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Mike Gowen
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4 months ago
in On #fowaspeak on Unpopular Demand
@Ed
It really upsets me that you would bring Scrapblog into this, and suggest that we are not sensitive to our community. That simply isn't that case. I think our success has proven that.
We do not, by any stretch of the imagination "unanimously oppose" female representation...quite the opposite, but I DO oppose the idea that that this should be an action item on Ryan Carson's conference planning checklist. This is the wrong place to solve the "problem". I don't believe that Ryan simply ignores female speakers to make room for more white males. I think if there is a problem, it's that there is a general lack of options within that pool. If that's the case, then the solution is to encourage more women to enter the circuit. When that happens, I am quite sure Ryan will naturally book them. Good content is good content. If Ryan is NOT currently booking them, I can only trust his judgement in that his options are not sufficient enough to warrant booking them. I would hate to see him select someone based on their gender when he feels there is a more valuable option.
I must of course state that these are my opinions and not Scrapblog's.
It really upsets me that you would bring Scrapblog into this, and suggest that we are not sensitive to our community. That simply isn't that case. I think our success has proven that.
We do not, by any stretch of the imagination "unanimously oppose" female representation...quite the opposite, but I DO oppose the idea that that this should be an action item on Ryan Carson's conference planning checklist. This is the wrong place to solve the "problem". I don't believe that Ryan simply ignores female speakers to make room for more white males. I think if there is a problem, it's that there is a general lack of options within that pool. If that's the case, then the solution is to encourage more women to enter the circuit. When that happens, I am quite sure Ryan will naturally book them. Good content is good content. If Ryan is NOT currently booking them, I can only trust his judgement in that his options are not sufficient enough to warrant booking them. I would hate to see him select someone based on their gender when he feels there is a more valuable option.
I must of course state that these are my opinions and not Scrapblog's.
1 reply
And I'm sorry if I've offended you by bringing Scrapblog into this. I figured it was relevant since 4 people on this thread are Sb employees and, iirc, another voiced support for this opinion on Twitter as well (via a rt).
And I'm sure you're all very sensitive to your community and I wish you all the best. You've obviously put some thought into designing the site in such a way that it appeals to your target demo (a sign of your appreciation of diversity).
Let me address this argument about "wrong venue" first since I think it's a side issue that still deserves a response. I think that it was a perfectly appropriate venue to discuss the issue. You get to a conference, you look around and notice a lack of diversity, so you talk about that observation at the conference. I can't imagine how she could have been more effective in sparking this important discussion if, for example, she had kept her opinion to herself and saved it for a later blog post. That's assuming you think the discussion is important (i.e. appropriate in any context), which you may not.
But let's put aside the issue of how this conversation started and dig deeper into why. (As Kristina says later on in the comments)
I agree, as did the individuals on the stage that day, that the solution to the problem would be to increase the number of women and minorities in the speaker pool. (Kristina makes some good proposals for how to do that and possible barriers to accomplishing it)
Also, I don't want to come across as accusing anyone of being sexist or racist. And I'm not saying that Ryan should select an inferior speaker JUST because that person is a women or minority. That's insulting.
What am I saying is that, when judging the worthiness of a panel of speakers, diversity matters. Diversity adds value. If a white male speaker and a black female speaker are equally qualified on a topic, then the black female speaker should be selected because diversity adds value. If the quality of the speakers are different, then the conference organizers need to make a tough decision on whether or not the value added by diversity outweighs the loss in quality.
But that's a contradiction, right? How can I say that picking someone on the basis of race or gender is insulting, yet at the same time promote doing that exact thing?
It's a subtle point. The key is that I'm not showing preference solely because that person looks a particular way. I'm showing preference because I value diversity overall. If the panel were already full of black females, then I would prefer the inclusion of white male speaker instead. Having a variety of perspectives matters.
I think diversity matters. If I ran a business, I would want to hear a variety of perspectives so that I could find a way to appeal to a variety of people. I would want to employ a diverse group of people because I think different perspectives make a better product. If I ran a business that appealed to a particular demo, like yours, I would want that demo represented well at any conference that I attended so that I could be exposed to that perspective.
That's my understanding of the reason why so many organizations, from schools to big corporations, practice affirmative action.
Having a different opinion about diversity doesn't make you a racist or sexist or anything else for that matter. It just makes you a person I disagree with.
And I don't mean to come off as threatening with the "public relations" bit. I'm not going to go spreading the word that Sb is somehow insensitive to women. I don't believe that. But other people may not be so sincere. I just think that this is a topic that all of you should handle very carefully considering how it relates to your business. I want you to succeed - at least because I think there is a lack of diversity in web companies and it would be nice to see some appreciation of a Miami-based shop in the greater tech community. ;)