Add up all the money Debian allocated to "diversity" over the years.
Then tell us: what did they get for that money?
What did we get for that money?
I completely agree with you, Daniel, if that "70 to 1" men to women ratio is true. If it is true, then the diversity efforts at Debian are a complete failure.
As I mentioned, in addition to my B.Sc. in physics and 30+ years of programming computers, I have a graduate degree in Resource and Environmental Management, with three peer-reviewed publications in the field. My education included in-depth training in corruption, power dynamics and equity, as well as six months in the field (or in my case, logging sites). Several items come to mind.
The choices of how to implement a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program seeking to recruit members of diverse communities should reflect the commitment to DEI. The people chosen to design and implement the DEI program should reflect the community diversity. There are many principles that can be followed to ensure equity is practiced and diversity is embraced. Basically, straight white males should be a part of the process as stakeholders, but have a disproportionately small voice in the process. The straight white males involved in the process should acknowledge the goals of the DEI initiative and facilitate the efforts of non-straight white males as supportive roles, not management ones.
Specifically, the head of such diversity programs should not be a straight white male. It sends the entirely wrong message. Rather, it should be a non-straight white male with professional training in DEI efforts. Being able to program C code is not qualification for this position. (In fact, an effort to understand the people side of things is why I pursued the above degree, and I encourage programmers to pursue an education in human-based fields as a matter of establishing bona fides when offering opinions on diversity, equity and inclusion.)
Mentors should be screened for their commitment to the DEI effort. It is easy to undermine such efforts with disparaging remarks which focus on gender identity and sexual orientation. While straight white males can make good mentors, it is only after sufficient training in DEI that this should be allowed. After such training, not before it, being able to program C code would make one a candidate for applying for mentoring positions. The training process should screen out candidates who might be great programmers but would be terrible mentors in a diversity program.
Among the mentors, the dialog and conversations about power dynamics should be closely monitored. An example that comes to mind is the support RMS received after his very harmful statements about consent, in the context of what Marvin Minsky was doing in association with Jeffrey Epstein. While RMS has apparently had a change of heart and expresses contrition, I have absolutely no doubt that his comments at the time drove off people who disagreed with him and supported the real victims, the very young girls that were recruited for Epstein. Congruently, mentors who express support for RMS based on his contributions to the GNU operating systems and ecosystem are also likely to drive off the people whose needs are being addressed by DEI initiatives.
I would advise screening out mentors with clear associations to religious organizations which have a long history of intolerance towards LGBTQ+ communities. These individuals may be well-intentioned, but it is simply too much to ask for trust, especially if the religious organization also has a long history of covering up sexual abuse by its leaders in positions of power over vulnerable members. Rather, those individuals can likely contribute greatly by providing programming exercises and training material to be used by the mentors who work directly with the individuals coming from diverse and potentially vulnerable communities. Those mentors with a clear commitment to DEI will understand the need to work in supportive roles and not directly with people being mentored.
From my training, we learned that the solution looks a lot like the people who get to choose the people to solve the problem. If a group of straight white males are in charge of choosing who gets to implement the DEI program, the DEI program is not going to have a lot of diversity. Perhaps that is where Debian failed, and has a 70 to 1 male to female ratio?
Perhaps, Daniel, you could help Debian by investigating the causes of the 70 to 1 male to female ratio, examine the demographic profile of the people who got to choose the people that developed the program, and to seek out pro bono help from DEI experts who might be able offer professional-level management of such a program.
