On Wed, 26 Sep 2018 at 21:59, Brian E Carpenter <brian.e.carpenter@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
However, we'd better face an ugly truth, which is that if the
composition of the IETF as a whole isn't diverse, the NomCom will
not be able to do much with that guidance. So IMHO a serious approach
to diversity has to start at the input (who participates in the IETF),
not at the output (who is nominated for the leadership).
Not that I have many solutions, here - as as an English-first-language white male I don't really have a good insight - but I think your final conclusion is wrong.
The diversity of the IETF as a whole will be very heavily influenced by the perceived diversity of its leadership - or at least, I'd expect that. A way to test that hypothesis would be to plot the number of female members of the IESG and IAB versus the female participation and attendance. One could also compare Working Groups' chairs with the diversity of their participants. Obviously we must have people at the input in order to produce them at the output, but I strongly suspect a very strong feedback loop is in effect here.
The best I can say as far as solutions go is that while I don't hold with positive discrimination, as such, it is worth noting that "diverse" is a feature worth balancing against others nonetheless.
As for the question raised elsewhere about whether we pick leaders with WG Chair experience, I'd posit that the qualities we want in the IESG, in particular, are the combination of high technical expertise and management ability. The technical expertise is probably best proven within the IETF, but the management experience could come from anywhere. That's not to say that WG Chair experience is useless - but I don't think every IESG member needs journey through the same IETF "career" path.
Dave.
