To respond to the question Mr. Eveland posed, I believe that cis men of Arab or
North African decent or cis men who identify as multi-racial or multi-ethnic
may be technically excluded by the specific phrasing of the diversity
scholarship, given how the definitions are used by the US census bureau. (I
would personally recommend people fitting those descriptions to apply anyway.)
These are at least two groups who may not receive the career advantages and
privilege accorded to white cis men (like myself), but may not qualify
according to a strict reading of this particular assistance and award
opportunity.
Beyond that, I would like to specifically contradict the assumption that this
is a zero sum game and assistance for traditionally under-served demographics
hurts others. If I am reading the posting correctly, the funds for these awards
comes from CLIR/DLF, vendors, and private donations. As others have pointed
out, other avenues, not specifically tied to diversity or demographics, are
available for those in need. This will make Code{4}Lib better for all. After
all, given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow. By making efforts to
specifically invite people who have not have felt welcome or been excluded in
the past, this assistance is making a better Code{4}Lib for everyone.
White cis men who have financial need have avenues, as others have referred to.
Additionally, this scholarship is not the ONLY form of aid. No avenue for
financial assistance has been taken away from white cis men. This is *new* aid
that was not available in the past. Scholarships in the past have been given
for staff from public libraries that use Evergreen/Koha. Those awards did not
harm staff from academic libraries or public libraries that purchase commercial
products. In precisely the same way, taking action to make the conference
accessible to people not traditionally served by it does not harm anyone.
Indeed, by making the community more welcoming, it strengthens the group and
brings in more eyes to make the bugs even shallower.
