Conference Bullies

I’m a software developer, and I speak regularly at conferences. Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed a trend in the US that is going on behind closed doors and needs to be exposed.

I was in the speaker’s lounge for a local conference a couple of months ago, and I overheard a conversation that went something like this:

Conference Organizer, to Famous Speaker: “We’re so glad you were able to come — we love having you!”
Famous Speaker: “You know, if I had taken a look at your speaker roster before I came, I wouldn’t have come.”
Conference Organizer: “What do you mean?”
Famous Speaker: “There’s not enough diversity in your speaker lineup.”
Conference Organizer: “You know, we didn’t even think of diversity for our speakers…”

I’m not sure what to think about this conversation.

Here’s some context:

• This was a hugely famous speaker. The kind who seriously draws in crowds and gets your conference known.
• The conference was just starting up and had very little funding.
• The conference is located in a place that simply doesn’t have diversity nearby.
• I have heard this conversation take place between Famous Speakers and Conference Organizers many, many times over the past year or so.

On the one hand, I can see the point of the Famous Speaker, and to a degree I agree with him. The Famous Speaker is concerned about the lack of diversity in software development, and wants to encourage more diversity in our field by having more diverse role models in the form of conference speakers. It also raises awareness of our diversity needs (which are real). Sounds great!

But I’m not a fan of this tactic.

I’ve seen it used several times on small startup conferences with little funding and no nearby diversity. They would have had to fly in half their speakers to meet the Famous Speaker’s demands, which is financially impossible for them. So they just get the guilt trip with very little they can do about it. Instead of being thankful to the Conference Organizer, Mr. Famous Speaker just makes more demands of them.

Also, there’s a curious hypocrisy present. Every Famous Speaker I’ve heard do this has been — without exception — a wealthy upper-class straight white male. I agree that it is a duty for those in power to assist disadvantaged groups, but in this case a Famous Speaker would decrease diversity whenever a conference was diverse enough to be honored with their presence.

Furthermore, a couple of the Famous Speakers I know have no problem speaking at their own Famous Company’s conferences, regardless of how diverse or not the speaker lineup might be. That just drips with hypocrisy.

Finally, this is not an isolated incident. I’ve seen some variation of this conversation take place many times over the last year or so. There seems to be some collusion among Famous Speakers to “make diversity happen” by punishing conferences that don’t meet their standard. While this may be an acceptable tactic for conferences that have diversity in their area, it also ends up punishing smaller and more remote conferences for reasons completely outside their control.

And frankly, it’s bullying. And I hate bullying, even if the intentions are good.

Full disclosure: I am a Mediocre Speaker, a lower-middle-class straight white male. And forced diversity will reduce white speakers at the Mediocre level, directly impacting my career. While I totally agree that we need to encourage diversity, I dislike how the Famous Speaker’s tactics do so to their advantage and my disadvantage.

Diversity is a real problem, but I don’t think bullying Conference Organizers is the solution. There must be a better way…