This is a great suggestion.
Bonnie L. Gorsic
-Original Message-
From: ietf-boun...@ietf.org [mailto:ietf-boun...@ietf.org] On Behalf Of Arturo
Servin
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2013 10:43 AM
To: ietf@ietf.org
Subject: Re: Diversity of IETF Leadership
Hi,
I have been reading the comments in the list and although I am not
making a specific reply to any message I would like to make some comments.
So far I have read I agree we need some diversity or I agree that
more diversity is better. Also I have read Please no quotas, do not let the
nomcom do this or that.
My opinion is that we agree we have a situation that we should improve,
but also we shouldn't focus on the nomcom process, the problem is not about how
we select people (it may help but it is not the root problem).
The problem is to bring new people (younger people, women, from more countries,
different languages, etc.) to write RFCs, to participate/be interested in the
IETF and how we involve/prepare these people to become our leaders and not just
participants. If we do that, then we will have more diversity in our leadership.
Best wishes,
as
On 10/03/2013 06:22, IETF Diversity wrote:
The letter below was sent to the IESG, the IAB, the IAOC and the ISOC
Board this morning, in an attempt to open a discussion of how to
increase the diversity of the IETF Leadership. We are sharing the
letter here to encourage community discussion of this important topic.
If you support this letter and would like to be added as a signatory,
please send e-mail to ietf.divers...@gmail.com
mailto:ietf.divers...@gmail.com, and your name will be added to the
list of signatures.
---
** An Open Letter to the IESG, the IAB, the IAOC and the ISOC Board **
Dear Members of the IETF Leadership,
We would like to call your attention to an issue that weakens the
IETF's decision-making process and calls into question the legitimacy
of the IETF as an International Standards Development
Organization: the lack of diversity of the IETF leadership.
In addition to the moral and social issues involved, diversity of
leadership across several axes (race, geographic location, gender and
corporate affiliation) is important for three practical reasons:
- It is a well-established fact that diverse groups are smarter
and make better decisions than less-diverse groups.
- Lack of diversity in our leadership becomes a self-perpetuating
problem, because people who are not represented in the IETF
leadership are less likely to dedicate their time and effort to
the IETF.
- The lack of diversity in the IETF leadership undermines our
credibility and challenges our legitimacy as an International
Standards Development Organization.
Unfortunately, despite a substantial increase in the number of IETF
leadership positions (from 25 to 32) and increasingly diverse
attendance at IETF meetings, the diversity of the IETF leadership has
not improved. In fact, it seems to have dropped significantly over
the past ten years.
For example, ten years ago, in February of 2003, there were 25 members
of the IETF leadership (12 IAB members and 13 IESG members). Of those
25 members, there was one member of non-European descent, there was
one member from a country outside of North America or Europe, and
there were four women. There were 23 companies represented in the
IETF leadership (out of a total of 25 seats).
In February of 2013, there were 32 members of the IETF leadership
(12 IAB members, 15 IESG members and 5 IAOC members). Of those 32
members, there was one member of non-European descent, there were no
members from countries outside of North America or Europe, and there
was only one woman. There were only 19 companies represented (out of
a total of 32 seats).
It is important to the continued relevance and success of the IETF
that we address this issue and eliminate whatever factors are
contributing to the lack of diversity in our leadership. We believe
that this is an important and urgent issue that requires your
immediate attention.
There are several steps that could be taken, in the short-term within
our existing BCPs, to address this problem:
- Each of the IETF leadership bodies (the IESG, IAB and IAOC)
could update the qualifications that they submit to the
Nominations Committee (through the IAD) to make it clear that
the Nominations Committee should actively seek to increase the
diversity of that body in terms of race, geographic location,
gender and corporate affiliation.
- Each of the confirming bodies (the ISOC Board for the IAB, the
IAB for the IESG, and the IESG for the IAOC) could make a
public statement at the beginning of each year's nominations
process that they will not confirm a slate unless it
contributes to
