Help Fedora find a Diversity Advisor
<http://fedoramagazine.org/help-fedora-find-a-diversity-advisor/>
Increased diversity is crucial to the future of open source. A range of
contributors from varying backgrounds brings broader experience to the
table, which makes for healthier projects — and ultimately better
software. To make Fedora a more diverse community, the Fedora Council
(our new governance and leadership body) has an open position for a
Diversity Advisor, and we need your help to find the perfect person for
this role.
What does a Diversity Advisor do?
---------------------------------
The Fedora Diversity Advisor will lead initiatives to assess and
promote equality and inclusion within the Fedora contributor and user
communities, and will develop project strategy on diversity issues. The
Diversity Advisor will also be the point of contact for Fedora’s
participation in third-party outreach programs and events.
What’s happening now?
---------------------
We’re forming a search committee to find the most awesome and
incredible human being for the job — and this message is the invitation
to join that committee.
In earlier conversations, we’ve talked about the various benefits of
asking someone within the project to fill the role vs. inviting someone
from the outside, with experience in open source and communities but
not necessarily deeply with Fedora. There clearly are benefits and
disadvantages either way, and we’re open to either one. We’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 project back the choice (and, indeed, were
part of making it); and if we choose someone from within Fedora, that
we also have the benefit of outside perspective in doing so.
How can I help?
---------------
If you’re interested in helping with the search, please email me at
<mattdm(a)fedoraproject.org> with answers to the following questions
(and/or anything else you’d like to say). I’ll share responses
confidentially with other members of the Fedora Council, and we’ll form
the committee from there.
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? 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 three people who can speak to your passion,
interest, or experience with diversity and inclusion.
Please send responses by March 31st, 2015, so we can get the search
underway. We will leave actual details of how the search will work up
to the searchers. It may end up that someone with interest in being on
the search team will also be the best candidate; the Council doesn’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 we also don’t want to raise barriers by making that
an initial obligation.
Note that the Diversity Advisor currently an unpaid, volunteer
position. I personally hope we can change that in the future, but we
also wanted to take the steps we can *now* to make progress. This is
not a token role; it carries full participation in Council consensus
for any and all project issues relevant to diversity.
Please share!
-------------
Please share this invitation with anyone you think might be interested,
both within Fedora and outside of Fedora in relevant communities. Thank
you!
--
Matthew Miller
<mattdm(a)fedoraproject.org>
Fedora Project Leader