4 ms·

If someone is in the minority, it's totally reasonable to ask, "could their minority status be a factor in their disenfranchisement?" Then you look at the data

If someone is in the minority, it's totally reasonable to ask, "could their minority status be a factor in their disenfranchisement?" Then you look at the data, and in this case come to the conclusion, "no, it was not a factor." That seems healthy and normal, it's not outrage bait to acknowledge that yes, sometimes minorities are at a disadvantage or are under represented. It's just as fallacious to say "of course race was a factor" as it is to say "of course race was not a factor". Much better to ask openly, evaluate the data, and make an informed conclusion.

nomel 3y ago
> sometimes minorities are at a disadvantage or are under represented What does “under represented” mean, in a small, hopefully merit based, org?
- gishbunker 3y ago
  Exactly what it says on the tin. Where do rustconf/rust lang leadership diverge from rust users. If 40% of rust devs are women, but only 10% of leadership is women, they are an under represented group in leadership. There might be reasonable reasons! The existence of an under represented group isn't wrong, it's just a time to ask, "why is it this way?" To be clear, I'm not saying there should be no under represented groups. But if there are, we should just be deliberate about understanding why. Are there systemic reasons where merit isn't being considered?
  - nomel 3y ago
    The rust leadership group is very small, so statistical representation isn’t really possible, other than luck. That’s just the reality of the maths. Do you think proportional representation should be forced?
    - gishbunker 3y ago
      > Do you think proportional representation should be forced? What gives you the impression I would want that? I said, quite clearly, that deviations from the norm are worth asking questions about, but those deviations can be fine. Do you think they should be forced?
phlakaton 3y ago
I would in this case say: you look at the data, and realize you don’t know who made the decision or why, and have no evidence to come to any conclusion. All you know is that the disrespect is real.

nomel 3y ago

> sometimes minorities are at a disadvantage or are under represented What does “under represented” mean, in a small, hopefully merit based, org?

gishbunker 3y ago
Exactly what it says on the tin. Where do rustconf/rust lang leadership diverge from rust users. If 40% of rust devs are women, but only 10% of leadership is women, they are an under represented group in leadership. There might be reasonable reasons! The existence of an under represented group isn't wrong, it's just a time to ask, "why is it this way?" To be clear, I'm not saying there should be no under represented groups. But if there are, we should just be deliberate about understanding why. Are there systemic reasons where merit isn't being considered?
- nomel 3y ago
  The rust leadership group is very small, so statistical representation isn’t really possible, other than luck. That’s just the reality of the maths. Do you think proportional representation should be forced?
  - gishbunker 3y ago
    > Do you think proportional representation should be forced? What gives you the impression I would want that? I said, quite clearly, that deviations from the norm are worth asking questions about, but those deviations can be fine. Do you think they should be forced?

phlakaton 3y ago

I would in this case say: you look at the data, and realize you don’t know who made the decision or why, and have no evidence to come to any conclusion. All you know is that the disrespect is real.