claim you won’t be harassed or assaulted, or we will take action if it happens”. For many marginalised groups, experiences in tech and tech communities are so poor, that it requires building a lot more trust in that a community is actually doing better in being a nice and safe place, and not just saying so. Personally, I think building this trust is the single hardest issue. - Related to this, if people aren’t reporting incidents under your CoC, it doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. People (including me) can be very reluctant to report, and if they don’t trust the process enough might just end up leaving and telling their friends to stay away. In Django events, we’ve noticed a small increase in minor incident reports - not because more are happening, but because we’ve built enough trust that people report them. - Statistics can be helpful, for example in tracking whether there is progress compared to before. They can also give an indication of whether things you’ve done seem effective. However, I’m skeptic of having direct numbers as single absolute goals. On the other hand, you can probably say that if 2% of speakers are women, something isn’t going right somewhere. On intersectionality: any D&I initiative that wants to stay away from the complexity of intersectionality is dead in the water, as is an initiative that wants to treat everyone equal. My position, even being part of some marginalised groups, and my ability to participate in a community and attend events, is incomparably privileged compared to (for example, on average) a trans woman of colour or someone with housing or income insecurity. We can not treat everyone the same, because we are doing this in a society where marginalised groups and many others are already not treated equal or provided equal opportunities. And simplifying efforts to “sex discrimination” is simply way too narrow. I hope that some of this was useful input. I also do a talk at a number of conferences on empathy in tech, which touches upon D&I and how experiences from marginalised people can be so different, and why this matters so much, among other things. A video should be out soon. In August I’ll be doing a talk at DjangoCon US about the Django CoC, the processes behind it and some of the myths, which might be interesting to this group too. Erik PS: Could someone update the XX/XY labeling on the attendee gender graphs on RIPE labs[5]? Guessing gender from names is hard and inaccurate already, but sometimes all we have and I understand that. However, unless you have an algorithm that actually guesses their chromosomes, labeling the groups as XX and XY is wrong and completely erases transgender people. [1] https://github.com/erikr/lessobviouschecklist [2] https://djangoproject.com/conduct/ [3] https://www.djangoproject.com/conduct/enforcement-manual/ [4] https://github.com/django/code-of-conduct [5] https://labs.ripe.net/Members/agowland/diversity-discussions-at-ripe-74

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On-line video meeting invitation: Diversity TF meeting, 30-08-2017, 11:00 am EST
by Vesna Manojlovic 06 Sep '17

06 Sep '17

Dear all, here is the information about our next meeting: *Diversity TF meeting* Wednesday, August 30, 2017 11:00 am | Europe Summer Time (Amsterdam, GMT+02:00) | 1 hr Draft agenda: - introduction of new members/volunteers - update on actions & milestones - discussing the draft charter - next meeting Hope to see you there! Please read the previous meeting notes, and the discussions on the lists archives: https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/diversity/ Regards, Vesna Manojlovic Community Builder RIPE NCC Meeting number (access code): 702 314 786 Meeting password: 3Ds5sHZB Add to Calendar <https://ripencc.webex.com/ripencc/j.php?MTID=m9f15a8d7612c53f498156082a3d0b…> When it's time, join the meeting <https://ripencc.webex.com/ripencc/j.php?MTID=m468344e272a67b50c3cc32ba0e553…>. *Join by phone* *0800-051-3810* Call-in toll-free number (UK) *+44-203-478-5289* Call-in toll number (UK) Global call-in numbers <https://ripencc.webex.com/ripencc/globalcallin.php?serviceType=MC&ED=555601…> | Toll-free calling restrictions <https://www.webex.com/pdf/tollfree_restrictions.pdf> Can't join the meeting? <https://help.webex.com/docs/DOC-5412> IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that this WebEx service allows audio and other information sent during the session to be recorded, which may be discoverable in a legal matter. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to being recorded, discuss your concerns with the host or do not join the session.

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Getting hold of Aaron Hughes
by Donal Cunningham 31 Aug '17

31 Aug '17

Folks, I established initial contact with Aaron in July, but haven’t been able to get hold of him since, despite several emails. I’ll keep trying, but wanted to let you know I hadn’t forgotten. Take care, Dónal. -- Senior Network Engineer HEAnet CLG, Ireland’s National Education and Research Network +353 (0)1 6609040 donal.cunningham(a)heanet.ie Registered in Ireland, No. 275301. CRA No. 20036270

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RIPE75 Submissions
by Brian Nisbet 31 Aug '17

31 Aug '17

Afternoon, I've submitted an LT and a BoF to the PC for RIPE75. I'll keep you updated on the submission progress. However we will need to think about a presenter for the LT and a moderator for the BoF sooner rather than later. Thanks, Brian -- Brian Nisbet Network Operations Manager HEAnet CLG, Ireland's National Education and Research Network 1st Floor, 5 George's Dock, IFSC, Dublin D01 X8N7, Ireland +35316609040 brian.nisbet(a)heanet.ie www.heanet.ie Registered in Ireland, No. 275301. CRA No. 20036270

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Neuro-diversity in tech & hackers community
by Vesna Manojlovic 30 Aug '17

30 Aug '17

Hi, at the recent conference SHA2017 there was a very interesting presentation about "Managing Neurodiversity with Cognitive Empathy" : https://program.sha2017.org/events/324.html You can see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fD2BvS3Aqw I enjoyed it very much, and I think it's relevant both for the RIPE community, and the organisations that employ nerds. My wish is to invite these presenters to give this or similar talk at the RIPE meeting. Below is the text, repeated, for the archives. Cheers, Vesna === lecture: Nerd-Wrangling 101 Managing Neurodiversity with Cognitive Empathy Neurodiversity is the concept that neurological conditions are variations in the human genome. Therefore Autism, ADHD, and mood- and personality disorders are considered social categories intersecting with other social categories. While "Nerd" is very broadly defined, the number of neurodiverse people within our social group is much higher than in the general population. Our social circles, our hackerspaces, our coworkers are assembled from this group. And due to these differences our groups behave differently and encounter different problems that cannot be solved with standard management 101. Working together with a team of amazing people, nearly all of whom have distinctive cognitive needs, we found that classical management and strict structures are impediments rather than support. So we hacked around them. Like you do. In this talk we introduce the concept of cognitive empathy: Being able to think into the brain of your peers even though you might lack affective ("classical") empathy. We will share how we came to new solutions in managing our team by figuring out each others' needs. This talk will be about superpowers and super weaknesses: how to manage them, utilize them, and create an interdependent band of superheroes for which the sum is greater than the parts. ~~~~ Neurodiversity is an approach to learning and disability that argues diverse neurological conditions are results of normal variations in the human genome.This portmanteau of neurological and diversity originated in the late 1990s as a challenge to prevailing views of neurological diversity as inherently pathological, instead asserting that neurological differences should be recognized and respected as a social category on a par with gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability status. The term "Nerd" broadly describes very many of the quirks that come with neurodiversity. While not all nerds are neurologically diverse, many are. ADHD and Asperger's, as well as mood disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety, and personality disorders such as OCD are very common within the hacker scene. This talks aims at everybody who either is themselves among the above mentioned groups or deals with neurodiverse people on a daily basis. We are coming from this perspective because we are managing a team that is neurologically diverse, but also because we are ourselves neurodiverse and have had very frustrating experiences in the past being managed by others who didn't understand our peculiarities or couldn't appropriately respond to them due to company policy. After explaining the general concept the talk will take its time to dive into different diagnoses and pair explaining symptoms with real-world examples of how they can play out in a work setting. We will also explain why we consider some traits as superpowers in a very Marvel Comics-style sense ("The Hulk is very strong but he also smashes things to pieces"). On the other hand, we will go in-depth into what we call super-weaknesses and try to explain how to work around those or harness them for good. Finally we will talk about some general ideas of how to address neurological diversity in a work-like environment. These respecting peoples' sensory, metabolic, biological and bio-cognitive needs. We look for Pareto improvements, meaning that solutions should benefit everyone without disadvantaging a minority. This is especially important as only benefiting a plurality can produce devastating effects on minority groups. We will therefore explain how to make "harm reduction" the highest priority. All great ides, however, only work in an open environment where talking about such issues is accepted. Being unapologetically neurodiverse is a radical act. This talk will also explain why, and what the implications are when fostering a culture of vulnerability.

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New on RIPE Labs: SHA2017: Hackers' Camping, RIPE Topics
by Vesna Manojlovic 04 Aug '17

04 Aug '17

Dear colleagues, Today begins the newest edition of four-yearly Dutch summer camping conferences for and by hackers: SHA2017. http://sha2017.org/ Since there is an overlap between topics and participants within the RIPE community, this is an invitation to the talks and workshops - a small selection was recommended, from more then 200 lectures. There is a special sub-selection of workshops relevant to diversity-tf. Read more about it in this RIPE Labs article: https://labs.ripe.net/Members/becha/sha2017-hackers-camping-ripe-topics ... or if you are there too, get in touch :) Regards, Vesna Manojlovic Community Builder RIPE NCC

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Re: [diversity] [anti-abuse-wg] Diverse interest groups (was- Bringing Law Enforcement Into the RIPE Community)
by denis 02 Aug '17

02 Aug '17

HI Vittorio On 02/08/2017 12:53, Vittorio Bertola wrote: > > >> Il 2 agosto 2017 alle 12.23 denis <ripedenis(a)yahoo.co.uk> ha scritto: >> >> It is not a question of 'getting heard', it is knowing you have a >> voice and where to use it. Literally anyone can join a discussion on >> a Working Group mailing list, make comments, ask questions, agree or >> disagree with other comments, propose a policy. The RIPE NCC's Policy >> Development Officer will help anyone who wants to propose a policy in >> any area of concern. It would be nice to have a wider participation >> and hear more voices in some discussions. >> >> Neither the RIPE NCC nor the RIPE community has a list of 'targets'. >> Over the last 10 years governments and LEAs have taken much more >> interest in the Internet management, operation and governance. This >> is not unexpected as the Internet has become so integral in so many >> people's lives. As they have asked questions the RIPE NCC, under the >> guidance of the RIPE Community and RIPE NCC membership, has reached >> out to answer those questions. If any of the groups you mentioned >> also join discussions and ask questions they will also be heard and >> answered. > > I'm not saying that RIPE is doing anything bad or with any bad intent, > also I didn't really mean to start a thread, but even if this precise > discussion has been going on for a long time at ICANN and elsewhere > about 15 years ago, and views on it really vary, it looks like RIPE > still has to deal with it. > > The point is that having an open door and saying "if you have anything > to say, just show up" is not enough, if you really want to make > balanced policies. Some stakeholders, like governments and business, > have well funded employees and lobbyists that can afford showing up, > while other stakeholders don't. In fact, the "public interest" is the > hardest thing to keep into account, because any narrow group with > specific interests can show up and scream to push your policies in > their favour, while the general public has a weak interest that only > becomes huge if you could aggregate several billion Internet users, > which you can't practically do. So either you make active efforts to > include these other points of view, e.g. like ICANN has been doing, or > you will always risk to produce policies biased in favour of those few > that actually can afford to show up, and against the general public > interest. > > (Also, we may be going off topic, so apologies in advance - happy to > continue elsewhere if you like.) > I think this has moved off the original topic and is more about diversity. There is now a separate mailing list for diversity issues: https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/diversity/ From what I have seen (and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong) they seem more focused on 'diversity of peoples'. A current topic is the issue of gender at RIPE Meetings. But to me if you work under the general heading of 'diversity' that should cover all aspects of diversity. Some people may believe the corporate world is much more represented than the individual netizen at these meetings and on these mailing lists. Then I would say the diversity group should look at how to actively improve the diversity of representation at meetings to achieve a better balance and ensure the general public interest is served, avoiding the possibility of policies being made just for the rich and powerful. I think such a discussion would be better moved to the diversity mailing list. cheers denis > Regards, > > -- > > Vittorio Bertola | Research & Innovation Engineer > vittorio.bertola(a)open-xchange.com > <mailto:vittorio.bertola@open-xchange.com> > Open-Xchange Srl - Office @ Via Treviso 12, 10144 Torino, Italy

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