#include

A diversity group for C++ developers.

This started as a play on words, but it seems to have caught on with a few members of the community. Diversity has concerned me for a while now, and I originally considered under-representation of women and ethnic minorities in the development industry. A slack group was created and I realised that there is more to it than that: who we think our clients are is also an issue, and is how we categorise our unconscious biases.

I'm a software developer, not a politician, nor a diversity specialist or academic, so I need some help here. If such a group that concerns itself with these matters is going to exist, it needs to have a charter: a purpose, expectations and so on. Here are some items to start with. I'm open for pull requests: bear in mind that, as I said, I'm a working developer, so don't expect speedy turnaround.

1. Software development is a problem-solving discipline, the pursuit of which is not suited towards any particular categorisation of people, demanding only intellectual acuity, rigour and stamina.
2. Lack of diversity diminishes the discipline by reducing the pool of talent available to solve pressing software development problems.
3. Lack of awareness of diversity diminishes the discipline by considering only a small portion of potential users in the solution domain.
4. The appeal of software development, and the horizons of existing developers, must be broadened, such that ALL may be included in the talent pool and ALL may be included in the user domain.

As you can see, it's a work in progress. All help welcomed by me and, ultimately, the rest of the discipline.

Useful resources

• Managing unconscious bias -- Facebook
  • A series of videos on recognising unconscious biases which you have and suggestions on how to counter them.
  • Split into multiple sections:
    • Series introduction
    • First impressions -- if you aren't sure about watching the series, watch this one; it will get you thinking about your own biases which you may not have thought about before.
    • Stereotypes and performance bias
    • Performance attribution bias
    • Competence/Likeability tradeoff bias
    • Maternal bias
    • Business case for diversity and inclusion
  • The content is very well presented and the videos can be watched independently of one another.
• eLesson: Unconscious Bias -- Microsoft
  • More of a corporate approach, which may be boring for some engineers, but there's some good content.
  • This is mostly focused on meetings rather than the many other forms of collaboration which we use.
  • If you are a manager then this is probably a better option than the Facebook one.
• Implicit social attitude tests -- Harvard
  • A collection of tests which can help you identify unconscious biases.
  • Doing even one of these is very valuable, and the results can be surprising.

Other organisations

• CAS #include - computer science for all
  • An organisation focused on increasing diversity in computer science.
  • Primarily focused on students.
  • US based
• Women in HPC
  • Aims to educate and collaborate with the high-performance computing community.
  • Provides knowledge, fellowship, and support to women and the organisations that employ them.
  • US based
• Girl Develop It
  • Aims to provide affordable and judgement-free opportunities for women interested in learning web and software development.
  • US based
• Women Techmakers
  • A program run by Google to provide visibility, community and resources for women in technology.
  • US based
• Black Girls Code
  • Aims to increase the number of women of colour in the digital space by empowering girls from 7 to 17.
  • US based
• C4Q
  • A program for teaching coding and professional skills to adults from diverse and low-income backgrounds
  • US based
• Code2040
  • An organisation that creates access, awareness, and opportunities for top Black and Latinx engineering talent to ensure their leadership in the innovation economy.
  • US based
• Project Include
  • Uses data and advocacy to accelerate diversity and inclusion solutions in the tech industry.
  • US based
• Mother Coders
  • Helps women with kids gain the skills, knowledge, and connections they need to succeed in tech.
  • US based
• /dev/color
  • Runs a program to help black software engineers grow into industry leaders.
  • US based
• Moms Can: Code
  • Supports moms interested in learning how to code by offering opportunities to connect with other moms, learning resources, and real life inspiration.
  • US based
• Tech While Black
  • A professional network for black people in technology.
  • US based
• CallbackWomen
  • Helps conference organisers to diversify the speakers at their conference.
  • US based
• Out in Tech
  • Runs events in aid of uniting the LGBTQ+ tech community.
  • Worldwide
• Lesbians who Tech
  • A community of queer women and allies in or around tech.
  • Worldwide
• ChickTech
  • Provides resources and community for women in technology, as well as K-12 programs for students
  • US based
• Ada Developers Academy
  • Seattle-based tuition-free program (classes + paid internship) for women and gender diverse people who want to become software developers
• Code Club International
  • A worldwide network of volunteer-led coding clubs for children aged 9-13
• Code.org
  • A non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities
  • Worldwide
• AnitaB.org
  • A social enterprise that supports women in technical fields, as well as the organizations that employ them and the academic institutions training the next generation.`
  • Worldwide

Resources for community organizers

Meetup.com

The Meetup.com community guidelines, which apply for group members.

• Meetup community guidelines

Codes of Conduct for user groups and conferences

• Berlin Code of Conduct - available in 6 languages, in use for C++ several groups and conferences.
• Citizen Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct for online communities

There are various CoC for online communities available, for example the CppLang Slack Code of Conduct.

• CppLang Slack Code of Conduct

Additional tips for community organizers

• Some ideas from @SalFreudenberg how to make a meetup more accessible for women