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Speakers & Keynotes

The most common question event organizers ask is "how can we get more diverse speakers?"

The answer:

Do the work.

DO:

Outreach

  • Research groups in your area to reach out to.
  • Considering hiring someone experienced in this area to help with outreach.

Set Goals

  • Set aside a specific number or percent of your sessions for speakers who identify with underrepresented groups.

Gather Data

  • Make sure that you are gathering attendee/speaker demographic data. This allows you to track your goals. A great resource for demographic info is Open Demographics.

DO NOT:

Expect others to do the work for you.

Event organizers often depend on diversity-related organizations to do the work. Making your camp diverse and inclusive is your job. It is especially not the job of underrepresented folks.

Skip the work and wonder why nothing happened.

Again, do the work. Making an event genuinely diverse and inclusive is difficult. It will not happen in one iteration of your event. It may take several years to reach your goal.

Get discouraged.

You may do a lot of work, and it may not do what you'd hoped. You may get a great result one year, and the next year, not make any progress. Don't give up. Don't take it personally. Hold some retrospective meetings and move forward.