Hi everyone! One of the open positions on the Fedora Council is the Diversity Advisor, which we've defined like this:
Fedora's Diversity Advisor works on initiatives to assess and promote equality and inclusion within the Fedora contributor and user communities, and helps develop project strategy on diversity issues. Additionally, the Diversity Advisor administers and is the point of contact for Fedora's participation in third-party outreach programs and events.
This position is appointed by the Fedora Project Leader, with the approval of the Council.
The selection process is left undefined. My plan is to form a search committee to help find the best person for the job.
In earlier discussion (online and at Flock), we've talked about the various benefits of asking someone within the project vs. someone more from the outside, with experience in open source and communities but not necessarily deeply with Fedora. I think there clearly _are_ benefits and disadvantages either way, and I'm open to either one. I'd like the search committee to include both perspectives (as well as of course different backgrounds and expertise with minority groups). That way, if we choose someone external, we can feel confident that people with a longer history within the process back the choice (and, indeed, were part of making it); and if we choose someone from within the project, that we also have the benefit of outside perspective in doing so.
I spoke with Jamie Williams, who works on diversity within Red Hat, and she shared a simple application they used to help form an internal diversity group; I've adapted that for this search committee.
1) Why do you believe diversity and inclusion are important for Fedora, and why do you want to join the search team for Fedora's Diversity Advisor?
2) What specific minority group(s) or issues can you offer insight about or speak on behalf of? What perspectives, experiences, or knowledge about diversity and inclusion could you share as a member of the search team?
3) To give us further insight, feel free to provide names and contact information for up to 3 people who can speak to your passion, interest, or experience with diversity and inclusion.
My plan is to ask people to send these to me directly, and I will share them confidentially with the current members of the Council, and we'll form the committee from there. I'll publicize this within Fedora, and also ask people with connections outside the project to help spread the word and to directly invite people who they think would be good. Actual details of how the search will work, we will leave up to the searchers.
Does this plan sound good to everyone? Anything you'd do differently?
(Note that the Diversity Advisor currently an unpaid, volunteer position. I personally hope we can change that in the future.)
Also, it may end up that someone with interest in being on the search team will also be the best candidate; I don't see that as a problem. And, it may be that the committee will want to continue to exist after the search, in an advisory role or as part of an action team. But I also don't want to raise barriers by making that an initial obligation.
On Fri, Mar 6, 2015 at 12:46 PM, Matthew Miller mattdm@fedoraproject.org wrote:
Hi everyone! One of the open positions on the Fedora Council is the Diversity Advisor, which we've defined like this:
Fedora's Diversity Advisor works on initiatives to assess and promote equality and inclusion within the Fedora contributor and user communities, and helps develop project strategy on diversity issues. Additionally, the Diversity Advisor administers and is the point of contact for Fedora's participation in third-party outreach programs and events.
This position is appointed by the Fedora Project Leader, with the approval of the Council.
The selection process is left undefined. My plan is to form a search committee to help find the best person for the job.
In earlier discussion (online and at Flock), we've talked about the various benefits of asking someone within the project vs. someone more from the outside, with experience in open source and communities but not necessarily deeply with Fedora. I think there clearly _are_ benefits and disadvantages either way, and I'm open to either one. I'd like the search committee to include both perspectives (as well as of course different backgrounds and expertise with minority groups). That way, if we choose someone external, we can feel confident that people with a longer history within the process back the choice (and, indeed, were part of making it); and if we choose someone from within the project, that we also have the benefit of outside perspective in doing so.
I spoke with Jamie Williams, who works on diversity within Red Hat, and she shared a simple application they used to help form an internal diversity group; I've adapted that for this search committee.
Why do you believe diversity and inclusion are important for Fedora, and why do you want to join the search team for Fedora's Diversity Advisor?
What specific minority group(s) or issues can you offer insight about or speak on behalf of? What perspectives, experiences, or knowledge about diversity and inclusion could you share as a member of the search team?
To give us further insight, feel free to provide names and contact information for up to 3 people who can speak to your passion, interest, or experience with diversity and inclusion.
My plan is to ask people to send these to me directly, and I will share them confidentially with the current members of the Council, and we'll form the committee from there. I'll publicize this within Fedora, and also ask people with connections outside the project to help spread the word and to directly invite people who they think would be good. Actual details of how the search will work, we will leave up to the searchers.
Does this plan sound good to everyone? Anything you'd do differently?
This sounds like a great start.
(Note that the Diversity Advisor currently an unpaid, volunteer position. I personally hope we can change that in the future.)
Also, it may end up that someone with interest in being on the search team will also be the best candidate; I don't see that as a problem. And, it may be that the committee will want to continue to exist after the search, in an advisory role or as part of an action team. But I also don't want to raise barriers by making that an initial obligation.
Agreed.
josh
council-discuss@lists.fedoraproject.org