The Diversity Committee works tirelessly to ensure that financial barriers don't prevent talented individuals from participating in the Python community's flagship event. We spoke with the co-chair of the PyCon Diversity Committee Vasu Sharma about their mission to create a more inclusive conference experience.
What is the Diversity Committee and what's its main purpose?
VS: Our goal is to allow people who would not otherwise be able to attend PyCon to participate and create a more diverse environment. We focus on people who are disadvantaged due to financial reasons or because they don't belong to typical groups we see in the tech community. We want to empower them more.
We provide financial aid to people who would have otherwise enriched the experience of the conference by attending but may not have the means—for example, students or people from developing countries. We offer either the conference ticket plus travel and accommodation, or an online ticket, whichever they prefer.
How many applications do you typically receive?
VS: We usually get around 100 applications from around the world. To support as many candidates as possible, we secure grants from organizations like the Python Software Foundation (PSF), Euro Python Society (EPS) and the Django Software Foundation, specifically for fostering diversity and inclusion.
Any individual can also donate to support the financial aid program and we were thrilled to see a few such contributions this year. We prepare a write-up for the organizations after the conference to ensure transparency about how the grant enabled an inclusive environment.
Why do you think it's important for a conference to have a diverse audience?
VS: When we have a diverse group, everyone benefits from different backgrounds and perspectives. We can learn from other uses and approaches. We know that in tech, there are many underrepresented groups. If we always have conferences where these groups aren't prominently included, then they never get a fair footing to demonstrate what they could contribute to the community. That's what we strongly believe in and want to push further.
Is your work focused only on conference attendance, or do you also work with the programming committee to diversify speakers?
VS: At the moment, our committee really focuses on having more diverse attendees. However, I know that when people submit their proposals for the Call for Proposals (CFP), they are asked if they belong to an underrepresented group, and reviewers do consider that. But we're not directly involved in that process—it's handled separately.
How do you choose among all the applications? Do you have specific quotas?
VS: Before launching the financial aid program, we discuss what factors are important to consider. First and foremost, we look at motivation—we want to ensure that when they attend, everyone benefits because they're active in the community and motivated to contribute back, not just learn.
For example, if someone from Sri Lanka wants to visit a PyCon in Germany, learn how conferences are organized, and start something similar back home, we see that as furthering our work in other regions.
We also consider whether they've been active in the community—perhaps contributing to open-source tools or organizing similar conferences. Then we look at whether they identify as belonging to an underrepresented group, which is up to them to define.
It's a sensitive topic. I don't want to tell someone they belong to an underrepresented group if they don't identify that way. For instance, we had one candidate from North Africa who was a Muslim and Black woman in tech, yet she didn't select that option, which was quite surprising to me.
We also consider whether they're students, as established professionals working in big tech for several years might not need financial aid. We give priority to first-time attendees or those who haven't received aid before. And we prefer candidates who express interest in volunteering.
How does the committee operate? When do you start work and when is your busiest period?
VS: We're a team of five people. We typically start working in early December, with an initial meeting in late November. First, we decide on our calendar—when to launch the program, what the application should look like, and what values we're looking for.
There are two main busy phases. The first is after the application deadline when we prioritize international candidates who may need more time for visa arrangements. Our condition is that four committee members must rate each application, and selections are made based on average scores and a discussion together after we have finished our ratings.
The second phase is for all remaining candidates, with decisions based on available budget from grants. The period between when applications close and when we announce results—about four weeks—is our busiest time.
We try to review applications blindly, without knowing what scores other reviewers have given. After the conference, we handle reimbursements for grantees based on their expenses.
Throughout the year, we meet every two weeks. After the results are announced, we focus on communicating with grantees—providing invitation letters for visas, for example. This is also when we brainstorm other ideas to support diversity and inclusion, like involving NGOs in lightning talks.
When do you recruit new committee members? VS: We are happy to welcome new members to our committee! New volunteer applications are accepted around October-November, coinciding with the general volunteer call for PyCon. The committee typically maintains four to five members. This is my first year on the diversity committee, and I know that when selecting committee members, they also keep diversity in mind to avoid the same biases we are fighting against.