Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on March 9, 2022

Attending: @jillbinder, @alliennimmons, @anjanavasan, @jasonways, @juliarosia, @katiejrichards, @kcrockett, @kimberlylipari, @mysweetcate, @nalininonstopnewsuk, @onealtr, @peiraisotta, @sc0ttkclark, @planningwrite, @webcommsat, @wpfangirl

Start: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1646845281691279

Summary

Now with more people responsible for more areas of our work, we tried out a “pass the mic” style of meeting. Each person gave an update and we all had many great discussions and ideas.

  1. Check-ins
  2. Marketing (@anjanavasan)
  3. Workshops (Speaker & Allyship) (@jillbinder)
  4. Diverse Speaker Support channel (@kcrockett & @juliarosia)
  5. Translations (@devinmaeztri)
  6. APAC (@devinmaeztri & @onealtr)
  7. WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event. (@devinmaeztri & @juliarosia)
  8. Other Updates
  9. New Ideas and open floor
  10. How was this meeting format?

End: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1646848994931559

#wpdiversity

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on February 23, 2022

Attending: @jillbinder, @alliennimmons, @anjanavasan, @chrisford, @donreid, @eidolonnight, @firoz2456, @heyyearl, @jasonways, @katiejrichards, @kcrockett, @kimberlylipari, @mmcwilliams, @mysweetcate, @nouman27, @onealtr, @peiraisotta, @planningwrite, @sc0ttkclark, @volkswagenchick, @webcommsat, @wpfangirl

Summary

This meeting was held over Zoom.

For the first half, @jillbinder presented these slides:

  • Our group’s birth and impact

  • Our current 3 programs

  • Roles available (interested? descriptions in slides above ^ )

    • Diverse Speaker Workshops:
      • Workshop volunteer — background support
      • Workshop volunteer — front-end
      • Workshop facilitator
      • Workshop coordinators team
      • Translator

    • Diverse Speaker Support program:
      • Speaker MentorEvent 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.
      • Speaker Mentor Coordinator

    • Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers program:
      • Workshop volunteer — background support
      • Workshop volunteer — front-end
      • Workshop facilitator

    • General:
      • WP Events Coordination Team
      • New volunteer greeter
      • Workshop facilitator
      • Document editor
      • Meeting Attendees

    • Specialty
      • APAC team
      • 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. Europe reps

  • Interest form

In the second half, we had an open discussion where people expressed interest in roles and shared ideas:

  • An offer to start translating into Italian
  • An offer to be part of our WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event. reps
  • An offer of project management, getting our team onto Asana
  • Interest in having workshops for a member’s local WP community in the US
  • Pointing out that the workshops are a way for people of underrepresented groups in local communities to network
  • Folks interested in being part of the group without a specific role (yes!)

#wpdiversity

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on February 9, 2022

Attending: @jillbinder, @evarlese, @katiejrichards, @juliarosia, @mysweetcate, @onealtr, @volkswagenchick, @wpfangirl, @kcrockett, @patriciabt, @jasonways

Start: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1644426068333249

Summary

  1. Updates on what you’re working on
  1. Encouraging people to reply to: “Discussion: Diversity in WordPress Events: https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/02/08/discussion-diversity-in-wordpress-events/

  2. Our upcoming events. We could use volunteers and 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.:
  1. Zoom volunteer meeting Feb 23
  1. Diverse Speaker Support channel
  • Team 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 with @kcrockett on Feb 10 @ 6pm-6:30pm ET about the Community Manager role
  • After we have a Community Manager in place, then we are going to start looking for Speaker Mentors, and a Speaker MentorEvent 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. Coordinator.
  1. Asking the team for more feedback on the new Volunteer kit

  2. Open floor
  • @onealtr: Some of us have started discussing with @jillbinder about possibly holding a second meeting that is more APAC friendly. This can have the same agenda and things can be discussed async.
  • @juliarosia: @Devin and I are going to do some thinking in the coming weeks on how we (the collective “we”) might effectively serve as ambassadors of WPDiversity programs at WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event.. If anyone has ideas or suggestions, or wants to participate in these preliminary conversations, please let us know!

End: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1644429708668989

#wpdiversity

Discussion: Diversity in WordPress Events

Edit on February 23, 2022 This post has been translated into the following languages:

Indonesian
Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
Japanese
Portuguese (Brazil)
Nepali
Italian

Recently, there have been questions about diversity at WordPress events, especially WordCamps. The Community team values and prioritizes diversity, as the more diverse our community is, the stronger, more innovative, and more resilient it becomes. 

Increasing diversity in WordPress events is not the responsibility of just one continent, community, event, or team. Everyone can make a difference. Talking about diversity is not new for the WordPress community, but I am particularly glad that to have this conversation at this time. 

For one, because of the pandemic, there are new barriers to participation that may not have been considered. Second, organizers are cautiously restarting in-person events. This is a potentially impactful time to gain a better understanding of what barriers underrepresented community members face, what empowers individuals to participate at WordPress events, and how to support organizers in creating more inclusive spaces.

On top of that, a unique opportunity and simultaneous challenge for global communities like WordPress is how to honor diversity in local areas and cultures AND celebrate the diversity of our global community as a whole. 

To that end, I only have my perspective and experience, and I’m missing information in my current understanding of diversity across our big, global community. So, I’d like to hear from you. 

Open discussion

Over the years, I’ve heard many solutions and suggestions on how to address challenges around diversity, which is awesome! But because the global situation has shifted so much, I would like to hear about your experience with diversity at WordPress WordCamps and 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. first, so that the Community Team has a deeper understanding of where experiences match and where they differ. 

Talking about diversity can be deeply personal, so please do not feel you need to participate if you don’t feel comfortable. You can comment on this post, or if you prefer, I welcome chatting with you directly, and you can DM me in the Making WordPress 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/.

To the extent you feel comfortable, I’d love to hear:

  • What country are you based in?
  • Do you participate in WordCamps or Meetups, and if so, how? (participation can include attending, speaking, sponsoring, or organizing)
  • What prevents you from participating in WordCamps or Meetups?
  • What challenges are you seeing in diversity today?
  • How does your community define diversity?
  • What have you seen or experienced that increased diversity in your community?
  • What have you seen or experienced that decreased diversity in your community?

In sharing our stories, I hope to learn more about you, and that everyone who reads this discussion might learn about someone else’s experience!

Please share your story in the comments below by Monday, February 28, 2022, after which I will close this post for comments with a summary of key takeaways and learnings. Because the goal of this discussion is to learn more about individual experiences with diversity around the world, it is difficult to say what next steps or outcomes of this discussion will be! However, this is an important and helpful step in identifying where the Community team could strengthen the WordPress events program, and will certainly result in future proposals for discussion. 

A note for this post in particular

Please focus comments on sharing your experiences only – I know WordPressers all have excellent and different ideas towards diversity, but that is not what this post is about! That will come later 🙂 

Upcoming #WPDiversity Events: February 2022

Speaker Workshops

Does the thought of speaking at one of our 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. or WordCamps intrigue you? Do you think you don’t know or have anything worth speaking about?

Allyship Program

Cohorts 1 and 2 of the Allyship for WP Event Organizers are officially invited. Other folks are welcome to watch and even join in and are encouraged to join cohort 3 in March (date TBD).

Open Invitation: Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) Volunteers Zoom Call

Want to see if there’s a way you could help out with the #WPDiversity working group?

The Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) is having a Zoom call for the group’s volunteers, and the call is open to all in WordPress who would like to learn more about what we do and who value a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming WordPress community.

February 23, 2022 @ 5pm-6pm UTC #WPDiversity Volunteers Zoom chat

#wpdiversityworkshops

Open Invitation: Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) Volunteers Zoom Call

Curious about what we do? Want to see if there’s a way you could help out with the #WPDiversity working group?

The Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) is having a Zoom call for the group’s volunteers, and the call is open to all in WordPress.

Agenda:

  1. Past: Our impact since launching in 2017
  2. Now: The 3 diversity programs that we are working on now
  3. You: Opportunities for current and new volunteers / contributors
  4. Discussion: Open floor to chat about ideas for our programs, things you are inspired to lead or contribute, etc.

We welcome:

  • All who value a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming WordPress community 
  • All levels of experience
  • All planned levels of involvement – people just there to learn more about these WordPress diversity initiatives, people ready to jump in, and people somewhere in between.

Wednesday, February 23, 2022
5pm-6pm UTC
(12pm-1pm Eastern / 9am-10am Pacific)

Zoom registration: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqce-spjMsHtQiwjK-Q7ZpzPpsGU0MSHdp

#WPDiversity Report: Allyship chat January 2022

January 2022

Allyship Program

In our 3-month Allyship program, we hold support chats in the WordPress 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/. #community-events channel in months 2 and 3. We invite the current and previous cohorts to attend (cohorts 1 and 2).

Allyship for WordPress event organizers AMER/EMEA coaching and accountability Slack chat, January 19, 2022

Month 2 of the three month program.

Facilitators: @alliennimmons @jillbinder

  • Number who attended: 14
  • From number of cities: 13
  • From number of countries: 7 (Bangladesh, Canada, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Philippines, UK, United States)

Thank you

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

Upcoming: February 2022

February 10, 2022 @ 8pm-10pm CEST: Switzerland – Underrepresented Voices: Confidence and Topics for Speaking at WordCamps

February 16, 2022 @ 6pm-7pm UTC: Allyship for WordPress event organizers AMER/EMEA discussion Slack chat on #community-events

February 23, 2022 @ 5pm-6pm UTC: #WPDiversity Volunteers Zoom chat – all in WP are welcome!

February 27: Pacific Northwest – How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events – Even though it will be lead by #WPDiversity, this workshop is open to all.


If you are holding a 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. or a 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. this year, we would like to help you get more great speakers. Please get in touch with @jillbinder on the WordPress Slack and we will arrange #WPDiversity speakers workshop for you.

#diversespeakerworkshopsreports, #wpdiversity

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on January 26, 2022

Attending: @jillbinder, @evarlese, @juliarosia, @katiejrichards, @onealtr, @mysweetcate, @wpfangirl, @patriciabt

Start: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1643216526145700

Summary

  1. Welcome new members

  2. Updates on what you’re working on (Green: On plan. No help needed; Yellow: Not on plan but I have a strategy to get there; Red: Not on plan, no plan to get there, I’m lost!)
  • Katie will be working on Marketing doc next week
  • Oneal is helping out with a number of items including upcoming workshops
  1. Our group zoom meeting in February
  • Likely the 4th Wednesday of February
  • To talk about the bigger picture about what we are doing, chat about creative ideas together for how to make our great new programs happen, and see where the interest lies for helping out
  • We will use it as an opportunity for more volunteer outreach
  1. Recent Allyship for WP Event Orgs coaching & accountability 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
  • It was another lively discussion. Very energizing!
  • We had: 14 attendees from 13 cities in 7 countries attend
  1. Upcoming Allyship & Diverse Speaker workshops in February
  • Wed, Feb 16: Allyship for WP event organizers accountability slack chat
  • Sun, Feb 27, 2022: Community Speaker workshop for Pacific NorthWest
  • Looking at dates for an Americas / Europe workshop in Feb or early March, particularly inviting upcoming WordCamps whose calls for speakers will still be open
  • @patriciabt let us know about the Geneva calls for speakers
  1. Taking a look at the first draft of our new volunteer kit – taking into account suggestions from @oneal and @heyyearl

End: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1643220130228200

#wpdiversity

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on January 12, 2022

Attending: @onealtr, @devinmaeztri, @evarlese, @tantienhime, @wpfangirl, @mysweetcate

Facilitator: @onealtr

Start: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1642006813086500

Summary

1. 2021 celebrations – Our work was mentioned in Matt’s 2021 State of the WordState of the Word This is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/.! Our 2021 recap post: https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/12/14/diverse-speaker-training-group-wpdiversity-2021-year-end-report/

3. Thank you members of our group for filling in 2021 self reviews and anonymous reviews of Jill

4. Upcoming:

– Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers Wed, Jan 19

– Community Speaker workshop for Pacific North West Sun, Feb 27

– Possibility of Diverse speaker workshop earlier in Feb

5. We are thinking of holding a team zoom meeting in place of one of the two February 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/. meetings

6. Translations – Spanish Latin America translations are complete! We are looking for volunteers to help us finish off the final items for Portuguese BR.

7. Open floor

End: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1642010316129600

#wpdiversity

Diverse Speaker Training Group (#WPDiversity) 2021 Year-End Report

Hello everyone! As a follow-up to Matt’s mention of our Diversity work in the State of the WordState of the Word This is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/. yesterday, I wanted to share some data and more detail around our  accomplishments this year.

#WPDiversity Results December 2020-November 2021

In 2021, the Diverse Speaker Training Group (#WPDiversity) expanded from one to three programs: Diverse Speaker program, Allyship program, Diverse Speaker Support program.

Our group and the community held 26 #WPDiversity events this year.

146 participants from at least 66 cities in 16 countries attended these events from December 2020 – November 2021.

People who took at least a portion of our Diverse Speaker workshop reported an increase in self-confidence by 20%.

People who took our Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers workshop reported an increase in preparedness to hold an inclusive event by 52%!

In the Diverse Speaker Support program, as of November 30, 2021, 49 people have joined it so far. 50% (25) of these are people from underrepresented groups who are looking for speaking opportunities at WordPress events.

Testimonials

Testimonial for Diverse Speaker workshop:

“I felt like you were reading my mind on some of these points about what holds us back from speaking. And the brainstorm prompts are all really, really good. I walked away with a ton of ideas and newfound confidence. I’m excited to talk now. This workshop works!”

– Erika Lewis, WordPress Dev, Washington DC

Testimonial for the “Hold Your Own Diverse Speaker workshop” train the trainers:

“I’m excited to replicate the Diverse Speakers workshop in my beloved country, Mexico, and use it to help more women learn the right tools to communicate on stage and in meetings, and be more confident about their skills.”

– Maryl Gonzalez, Co-Founder @ The App Chefs, Guadalajara, Mexico

Testimonial for Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers workshop

“I loved taking the “Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers” workshop along with other organizers and hearing what they’ve done. The checklists in the workbook are helpful in terms of tracking what I have done and what I can still improve. I’d love to see ALL THE ORGANIZERS go through this. This felt like a great complement to other material that WordPress has about not disparaging people; the focus of the Allyship workshop was on how to be actively welcoming.”

– Sallie Goetsch, organizer, East Bay WordPress 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.

Get Involved in 2022

Want to get involved in this inspiring initiative that makes a tangible difference? Comment on this post or pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” @jillbinder on the WordPress 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/. for:

  • Attending an “Allyship for WP Event Organizers” workshop or a “How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events #WPDiversity” (aka Diverse Speaker) workshop
  • Having us hold a “How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events #WPDiversity” workshop to bring in more diverse speaker applications for your Meetup or 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.
  • Being a workshop facilitator
  • Being a workshop mentorEvent 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. or background administrator
  • Being a Translator
  • Joining our #diverse-speaker-support Slack channel (open to those interested in speaking, speaker 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., and event organizers)
  • Joining our Diverse Speaker Group #WPDiversity to help out with things as needed
  • And more!

I will reply to your message in the new year.

Have great holidays, everyone. Let’s make 2022 our best year yet!

#wpdiversityannualreport