Hello everyone! As a follow-up to Matt’s mention of our Diversity work in the State of the Word yesterday, I wanted to share some data and more detail around our  accomplishments this year.

#WPDiversity Results December 2020-November 2021

In 2021, the Diverse Speaker Training Group (#WPDiversity) expanded from one to three programs: Diverse Speaker program, Allyship program, Diverse Speaker Support program.

Our group and the community held 26 #WPDiversity events this year.

146 participants from at least 66 cities in 16 countries attended these events from December 2020 – November 2021.

People who took at least a portion of our Diverse Speaker workshop reported an increase in self-confidence by 20%.

People who took our Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers workshop reported an increase in preparedness to hold an inclusive event by 52%!

In the Diverse Speaker Support program, as of November 30, 2021, 49 people have joined it so far. 50% (25) of these are people from underrepresented groups who are looking for speaking opportunities at WordPress events.

Testimonials

Testimonial for Diverse Speaker workshop:

“I felt like you were reading my mind on some of these points about what holds us back from speaking. And the brainstorm prompts are all really, really good. I walked away with a ton of ideas and newfound confidence. I’m excited to talk now. This workshop works!”

– Erika Lewis, WordPress Dev, Washington DC

Testimonial for the “Hold Your Own Diverse Speaker workshop” train the trainers:

“I’m excited to replicate the Diverse Speakers workshop in my beloved country, Mexico, and use it to help more women learn the right tools to communicate on stage and in meetings, and be more confident about their skills.”

– Maryl Gonzalez, Co-Founder @ The App Chefs, Guadalajara, Mexico

Testimonial for Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers workshop

“I loved taking the “Allyship for WordPress Event Organizers” workshop along with other organizers and hearing what they’ve done. The checklists in the workbook are helpful in terms of tracking what I have done and what I can still improve. I’d love to see ALL THE ORGANIZERS go through this. This felt like a great complement to other material that WordPress has about not disparaging people; the focus of the Allyship workshop was on how to be actively welcoming.”

– Sallie Goetsch, organizer, East Bay WordPress Meetup

Get Involved in 2022

Want to get involved in this inspiring initiative that makes a tangible difference? Comment on this post or ping @jillbinder on the WordPress Slack for:

• Attending an “Allyship for WP Event Organizers” workshop or a “How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events #WPDiversity” (aka Diverse Speaker) workshop
• Having us hold a “How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events #WPDiversity” workshop to bring in more diverse speaker applications for your Meetup or WordCamp
• Being a workshop facilitator
• Being a workshop mentor or background administrator
• Being a Translator
• Joining our #diverse-speaker-support Slack channel (open to those interested in speaking, speaker mentors, and event organizers)
• Joining our Diverse Speaker Group #WPDiversity to help out with things as needed
• And more!

I will reply to your message in the new year.

Have great holidays, everyone. Let’s make 2022 our best year yet!