“There are lots of stories to be told, and they all deserve to be heard. That is why we have WordCamps,” said Francesca Marano, Community Manager at SiteGround and former WCEU organiser.

WordCamp Europe 2018 is committed to providing a platform that supports diversity in tech because everyone deserves a voice. Diversity is an advantage and our differences make us stronger when we can learn from one another.

We encourage people from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply to share their experiences, knowledge and personal stories through talks and workshops.

Women in WordPress

ISACA’s 2017 women in technology survey found that the top two barriers experienced by women in tech were a lack of mentors and lack of female role models. 9/10 women in the study were concerned about the number of women in tech.

“Companies with more diversity have shown to have financial returns above their industry median,” said Tracy Levesque, co-owner and co-founder of YIKES and WCUS 2017 speaker, “There is something wrong when the demographics of tech companies are so different from the reality of the general population. That shows there is a history of bias in the tech world and that needs to change.”

Is the tech world still a man’s world? The WordPress community says no. We want to shine a light on female role models in the tech industry, so as part of our ambition to create a more inclusive and diverse event, we encourage women in WordPress to apply to speak or apply to lead a workshop at WCEU 2018.

Speaking at WCEU is an opportunity for women and other under-represented groups in the tech industry and WordPress community to have their voices heard.

Tracy went on to say: “We have a real power here to set a tone of inclusivity in the WordPress community because we organize and run so many conferences. We need to strive for speaker lineups reflecting the demographics of the general population. This includes gender orientation, race & ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability and age diversity.”

Creating inclusive events

“In the tech industry, diversity is an issue,” said Jenny Wong, former WordCamp London lead organiser and Human Made team member, who presented on diversity at WCEU 2017.

“As an organiser of tech events, diversity is important to me,” Jenny said, “But diversity puts the emphasis on the minority. Instead of looking at diversity, we looked at inclusivity. We made it easy for people. It meant that the minorities became the majority.”

WordPress is well known for being as focused on people as it is on technology. There are welcoming WordPress communities all over the world, from small and emerging meetups to the largest WordCamps.

Inclusivity is a priority for WCEU, as mentioned in our code of conduct: “WordCamp Europe believes our community should be truly open for everyone. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all.”

John Maeda, Head of Computational Design & Inclusion at Automattic, said that after speaking at WCEU 2017, he was “struck by the International nature of WCEU and the strong spirit of inclusivity as represented in the program and in the event’s leadership.”

By creating an inclusive event, we are ensuring we provide an environment that gives confidence to attendees, speakers, organisers and volunteers that they are welcome, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity or religion.

Global exchange of ideas

With a diverse and inclusive event, everyone benefits from shared knowledge, experiences and ways of thinking.

“We’re all caught up in our preconceived notions, biases, cultures,” said Caspar Hübinger, WCEU 2017 speaker and support agent at WP Media, “It often takes somebody coming in from a different part of the planet, from a different mindset, industry, community, or whatever background to crack open our comfort zones and ignite new views and ideas.”

“Not only does WordPress help to democratize publishing,” said Thabo Tswana, freelance web designer and WCEU 2017 speaker, “but as a humanitarian side-effect, it brings people together of different nationalities, religions and backgrounds. We all have stories to tell and perspectives to be heard, which help us to make WordPress better for everyone.”

At WCEU 2017, Thabo shared the story of how he started a WordPress community in Harare, Zimbabwe, with the help of the Foundation’s Incubator Program. After meeting Thabo, Caspar went on to speak at WordCamp Harare to continue the global exchange of ideas that gave him so much inspiration.

“I came back as a different person,” said Caspar: “My views on our community, on my day-to-day job as a support agent, on building websites in general has changed dramatically, and I owe that to Thabo.”

Encouraging diversity also encourages originality, and all of our attendees will benefit from an atmosphere where people from different walks of life can collaborate and learn from each other.

Jenny Beaumont, Global Team Lead of WordCamp Europe and Senior Project Manager at Human Made said: “Setting the bar high on diversity is not only about representation to me. As an organiser I’m not satisfied by statistics or content when we can tip the numbers toward parity no matter the scale. Diversity is important because our conferences, these WordCamps, are a reflection of our whole community. They are a showcase of sorts, a slice of the pie, and as community members coming together to learn, share, connect and be inspired, we need to feel that we have not only a place, but a voice. We all need that opportunity to be seen and to be heard.”

Sonja Leix, Content Team Lead of WordCamp Europe and Independent Digital Strategist said: “WordPress is about people. The people behind making the software, those who use it, and all of us who are part of our thriving and global community. The fact is, we are a diverse community and WordCamp Europe embraces that by creating an inclusive event. As event organizers, we provide the stage and we want you to share your unique voice!”

To share your knowledge, personal story and expertise at WordCamp Europe, apply to speak or apply to host a workshop before the deadline on 15 January 2018.