[MOVED TO DISCOURSE] Fedora Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Team - https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/tag/dei
June 2019
diversity@lists.fedoraproject.org
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[fedora-d&i] Fwd: Diversity Deep Dive: Why train multiple Code of Conduct enforcers?
by Justin W. Flory
I thought this was a blog post worth sharing. This comes from Otter
Tech, a firm that provides diversity and inclusion consulting (with
specific experience working in open source communities).
A blog post format of the forwarded email is here:
https://otter.technology/blog/2019/05/23/why-train-multiple-code-of-condu...
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Diversity Deep Dive: Why train multiple Code of Conduct enforcers?
Date: Thu, 23 May 2019 14:00:53 +0000
From: Otter Tech <sharp(a)otter.technology>
Diversity Deep Dive: Why train multiple Code of Conduct enforcers?
Why train multiple Code of Conduct enforcers?
CC-BY WOCinTech Chat
When an community decides to adopt a Code of Conduct, one of the first
things they should ask is “Who will enforce this Code of Conduct?”
For most events and online communities, enforcement falls to one person.
Typically the person is an event organizer, or a leader in the online
community. It’s someone who cares deeply about making the event or
community a welcoming place. They want to do things “right” but aren’t
sure whether they need to have more people involved.
It’s important that every event or online community, no matter how
small, has at least two people who enforce a Code of Conduct. Here’s why.
Conflicting Roles
When you’re an event organizer, you rarely get to enjoy your own event.
Most of your time is spent helping others, ensuring the event stays on
track, and dealing with last minute fires.
It can be hard if you’re an event organizer and you’re the only point of
contact for people to make a Code of Conduct report. You’re running from
place to place, talking quickly to other people, and you look… busy.
Someone who wants to make a Code of Conduct report may decide that they
don’t want to bother you.
It can be helpful to have two event volunteers whose only job is to take
Code of Conduct reports. You can have one incident responder available
in a fixed location, while the second incident responder walks around
event space, ready to take a report on the spot.
Conflicts of interest
If you’re involved in Code of Conduct enforcement in an online
community, it’s typically because you care deeply about the community.
You want to make the community a welcoming place. You probably know a
lot of the community members.
Unfortunately, it can cause problems if you’re a leader of an online
community and you’re the only person enforcing the community Code of
Conduct. If one of your long-time friends in the community were
reported, you would be biased towards them when you evaluate the report.
If your online community includes your clients or co-workers, you also
have a bias towards them.
Having two to three people involved in online community Code of Conduct
enforcement allows the committee to address conflicts of interest. If
one committee member has a platonic, romantic, or employment
relationship with a reported person, there are two other people who can
evaluate and follow up on the report.
Bias
Whether you run an event or an online community, you shouldn’t have only
one person who evaluates Code of Conduct reports. Why? Because that one
person has a specific life experience.
The one person in charge of the Code of Conduct may not have experienced
discrimination based on race, gender identity, or disability. They may
face marginalization because of one part of their identity, but have
privilege in other parts of their life. It can be hard for them to
understand the impact of harassment or microaggressions if they’ve never
experienced that type of discrimination before.
Having multiple committee members evaluate a Code of Conduct report
means everyone can contribute their lived experience. Having a diverse
set of people enforcing a Code of Conduct is key to making a welcoming
community for all people.
Train Enforcers
Whether you have one, two, or ten people taking Code of Conduct reports,
it’s important to train them!
Otter Tech provides online training for Code of Conduct enforcement. Our
Incident Response workshop teaches people how to take a Code of Conduct
report, how to evaluate a report, and how to follow up with a reported
person. If you’re adding a new Code of Conduct committee member, now is
the time to get them trained.
*Attend our next online Code of Conduct Incident Response workshop on
either **June 19* or **July 17*.
**Purchase a ticket today!*
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