Report: #WPDiversity Inclusion and Diverse Speaker Workshops October and November 2022

In October and November 2022, the #WPDiversity group held an Inclusion workshop and follow-up coaching session, and a full-day in person women speakers event in San José, Costa Rica.

 

Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events 

Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events Workshop, October 13, 2022

We held a watch party workshop to help MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. and WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. organizers, or anyone in WordPress who would like to champion this work, hold diverse and inclusive events.

Facilitator: @jillbinder

  • Number who attended online: 12
  • From number of cities: 12
  • From number of countries: 8 (Bhutan, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Philippines, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States)
  • Self-reported increase in preparedness to run an inclusive event: 30%

Testimonials

“The Inclusion workshop helped me to acknowledge even more how important diversity is and to see where diversity is lacking. I saw how important it is to listen and to learn, and to be ready to create safe places so more people will join and stay in the community. The content was good. The workshop felt like a comfortable and safe space for us to learn. — Carlos Moreira, WordPress Developer, Portugal

Organizing Diverse and Inclusive WordPress Events Follow-up SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. chat, November 17, 2022

As a follow-up to our October 2022 Inclusion workshop, we held a follow-up Slack chat in November to celebrate successes, discuss challenges, answer questions, and have diversity discussions.

Facilitator: @jillbinder

Guest coach: D. Squinkifer

Number who attended: 15

From number of cities: 15

From number of countries: 8 (Canada, England, India, Phillippines, Luxembourg, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States)

Diverse Speaker Workshop

WordPress #WPDiversity Speaker Workshop for Women Voices in Latin America, October 29, 2022

We held our first day-long in-person workshop! It was in San José, Costa Rica. The facilitator was over Zoom and spoke English. There were two live translators translating to participants in Spanish and back to the facilitator in English over wireless headsets.

Facilitator: @jillbinder

Number who attended: 35

From number of cities: 9

From number of countries: 1 (Costa Rica)

Self-reported increase in public speaking self-confidence scores: 52%

Testimonials

There were a lot of amazing testimonials spoken at the event and provided in the feedback form after. This report will need to be properly updated after the new year along with who said them.

[Edit on Feb 2, 2023: We had 22 testimonials! I am putting them under the “Show full post” section below.]

Diverse Speaker Support Channel

We have a Slack channel (#diverse-speaker-support) in the Make WordPress Slack for:

  • workshopping talks with each other and with mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues.
  • finding out about WordPress speaking opportunities from WordPress MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. and WordCamps
  • getting to know other WordPress speakers and organizers

We are experimenting with effective ways to invite workshop participants to the channel. In September and October, a handful signed up mostly because it was not clear what a Slack username was when we asked for it. Also we offered to help people create their Slack accounts, but everyone whom we did this for got stuck in the middle of process and no one completed it.

We worked on these and in December we had a very high rate. This will go into the December report to be released in January 2023.

Thank you

A lot of people contribute to making these workshops successful. Thank you to each and every one!

Upcoming Workshops

Keep an eye on the list of upcoming #WPDiversity events is posted on the Diverse Speaker Group (#WPDiversity) page in the Community handbook.

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Updated on February 2, 2023:

WordPress #WPDiversity Speaker Workshop for Women Voices in Latin America, October 29, 2022

Testimonials

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“I liked that the workshop was very dynamic. It’s for all women no matter their career. They get the tools to lose the fear of public speaking and gain the confidence to choose topics and develop them. After this workshop, I learned how to structure a talk and pick an interesting and educational topic for my audience.”

– Elizabeth Garay Velasquez, San Jose

“I liked how comfortable they made us all feel… Before attending, I could not speak or present a topic on my own for fear of what people would say and because of nerves. I learned how to do that in this workshop. Thank you for taking us into account.”

– Valery Ovares Ugalde, Developer, San Jose

“We were given the space to speak and learn without prejudice. Public speaking is essential in life and I learned how to speak more confidently and calmly.”

– Liliya Shereshkova, San Jose

“I liked that there was no pressure to participate. The tips we learned were useful for all aspects of life. I appreciated the empathy and sorority between women. Before attending, I would not have considered speaking about a topic chosen by me and without anyone asking me to be a speaker. So it pushed me out of my comfort zone. Very grateful!”

– Alisson Navarro Campos, Developer, San Jose

“An excellent opportunity to meet and share with wonderful women. I gained excellent tips to implement in the development of the topic I want to present at the next WordCamp 2023. In general, these tips will help me in all my presentations with clients at work and in webinars. Thank you for this event for us women!”

– Melissa Benach Robles, San Jose

“I liked the order and clarity of the agenda, the content, and the warmth of the organization. This workshop provides useful and easy to apply information to start improving our skills to speak in front of other people. Learning in a pleasant environment, surrounded by women with the same fears or concerns, makes the experience even more enriching.”

– Esmeralda Alvarez, Developer, San Jose

“What I liked most about the workshop was the method – learning the process to order ideas and develop a good theme. As well as the importance of female empowerment. It gave me tools and more confidence to be a speaker and share my experience with more people.”

– Virgina Silva, Marketer, Quesada

“The ability to share with women from different technological areas helped me to expand my knowledge.”

– Karen Méndez, Developer, San Jose

“This is the second time I attended the workshop. I loved the topics, their delivery was easy to understand and the methodology is learning by doing. I recommend it to women who want to improve their skills and speak to topics that works best for them. Now I have an endless list of topics I could talk about.”

– Darcy Silva, Marketer, Quesada

“I think it is very important to continue to organize these types of events to empower women. I recommend attending, as it was very instructive for those who are starting in WordPress.”

– Irene Flores Bermúdez, San Jose

“I really liked the tips we learned to manage our nerves. The atmosphere was super supportive and we all celebrated each other. You learn by practicing and in an interdisciplinary way.”

– Raquel Porras Matamoros, Blogger, Alejuela

“I like the workshop because it connects women who are going through similar experiences and who may have felt alone in their situation before the workshop. This workshop allowed us to see that we are not alone and that it helps us to recognize our value and qualities through a space that feels very safe and enjoyable.”

– Silvia Solano Sánchez, Developer, Curridabat

“The workshop taught us valuable tools to create a greater impact when giving a presentation. The tips gave me a better vision of how to give a successful speech. Thanks to the workshop, I can now present better and more confidently.”

– Verónica Matamoros Castillo, Grecia

“I liked that I learned techniques for doing a presentation. Everyone should attend these workshops because it helps to get rid of stage fright and feel more confident when speaking or presenting a topic. Before coming to this workshop, it was difficult for me to present my projects at the University or speak in public. Now I feel more motivated and above all more confident when speaking in public.”

– Fátima Muñoz, Developer, San Jose

“I would definitely recommend this workshop to any woman who wants to work on her public speaking skills. The organization, the food, the place and the atmosphere were excellent. I hope they will continue to organize this type of activity and that more women can participate.”

– Catalina Elizondo Muñoz, Marketer, San Jose

“I have always been a very nervous person and never knew how to control my nerves. Some of the exercises helped me a lot and now I use the tips when I am going to speak. I think that everyone who wants to participate should do it, especially those who are super nervous like me.”

– Sharon Castro Mata, San Jose

“I found it all very good: listening to the speaker and getting her tips, watching the other participants perform, hearing about different topics. It gave me good ideas and motivation. I loved that it gave us courage to speak in public and we learned to trust ourselves. It was a valuable workshop.”

– Suyen Castro Cruz, Limon

“What I liked most about the workshop was women participating together. The importance of female empowerment.”

– Rosario Marcelo, San Jose

“I loved the very didactic and practical methodology. I liked the step-by-step guide to becoming a good speaker.”

– Nubia Lilieth Escobar Galeano, Blogger, Managua, Nicaragua

“The workshop taught me about confidence and leadership in public speaking. This workshop isn’t just useful for WordPress, but in life and I think it should be taken by women and young people. After taking the workshop, I have the speaking tools to put into practice.”

– Gloria Guzmán Guerrero, Developer, San Jose

“What I liked most about the workshop was the organization and everyone’s participation.”

– Rita Robles Loaiza, Developer, Cartago

“What I liked most about the workshop was the punctuality of the agenda times, the organization of meals, and being able to network. I loved the purpose of the workshop, which is what I valued the most.”

– Marcela Chacón Bonilla, San Jose

#diversespeakerworkshopsreports