{"id":109859,"date":"2020-08-26T10:12:12","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T15:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?p=109859"},"modified":"2024-01-03T00:15:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T06:15:57","slug":"genesis-community-livecast-returns-with-discussion-on-diversity-and-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/genesis-community-livecast-returns-with-discussion-on-diversity-and-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Genesis Community Livecast Returns With Discussion on Diversity and Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Episode 1 of the rebooted Genesis Community Livecast<\/a> kicked off Tuesday with an important topic at hand: contributions members of the Black community have made to WordPress and Genesis, as well as the significant challenges they and other people of color continue to face within these respective developer communities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Kenney, who leads Management Development at WP Engine, and who serves on WP Engine\u2019s Represents<\/a> employee resource group, joined David Vogelpohl, who leads Genesis<\/a> efforts at WP Engine, to facilitate the discussion, which included WordPress co-creator Mike Little<\/a>, and Genesis community leaders Anita Carter<\/a> and Sandee Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the hour-long conversation, which you can view here<\/a>, much of the focus was on visibility\u2014the lack of visibility members of the Black community currently experience in WordPress and Genesis, as well as the role increased visibility will play in helping the next generation of WordPress developers be more inclusive.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This came to the fore early on, when the guests were asked about Black thought leaders in the WordPress and Genesis communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s been more about people who have inspired me, and when I first got started, the first person who inspired me was Mike,\u201d Anita said, referring to Mike Little.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known for a long time that Mike was a co-creator of WordPress and when I saw him, I felt like, oh, he\u2019s like me, I could probably do well with this too,\u201d she added, touching on the theme of visibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike responded, saying the question was, unfortunately, a difficult one for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a hard question to answer,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t consider myself a leader in the WordPress community, and I do find that Black people in the WordPress community aren\u2019t hugely visible…I struggle to pinpoint anyone I\u2019d consider as a leader, which, now that you\u2019ve asked it, feels disappointing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandee echoed Mike\u2019s sentiments, saying, \u201cI can think of lots of WordPress thought leaders, not Black thought leaders, though.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later on, she also summarized why it was important to see more Black people in those roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot be what we cannot see,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to see people who look like us, doing all the things, even the things we don\u2019t know that we might want to do one day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike had similar thoughts, saying, \u201cit can be a huge thing actually, seeing someone who looks like you in a position that you might consider for a career choice or community to join…it really makes a difference, especially for younger generations. It gives them that permission to say oh, I could be part of that community. Where so many things that they encounter day-to-day, in their ordinary life, don\u2019t have that representation, I think it\u2019s vital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the acknowledgment that more needs to be done to further opportunities for members of the Black community and other people of color in the WordPress and Genesis communities, the conversation shifted to action: How can the next generation of WordPress coders and developers be more diverse? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While organizations like Black Girls Code were mentioned as positive initiatives, all three guests agreed that there was not enough WordPress-specific focus on reaching younger people who might be interested in technology and web design.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy to endorse but harder to engage,\u201d Brian said, before asking for specific recommendations that might help increase representation from the Black community in WordPress and Genesis. One of the most practical answers? WordCamps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re able to come together as a group again, it will be important to have different types of training and presentations at WordCamps with different speakers,\u201d Anita said. \u201cFinding younger, WordPress developers who might be Black to be on those panels, where they\u2019re seen, will go a long way, and it goes back to increasing visibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the full conversation here<\/a>, which is full of additional insights and more information about ongoing diversity efforts in the WordPress and Genesis communities, as well as additional ways to help foster greater representation from the Black community in both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Episode 1 of the rebooted Genesis Community Livecast kicked off Tuesday with an important topic at hand: contributions members of the Black community have made to WordPress and Genesis, as well as the significant challenges they and other people of color continue to face within these respective developer communities.   Brian Kenney, who leads Management Development…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":109860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1295,81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genesis","category-wordpress-community"],"yoast_head":"\nGenesis Community Livecast Returns With Discussion on Diversity and Inclusion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Episode 1 of the rebooted Livecast included WordPress co-creator Mike 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