A WordPress Dinner Party  ## Metadata - Author: [[Shedding Light | not heat]] - Full Title: A WordPress Dinner Party - Category: #articles - Document Note: # Title: Celebrating Diversity in the World of WordPress --- tags: #WordPress #Diversity #Inclusion Author: Josepha Haden Chomphosy Source: Website Reference: N/A --- ## Table of Contents: - Summary - Main Content - Notes - References - Paraphrase - Hypotheses - Methodology - Questions - Future Research - Implications - Logical Validity - Conclusion ## Index Creation: - Diversity - Inclusion - Community - Open Source - WordPress ## 📝 Summary: The post delves into the journey of the author through the world of WordPress, focusing on diversity, representation, and inclusivity within the tech field. It highlights the importance of being proactive in making the space more inviting for individuals from different backgrounds. ## 📖 Main Content: The author shares their experience of initially feeling like they didn't belong in the tech community despite being a part of it. This led to self-doubt about their place at the table. They begin to ask questions, seek mentorship, and make incremental changes to encourage diversity and inclusion. The efforts paid off in the form of an all-women release team for WordPress 5.6 in 2020, showcasing the power of unity and support in the community. ### 🗒️ Notes: - Author led the first all-women and non-binary release team in WordPress. - Advocated for diversity and inclusivity in tech. - Encountered self-doubt despite being part of the community. - Invited community members to make small changes with tangible impacts. - Shared hopes for an all-women release, which materialized in WordPress 5.6. - Emphasized the collective efforts of contributors in achieving milestones. ## 📖 References: N/A ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. The author recounts their struggles with belonging in tech and how incremental changes led to transformative outcomes in the community. 2. Despite imperfections, the author expresses unwavering belief in the value of fostering diversity in open-source projects. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - Future studies may explore the long-term impact of diverse representation on project success. - Research could investigate mentorship programs' efficacy in supporting underrepresented individuals in tech. ### 📊 Methodology: - Conduct surveys or interviews to gather feedback on the impact of inclusion initiatives. - Analyze team dynamics to understand the collaborative benefits of diverse teams in tech projects. ### ❓ Questions: - How can open-source communities better support contributors from marginalized groups? - What role does mentorship play in fostering inclusivity within tech projects? ### 🔮 Future Research: Potential research areas include exploring the influence of diverse teams on innovation and productivity in tech environments. ### 💡 Implications: Advancing diversity and inclusion in tech communities can enhance creativity, problem-solving, and project outcomes, benefiting both individuals and organizations. ### ✅ Logical validity: The arguments presented are coherent and underscore the transformative power of inclusive practices in the tech industry. ## 🎯 Conclusion: The article underscores the importance of creating welcoming spaces in tech for individuals from all backgrounds, emphasizing the collective impact of inclusive practices in achieving shared goals. - Document Tags: [[belonging]] [[community management]] [[deib]] [[wordpress]] - Summary: In this article, the author reflects on their experience as a contributor to WordPress and their efforts to encourage diversity in the tech industry. They initially felt unsure of their place at the table and questioned their ability to inspire others. However, they began asking questions and making small changes to create a more inclusive environment. These changes led to the formation of an all-women release team for WordPress 5.6. The author acknowledges that they may not have done everything right, but believes the effort was worth it and hopes it has a lasting impact on the community. - URL: https://josepha.blog/2020/12/23/a-wordpress-dinner-party/ At the top of 2020, I observed my fifth anniversary of being a sponsored contributor to WordPress, and am proud to say I led the first all-women and non-binary release team in our project’s history. When I applied for the position I was an advocate for diversity in technology, and I hoped this was a chance to make my time more impactful. I came to the work without any preconceptions of what open source was or should be. I didn’t even have a strong concept of the “best ways” to increase diversity. I just had my experience, my self-taught notions of leadership, and a desire to bring people together toward something bigger. During my first year I met so many people, but especially sought out other women and people of color. WordPress had always seemed to be an oasis of welcoming in a field that is known to be the opposite, and I wanted to compare my experience with others like me. I felt that I had found a community with the contributors I met, that we had common ground. And in 2017, I had this startling moment of doubt. #### **Chairs at the Table** I responded to a hashtag on twitter (#WITBragDay) this way: > I don’t know if I count as “in tech” but I fight for and inspire women to be in tech. > > Amid the support from fellow contributors, I got a message asking why I thought I **didn’t** count. And I had too many answers. * I’m non-technical (in an OSS project). * I’m a woman (in a male-dominated field). * I’m a person of color. * I “just work with people”. * And countless more. Which led right to the question: “Why do you want to inspire other women to be in tech… if you feel like you don’t belong in tech?” I assumed I was alone in feeling like I didn’t have a place at the table. I assumed that everyone else knew their value, and skills, and could advocate for themselves once they arrived. And my role was just to make sure we had enough places for people to be. But when I’m leading others, I always encourage people to ask their questions publicly, because you never know who else is too shy to ask the same question. So I started asking questions. #### Place Settings at the Table I asked my mentors about their early experiences of WordPress contribution. I asked rising contributors when they felt they’d had their first success. I asked long standing contributors about their journey. And I asked people who stopped contributing what led to that decision. I approached this problem like any project I plan: by getting all the info in one place, looking for risks, and making plans to avoid risks. So I asked people to start making small changes with me. Little process tweaks in one team, a borrowed welcome wagon concept from another. Nothing major, just being a tiny bit more proactive with our [burden of proof](https://josepha.blog/2018/11/06/the-burden-of-proof/) so that when diverse voices joined us, they knew they belonged and had some idea of where to go. And contributors took these little changes, modifying them to fit their teams like any good open source community would do. #### More Tables and Chairs and Settings The community kept building on those changes and kept inviting others to join in. Small training cohorts were attempted. There were people who loved documentation (lowering barriers to entry); people who loved mentoring (helping others find their way); and people who just wanted to help any way they could. Then late in 2019, I shared that I hoped for an all-women release by the end of 2020. It honestly made me nervous. We aren’t perfect, and there were so many things that I thought were missing. But there were also so many people who wanted to participate, from brand new contributors to OG developers. So we did it. And the release team for [WordPress 5.6](https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/simone/) was massive. Not because I wanted volume, or because I was playing to the numbers, but because I had observed that our community enjoys learning shoulder to shoulder. Learning by watching, then doing, then trying again when we fail is a key part of how open source works, so it’s a key part of how I wanted to be able to introduce this team to the work. #### A Great Dinner Party? Did I do everything right? Definitely not. Would I do it again? Maybe. Was it worth it? Without hesitation, absolutely. The latest release of WordPress, while a massive undertaking, was the culmination of years of work by hundreds of contributors. Not all of them knew that their contributions would lead to this, and certainly not all of the release team know about the work that came before them. But isn’t that the beauty of open source in the end? That we benefit infinitely from the work of everyone who came before us, yet can still find ways to bring new benefits for those who come after us? And if this long labor of love encourages even 10% of the release team to return, I will consider it a truly great dinner party. 🙂 *This [post originally appeared on 24 Days in December](https://24daysindecember.net/2020/12/14/a-wordpress-dinner-party/), which hosts a series of reflections from PHP and open source community members.*, A WordPress Dinner Party, Shedding Light | not heat, 01hays1g79hygnx0jts5m8rrqb.