Encouraging Women to Participate in Apache Projects

Mailing List Ideas

1. Emphasize ASF Code of Conduct on project websites
2. Contact IT Womens Groups
3. Setup / Define Benchmark measurement
4. Tailor ASF website to handle women landing on various pages / guiding them through specific route & information
5. Start a series of blog positive experience blog posts
6. Start a series of Apachecon presentations themed on encouraging diversity

General Diversity Strategy

What is the overall goal? / Possible Mission Statement

"To make the ASF a culturally diverse and socially representative open source community"

What outcomes do we want?

1. To increase diversity by attracting under-represented groups to the ASF
2. To retain diversity by maintaining a healthy, positive and socially dynamic environment where all groups feel welcome
3. To actively monitor diversity within the ASF and if necessary apply strategies to encourage and attract under-represented groups

What does diversity mean?

Diversity in gender? Ethnicity? Age? What else?

Main two are gender and ethnicity.

Outcome 1: To increase diversity by attracting under-represented groups to the ASF

How do we achieve this outcome? / What can we put in place to deliver this?

• We need a definition of what diversity means to the ASF. (Initial suggestion could be just Ethnicity and Gender)
• We need to know how much diversity we currently have. (If we are using ethnicity and gender then we need to benchmark what levels of ethnicity and gender we currently have)
• We need to set some diversity goals based on what diversity level the ASF want to achieve  (e.g we would like to have x% of xyz group by ????)
• We need to identify the under-represented groups. (We suspect women are under-represented in the ASF, what about ethnicities? Wont know until we have some real data of what we already have)
• We need to talk to organisations already working with under-represented groups to get any resources or recommendations
• We need to look at options for partnering with organisations already working with under-represented groups to be able to communicate the ASF message
• We need to find out what communication mechanisms will attract a particular under-represented group to the ASF (this could be a general point for everyone but then tailored for each group...)
• We need to find out how to can make the ASF more welcoming to under-represented groups (to anyone?....)
• We need to set a KPI to measure the increase in diversity from an initial benchmark

Outcome 2: To retain diversity by maintaining a healthy, positive and socially dynamic environment where all groups feel welcome

How do we achieve this outcome? What can we put in place to deliver this?

• We need to know how much diversity we currently have. (If we are using ethnicity and gender then we need to benchmark what levels of ethnicity and gender we currently have)
• We need to find out what the elements are that make under-represented groups stay in a community or the ASF (e.g what may be important to one group may not be as important to another...)
• We need to find out what the elements make under-represented groups leave a community or the ASF
• We need to actively communicate our diversity and acceptance of it across the ASF
• We need to set a KPI to measure the retention of diversity from an initial benchmark

Outcome 3: To actively monitor diversity within the ASF and if necessary apply strategies to encourage and attract under-represented groups

How do we achieve this outcome? What can we put in place to deliver this?

• We need to know how much diversity we currently have. (If we are using ethnicity and gender then we need to benchmark what levels of ethnicity and gender we currently have)
• We need to decide on what level to monitor (Will the Board, Members, Committers, PMCs and Individual projects be happy to have their diversity figures public? Maybe look at all projects consolidated?)
• We need to create a repeatable template to capture the information (Anonymous ?)
• We need to define a process for collecting the information within a fixed timespan
• We need to collate the collected information and publish it (Perhaps could include it as part of annual reports?)

Next Steps

Benchmark what the ASF diversity level of ethnicity and gender are now

1. Easiest stats to get could be survey of gender and ethnicity of ASF Board, ASF Members, PMCs and Committers. (Not sure how representative they will be of the entire ASF population but it will be a start and it will be concrete figures)
2. Harder stats to get wil be surveys of the whole ASF population.  Could maybe be handled by anonymous surveys of individual projects. Project level because containable and easier communication group. Easier to communicate on a mailing list to a specific project than trying to communicate to all projects and all contributors at the same time. Lessons learned from initial projects can help revise and refine methodology for others

Design Diversity Survey Template

Stakeholder Analysis

Create a Communication and Engagement Plan for working with under-represented groups (e.g women) which will include activities such as

1. Partnering with groups
2. Being present at events
3. Presenting / Doing Talks about Apache
4. Communicating the them about the ASF programmes that could help

Define a detailed plan for internal communication within ASF about the Diversity initiative

1. Existing communities may also have ideas and contacts
2. Promotion of plan and prepare existing communities for diversity surveys - so it will be expected
3. Internal blog / communications about diversity plan updates (what is happening, where and when)