Abstract: As advancing Agile practitioners, we all know Agile culture must hold space for diversity, but what about inclusion? How important is it? Why is it so hard? How can privileged salonnieres be effective allies to those who lack the privilege we have within our agile teams and companies?
We want to take a topic that seems safe, "everyone at this level of Agile practice knows inclusion is important," and show how that statement can ring hollow in practice.
Look at how much work each of us—especially us—still has to do. In this session, we want to create a real challenge to say, "we're not always as 'right' and 'inclusive' and allied about this as we think we are." There is so much we haven't even bothered yet to learn.
Our failure to create safety for all voices, to put it simply and bluntly, is keeping us from discovering the true future and abundance of Agile.
This salon explores ways of being an Ally, working from our existing stories, to extend abundance and inclusion in our agile environments—especially when it is very hard.
Notes On Safety We are inviting new ideas to emerge that challenge the core beliefs of people accustomed to being included. That will be uncomfortable to us in many unaccustomed ways.
- We will not promise you safety—or a safe space—if you come, as we do, from a place of privilege.
For once, we're going to ask you to explore spaces that are literally unsafe for the people who already inhabit them. To be their allies for inclusion, you will touch their space, and to do that you will have to leave your safety behind.
We will provide a space that is safe to fail as well as some safety valves to release pressure as needed—we will not encourage you to harm others or violate the code of conduct.
- If you are someone who comes from a space with less privilege in most agile environments, then you are someone with whom we are learning to ally ourselves.
We imagine you may be called by this invitation to join our salon to observe, to monitor, or to share your lived experience. You are very welcome. We will endeavor to build safety for you. We will design an alliance with you during this salon so that you have a safer space to inhabit for our time together. In our designed alliance we will also endeavor to refrain from asking you to do the "heavy lifting" for us.
Learning Outcomes: - Insights you have that others may be overlooking
- Insights others have that you may be overlooking
- Ways in which your insights and others’ can enhance each other
- Things you thought you knew, but there’s more to it than that
- New beginnings to explore this topic more deeply
