We know we need to grow the Drupal community.
http://chicago2011.drupal.org/conference/bof/diverse-drupal
That we need to grow the Drupal community is obvious and accepted. We're working on that with training, camps and cons...
That we need to make the community more gender and racially diverse is acknowledged... but what are we doing to fix that?
Let's share experience, let's do some research and see what is happening not only in Drupal, but in 'science, technology and maths'; and in open source as well.
We propose a group on g.d.o. to facilitate action to make Drupal a more diverse and inclusive community. A little less talk, a little more action and reflection on action.
We'd like to get this approved ASAP, so we can continue the momentum post-conference. This is critical and urgent. What if we had started this 5 years ago?
Please review the proposal for this working group:
http://groups.drupal.org/drupal-diversity-action
Comments
Comment #1
jessebeach commented+1
Comment #2
Seergenius commented+1
Comment #3
Anonymous (not verified) commentedI'm so happy to learn that Drupal folks are looking at growth in these terms. I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend the BoF, but this is a very worthy proposal. +1
Comment #4
mennonot commented+1
Comment #5
develcuy commentedI think that the group name is awesome, but diversity is just one our values, we need to get back to all of them.
Comment #6
nikhiltri commented+1
Comment #7
drnikki commented+1
Comment #8
Seergenius commentedDále!!!
Comment #9
EvanDonovan commented+1
- Definitely noticed this is still an area of growth for Drupal, although progress has been made. I think raising the awareness of how people interact in group settings to allow people who are in the minority in a particular room to speak would be especially vital.
Are there already groups related to this, though? I must admit I don't spend a lot of time on g.d.o.
Comment #10
avpadernoI think that groups on g.d.o are created on http://groups.drupal.org/node/add/og. The newly created groups are placed in a moderation queue, and they will not be publicly visible until some site maintainer doesn't create the group.
As the group has been already created, I don't think there is anything more that needs to be done.
Comment #11
davideads commented+1, just in case!
Comment #12
jackalope commented+1 - looking forward to hearing what was discussed at the BoF and to continuing the discussion on g.d.o.
Suggestion for encouraging quick approval: we should all join the group even though it's not approved yet. Might demonstrate community support and stir someone with approval power to action!
Comment #13
avpadernoThe group is already in the moderation queue. All the group proposals are handled through that queue, not here.
Comment #14
jackalope commentedDidn't mean to change the status with my comment, kiamlaluno, sorry for that!
It seems like folks are using this thread as a way to voice support for getting the group approved quickly. Do you know if there's a better venue for that?
Comment #15
heather commentedI didn't know you could actually "join" the group before it's approved. Seems like a perfect way to get the ball rollin!
Thanks everyone for piping in! I hope this doesn't sit on ice too long.
Comment #16
CodeRhino commented+1 Philly needs Diversity!
Comment #17
peter_g commented+1! Diversity = fresh viewpoints, fresh energy, and even more growth of our community.
Comment #18
gregglesI'm generally in favor of this group, but am curious how it relates to two existing groups:
http://groups.drupal.org/lgbtqi-drupal
http://groups.drupal.org/drupalchix
It seems like if nothing else these existing groups should be linked from the mission statement of the over-arching diversity group.
Comment #19
thesleuth commented+1
Comment #20
davideads commented@greggles: Personally, I see those groups as specific support / affinity / identity groups. This seems to me more oriented towards community-wide policies and inclusion initiatives. It makes a lot of sense to make sure those groups are promoted here, and given a strong voice in "big tent" initiatives such as this.
(As a more-or-less straight, white man who cares very deeply about these issues, a group like this is a way to plug in and do something without crashing important discussions that really aren't for me.)
Comment #21
ZenDoodles commented+1
Comment #22
jackalope commentedI strongly second what davideads wrote in #20!
Comment #23
heather commentedOK, as an update!
The feedback I got from g.d.o maintainer was "Why can't this fit into the "Marketing Drupal" group. With over 400 members, that could get people involved to do "outreach for drupal" work, more than 'just diversity'."
I didn't know exactly how to respond, so it's now on pause... Could this just fit into a sub-discussion on marketing Drupal??I thought that having specific discussions about diversity; be it racial, gender, age, etc etc would drown out the 'marketing' topics.
At least, it was recommended we change the title to reach a wider audience/interest area.
These are my notes from the conversation:
Recommendation (PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT MY OPINION, Just my notes!) "Avoid diversity in the title of the group. It will see it as a pigeon holed group if we include this in the title. It turn away people who are broadly interested in promoting Drupal but are not interested in outreach to "minorities". E.g., what if you are in a community that does not have a racial minority, but maybe has a disadvantaged community. Diversity, only signals 'racial diversity' in the US."
I thought that was interesting... I mean, in my own community, the issues with disadvantage don't fall on racial lines, but ones of economics/class and education. So my interest in doing 'education/outreach' and increasing diversity wouldn't be racial. I think his point was to NOT narrow it down.
Brainstorm another name?
- How about "Drupal Outreach Action"
- Outreach and Expanding the Drupal Community
Recommended Short description:
Broadly planning and executing action to expand the Drupal community. Bringing Drupal to people who aren't aware of it.
What do others think about this response, or what is an adequate response?
Comment #24
EvanDonovan commentedI would disagree that the word "Diversity" exclusively means racial diversity. I think Outreach is too broad for the original concept of the group, since it doesn't convey the same push to bring Drupal to groups that are historically underrepresented in its community, whether that be by race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, religion, etc.
Comment #25
davideads commentedI wish said g.d.o. maintainer would engage in a discussion with folks on this thread.
Diversity is a profoundly different goal than outreach or marketing, even if they overlap somewhat in terms of tactics. Marketing is about reaching out, diversity is about reaching in. They shouldn't be the same group.
Personally, I wouldn't be opposed to a different name ("diversity" is pretty worn out as a term, as often happens with good ideas), but I also think the current name is fine. Given this conversation and the community's own struggles with diversity (which haven't been predominantly about race), I don't see any evidence to back up the assertion that the "diversity" is secretly "racial diversity" or will be read by people that way.
Like EvanDonovan and Heather, I certainly don't see diversity in the Drupal community as only about race. Beyond demographic diversity, there's also questions about how to involve designers, implementers, and sysadmins in community decision-making processes, provide them with training and resources, etc. Perhaps you could call it the "how do create a healthy community that treats each other well and invites the widest variety of perspectives possible?" group, but "diversity" seems both broad and concise.
With some of the recent bad press around Drupal concerned with the whims of open source developers, I'd think that a diversity group would be welcomed to show that our community is working to be and is stronger and smarter than that.