Tereza Iofciu

Did you know that the Python Software Foundation Code of Conduct is turning 10 years old in 2023? It was voted in as they felt they were “unbalanced and not seeing the true spectrum of the greater community”. Why is that a big thing? Come to my talk and find out!

Did you know that the Python Software Foundation Code of Conduct is turning 10 years old in 2023? It was voted in as they felt they were “unbalanced and not seeing the true spectrum of the greater community”. And thought that with time they could “advance towards a more diverse representation.”[1] Why is that a big thing? Codes of conduct are an important part of any community, outlining the values of the community. They establish clear guidelines for acceptable behavior and help to create a safe and inclusive environment in the community. This can prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunities for all members. In this talk, we will explore the role of code of conduct in communities, it’s history in the PSF, and discuss strategies for rethinking what it means to have and enforce a Code of Conduct. We will look at the existing challenges that the Python communities face when implementing codes of conduct and talk about possible solutions. How does it look like when it works well and when it doesn’t? As an essential part of any open source project, reflecting on these guidelines can help to ensure that the projects are successful and sustainable in the long term. Thinking back to Python, which also turns 20 in 2023: “Python got to where it is by being open, and it’ll continue to prosper by remaining open”. It’s important we continue this mission, after all, one of the things many people love about Python is the community. [1] https://pyfound.blogspot.com/2013/06/announcing-code-of-conduct-for-use-by.html

Data-driven products are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Humans build data-driven products. Humans are intrinsically biased. This bias goes into the data-driven products, confirming and amplifying the original bias. In this tutorial, you will learn how to identify your own -often unperceived- biases and reflect on and discuss the consequences of unchecked biases in Data Products.

Data-driven products are becoming more and more ubiquitous across industries. Data-driven products are built by humans. Humans are intrinsically biased. This bias goes into the data-driven products, which then amplify the original bias. This has the consequence that the power imbalances in a data-driven world tend to get bigger instead of smaller, most of the time unintentionally, and is particularly prevalent in the tech sector where teams are not diverse. One of the obvious solutions is to get diverse teams, but when considering all the intersections of diversity, achieving full diversity is practically an impossible task. Therefore we see education and awareness as foundational steps to working towards a more equitable data world. This tutorial has two parts. In the first exercise, we will start by revisiting our own privileges, as a tool to better educate ourselves in order to identify our individual - often unperceived - biases. In the second part, we will evaluate what happens when these biases happen on a group level and go unchecked into our data products, based on the Data Feminism book and enriched with our own experiences as data professionals. Education about Privilege and Ethics in the data-driven world can only improve how we see and work with data and better understand how our work with data can affect others.

Other people: Paula Gonzalez Avalos