apophenia: SXSW, why i attended and marginalized populations.
Good Points, well stated:
Thanks Dave (white male) for the link."It's socially and culturally not an equal playing field. You can't build a meritocracy on top of that and one doesn't exist. There are biases at every level. And if you want diversity, you need to actively go after it. Conference organizers - reach out to the women and people of color you know and ask them to brainstorm with you. Actively invite marginalized groups who you know are doing great stuff (or get your friends who are women, POC to do so). Make sure you have diversity on your board. Put together identity-driven BOFs. Invite diverse groups to the low-key events where they're underrepresented so that they can meet and greet (because not all get-togethers are conferences). Do *NOT* expect them to come to you. When you do so, you perpetuate hegemonic forces - you become part of the problem. Meritocracy doesn't emerge by just pretending it exists and without equal grounding, it is not possible."