Representation at WordCamp Europe
Each year we aim to deliver an unforgettable WordCamp Europe, improving wherever we can to create the best possible event for attendees. This year we wanted to better reflect the diversity of people from the WordPress community and beyond.
Our calls for talks and workshops were open for about 10 weeks. When December 2018 rolled around, we looked at the breakdown of submissions and discovered that more work needed to be done.
We took action! We reached out, used transparency, and communicated our intention to improve equality on stage by:
- encouraging more people to apply to speak, including those who identify with an underrepresented group
- inviting recommendations from our community on who they thought deserved a spot on stage
- explaining that we want to deliver a range of speakers, and needed more diverse submissions to ensure that
- sharing details about the submission and selection process
- welcoming applicants to ask us anything related to speaking at WCEU so we could provide clarity and advice.
Applicants
What happened? The community answered our call, and we received a record-breaking number of submissions and applicants.
Submissions for WCEU 2019:
Talk submissions for WCEU 2019
453
Applicants for WCEU 2019
267
Compared with submissions for WCEU 2018:
Talk submissions for WCEU 2018
374
Applicants for WCEU 2018
215
One outcome was the number of applications increased from women or people who identify outside of gender binaries and are often disproportionately underrepresented in tech. We plan to continue encouraging a balanced representation of speakers on stage in future years.
Applicants for WCEU 2019:
Total applicants this year
267
Female applicants for WCEU 2019
34%
Male applicants for WCEU 2019
65%
Applicants from people who identify outside of the gender binary for WCEU 2019
1%
Compared with applicants for WCEU 2018:
Total applicants for WCEU 2018
215
Female applicants for WCEU 2018
23.7%
Male applicants for WCEU 2018
76.3%
There was better gender diversity, but there’s more work to be done. We want balanced speaker line-ups to become the norm for all tech events.
Our efforts also resulted in greater geographic diversity, which is critically important for the global WordPress project. This year, people from 48 countries applied to speak at WordCamp Europe.
Selected speakers
As we hoped, the increased diversity of applicants and submissions led directly to a diverse speaker and topic list. This year, we have near parity between female and male speakers.
Female speakers at WCEU 2019
43.4%
Male speakers at WCEU 2019
56.6%
When it comes to geographic representation, we really begin to see the reach of the WordPress community.
Our selected speakers reside in 22 countries worldwide, spread across continents and regions including Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Speakers from Europe
64%
The majority of our speakers live in Europe: 64%.
View the full list of speakers.
Sessions
When attendees were asked what they liked about WCEU 2018, workshops topped the list of things they wanted us to continue. We received a healthy number of workshop applications this year and included 15 in our schedule.
Panel discussions are making a comeback this year, and in the schedule we included a mixture of traditional 30-minute talks with 10 minutes of Q&A, as well as shorter lightning talks.
To accommodate the varied selection of talk and workshop submissions, we’ve introduced Track 3. Read through the full list of sessions or browse through our schedule.
Breaking down sessions by the numbers
Session submissions:
Talks
320
Lightning talks
72
Workshops (90 mins)
40
Workshops (3 hours)
23
Submitted topics:
Business
110
Community
65
Content
41
Design
26
Development
142
Other
69
Selected sessions:
Talks
32
Lightning talks
12
Workshops (90 mins)
9
Workshops (3 hours)
6
Panel discussions
2
Selected topics:
Business
14
Community
6
Content
10
Design
7
Development
18
Other
2
Contributor Day
The number of attendees electing to participate at WordCamp Europe’s Contributor Day has been growing year on year, with more than 500 contributors in both 2017 and 2018.
Contributor Day takes place on 20 June 2019. Attendance is free, but separate registration is required. Note: All places at Contributor Day are now filled.
To improve clarity about Contributor Day, we opened an “Ask me anything” option with hopes of demystifying Contributor Day at WCEU and all WordCamps. Read our Contributor Day Q&A Part 1 and Contributor Day Q&A Part 2.
Questions answered about Contributor Day so far: 10
Definitions in the Contributor Day Glossary: 6
What to expect at WCEU
3000+
Tickets sold
- Who’s coming? 2300+ tickets sold so far
- Official WCEU photos: 1500+ snaps on average
- Our space at the venue: 13,000m² of 25,000m² at the Estrel Congress Center