The 2020 State of the Community Survey launch is coming...
It’s the start of a new decade and with three years of progressive improvement to our State of the Community survey, we’re ready to launch 2020’s version with more intention, input and planning. Since the State of the Community Survey hits on all of PDXWIT’s values: technology, authenticity, community, inclusion and self-awareness, we decided this year it was time to invest heavily into building a foundation that can live up to those values, be sustainable, and scale. As I’ve recently stepped back from my leadership role within PDXWIT, I’ve turned my energy to this project, given it my dedicated attention, and now the project team and I would like to openly share what we’ve done.
Created a team whose sole focus is the survey. In previous years, the survey project team was mostly me fitting the project in between a number of other PDXWIT (and non-PDXWIT) responsibilities. When the survey hit over 5000 respondents last year, it was a shocker and a wakeup call that if we wanted this survey to continue, it needed a team of people managing it. So this year, we’ve assembled a dream team of individuals working together to bring you the best survey we’ve ever done. In addition to me serving in the project lead role, we’ve got volunteers Lisa Chan as our Program Manager, Nadya Ighani as the Digital Asset Manager, Melissa Niiya as the Outreach Manager, and Kathleen Voboril as the Marketing Manager. We are also working with Ilana Davis for the creative work in building the 2020 website, Anastasia Nylund for her expertise in designing surveys using the survey method, and finally Robin Witte-Crowell as our data analyst.
Developed a statement of privacy. Our survey hits on sensitive themes such as racism, sexism, pay inequality, and workplace harassment, and we’ve learned over the years that collecting that data, even anonymously, is a paramount concern for survey respondents. People want to know why the information is needed, what it will be used for, and to hear assurances that the data will not be connected to an individual. To address these concerns, we’ve developed an FAQ/Privacy Statement to make everything very clear and transparent. If you think we’ve missed something, please let us know by emailing hello@pdxwit.org.
We sought community input. One of the key lessons learned from the 2019 survey was that the questions need to represent a broad set of perspectives, otherwise, it risks serving to perpetuate the narratives of those in charge. It is no secret that I unknowingly created the 2019 survey in my own likeness, asking questions that served to reinforce my worldview as an upper middle-class white woman that has lived a life of benefit from unearned factors such as how I look, where I grew up and who I got to associate with. We’ve attempted to shore this gap by bringing on a team of people to build the survey but we decided that wasn’t enough. As a result, we created two forms of community input: 1) online input via pre-survey and 2) a paid focus group centered on the perspectives of black, indigenous and people of color as well as non-cis gender individuals. Through these channels, we’ve received incredible participation and feedback that directly influenced survey development.
We identified similar organizations nationally to help amplify. Achieving 5000+ respondents last year was a complete accident. In fact, we aren’t even sure exactly how it happened. We are grateful–of course–but couldn’t leave the future of this data in the hands of chance. To solve this, we compiled a list of 40+ organizations across the nation who have similar purposes, goals and values to enlist their support in spreading awareness. In exchange for their support, we offered them early access to the results and opportunities to partner with us on the delivery of the data.
This year we are doubling-down on issues of white dominance in tech. Our findings last year opened our eyes to the fact that we (I, if I’m being honest) built this organization inadvertently in service to other white women like myself and it also taught us how white supremacy flourishes within the tech industry that is predominantly led and managed by white individuals. Our goal with this survey is to center it on the individuals whose experiences are continuously and systematically overshadowed by dominant groups, bringing attention to this data so folks at all levels of the organization, can affect change.
We are thrilled to bring this survey to you again and hope that you’ll pull out your megaphones and amplify it wherever you can.
As always, if you have any questions, feel like we’ve missed something, or want to know more, you can reach me at megan@pdxwit.org.
Xo
Megan
A true tech community leader, Megan Bigelow is the founder of Portland Women in Tech (PDXWIT), a 501c3 nonprofit. She created and continues to support the organization with a singular focus on encouraging women, non-binary and underrepresented people to join tech, while at the same time, supporting and empowering them to stay in tech. This is done by connecting people to companies, mentors and skill-building opportunities. The PDXWIT community is over 8000 strong – and includes the support of 80+ tech companies. Megan is Director of Customer Reliability Engineering at VMware and mother to Jette, 7 and Francis, 4.