3 ms·

How is the assumption behind your statement any less offensive? You're assuming that because there isn't "diversity" the organizers must be racist or biased. G

• raganwald 14y ago
  "You're assuming that because there isn't "diversity" the organizers must be racist or biased" Whoa, nellie! That isn't the argument, not by a long shot. Let's take race out of this. I organize a tech conference. All the speakers are cyclists. Why? Because I asked everyone I knew personally to speak. I am not prejudiced against non-cyclists, it just so happens that because I cycle, I know a lot of cyclists socially. There is no malicious intent, but the result is not representative of the world we live in, just of a small pocket of the world. Furthermore, I have absolutely and positively overlooked speakers like Sandi Metz who are cyclists, but don't ride in Ontario, or Pete Forde, who lives in Toronto but doesn't ride. Whereas, if I sat down with the plan from the start to canvas the best speakers available, I would have cast a wider net than just my personal friends. I have no idea what process those organizers used, but judging by the result, it did not include reaching out to a large number of qualified speakers.