Inspiration

There are positive things that the world of technology can do in order to attract, recruit, welcome, encourage and retain people from different backgrounds.

The main objective here is to create a visible commitment to embed equality, inclusivity and diversity as part of everything we do at Data Relish in our interactions with our team, customers, suppliers, and the wider world.

What we believe

We believe that everyone is equally important.

We value a diverse network, and learn and share from one another:

regardless of age,

regardless of colour,

regardless of their ethnicity,

regardless of their religion or beliefs,

regardless of disability,

regardless of gender,

regardless of sexual orientation,

regardless of their race,

regardless of their ability or lack of ability,

regardless of nationality or accent.

We are all individuals with differences, but we are all members and we can all learn from each other.

What we stand for

We always seek to treat those around us with warmth, understanding, and respect. We aim to act in a responsible, professional, respectful and healthy manner. We aim to treat everyone equally, fairly and with all respect. We will work tirelessly to build a more fair and safe technical community for all.

In particular, we won’t tolerate sexual harassment or gender discrimination. We have a Zero Tolerance approach to harassment in any form. We do not ignore the power relationships that exist, and we do not favour one group over another. We will hold the same position for all our members, and we work towards ensuring that the technical community is a welcoming, diverse and inclusive place to connect, learn and share.

We will stand with you.

Ways to Demonstrate Positivity

Some of this relates to in-person events rather than virtual events. We wanted this information to be logged somewhere, so that when we have in-person events again, we area ahead of the game.

We recognize that this is not an endless list and we understand that there are lots of nuances and exceptions, and we have generalized. We look forward to your corrections that will help us to understand more.

Summary

Dates – Selection of event dates should consider religious holidays e.g. Christmas Day, Eid. There are two sides to this issue: it will impact people’s ability to attend, and it could mean a lower turnout.

Days – Fridays and Saturday events can be exclusive to people who do not follow Shabbath / Sabbath.

Times – Additionally, Friday afternoon prayers may impact Muslims who will need to decide whether to attend prayer, or the event.

Greeting People

A smile and graciousness always works

Islam

This is an issue of debate. The Koran states that men and women, who are not closely related to one another, should not physically touch. This means that many Muslims will not shake hands with a member of the opposite sex. An acceptable greeting is to hold a light fist over the heart, with a slight bow.

Japanese

Meishi koukan

Touching is inappropriate (back slapping etc) but a handshake is acceptable. A slight bow is regarded as very respectful.

Transgender Needs

Place to get changed before and after the event

Religion

All

There will be particular dates that are specific and important to each religion. The Shap Calendar identifies the dates and purpose of each religious festival https://www.interfaith.org.uk/resources/religious-festivals

Islam

Acknowledgement of Salawat prayer times. Often, event breaks can be co-ordinated around the prayers times.

Catholic

The Angelus can be recited at 6am, noon and 6pm. If an event is held near one of the ancient Universities or Churches, the Angelus bells may ring out. This particular devotion is uncommon and the devotee can perform this prayer in private.

Zoroastrian

This is also known as Parsi faith. The Zoroastrians also pray five times a day. The prayer timings are less clear and more flexible. There are some similarities between the Islam and Zoroastrian faith, and some Muslims will regard Zoroastrians as heretics. The Zoroastrians have suffered persecution for centuries from Islam and from sects within the Zoroastrian faith. Perhaps for this reason, Zoroastrians tend to assimilate very well into their communities and they will be harder to identify. The Zoroastrians number less than 200,000 throughout the world and their numbers dwindle at 10% per decade.

Sabbath or Shabbat

Observant Jews and some Christians. such as Seventh Day Adventists, will observe Sabbath. The timing starts before sunset on Friday until the appearance of three stars on Saturday evening.

Food

Kosher Foods

Islamic dietary laws and Jewish dietary laws are both very detailed and demonstrate some similarities. They share a common root. They are based on a code of laws found in Leviticus and repeated in the Quran.

Therefore, many food products hold both Kosher and Halal accreditation for their products.

Kosher standards are not regarded as a replacement for Halal and the foods should be marked with both labels. Muslim authorities believe the terms are not interchangeable and this is potentially insulting.

Kosher standards are constantly changing and the London Beth Din release a monthly update. More details can be found here: http://www.kosher.org.uk/

Salads without dairy or meat can regarded as parve or pareve. Parve means that neither meat nor milk products are included in the product, and that the cooking utensils have not been mixed with either food product.

Fish that have fins and scales such as salmon, trout, herring and halibut are also kosher and parve: however, fish such as swordfish, sturgeon and dogfish are non-Kosher. Similarly, shellfish is non-Kosher.

Pork

Jews and Muslims do not eat pork.

Alcohol

Muslims do not drink alcohol.

Halal

Muslims believe that their prayers will be rejected by Allah if they have consumed foods that are haram. The fundamental idea is that they are directed to eat the most nutritionally important foods, so that they are healthier and better physically able to share wisdom and knowledge.

In the Qur’an (2:173, 5:3, 5:90-91, 6:145, 16:115), the following foods and drinks are strictly prohibited by God (haram):

Dead meat (i.e. the carcass of an already-dead animal that was not slaughtered according to Halal rules).
Blood.
Pork.
Horsemeat is controversial (Mashbooh) so Tesco’s inclusion of horsemeat in beef lasagne was upsetting for many Muslims.
Alcohol. For observant Muslims, this even includes sauces or food-preparation liquids that might include alcohol, such as soy sauce.
The meat of an animal that has been sacrificed to idols.
The meat of an animal that died from electrocution, strangulation or blunt force.
Meat from which wild animals have already eaten.
Cheese or whey with rennet is controversial since the Zabihah status of the animal is unknown. Cheeses coagulated with acid (cottage, farmer’s, etc.) are generally permitted since they do not include rennet. Vegetarian (non-rennet) cheese is fine since they are coagulated using vegetable enzymes.

Hindi / Vegetarian

It is best to keep the vegetarian food on a separate table from meat-based food, or this could cause potential upset to Hindi individuals. The vegetarian food could be perceived as contaminated.

What we will do

If there is an issue, we will act upon any issues that you tell us about. When complaints arise, we will take action in a prompt, clearly defined, and consequential manner.

It’s ok not to feel totally comfortable with other people’s viewpoints. It’s what you do about it that counts. Diversity impacts everyone.

WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS

Acknowledgements: This CoC was adapted from JSConf and I’d like to credit and thank them. You can read more about our personal stories here. If you see a Code of Conduct violation, follow these steps:

Let the person know that what they did is not appropriate and ask them to stop.
That person should immediately stop the behaviour and correct the issue.
If this does not happen, or if you are uncomfortable speaking up, contact the conference staff as soon as possible.
A staff member will immediately address the issue and take further action.

PURPOSE

Data Relish is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion or lack thereof. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers.

ANTI-HARASSMENT

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion
Sexual images in public spaces
Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following
Harassing photography or recording
Sustained disruption of talks or other events
Inappropriate physical contact
Invasion of personal space
Unwelcome sexual attention
Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour

INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

In our commitment to a harassment-free and inclusive environment, we strongly believe it is important to pay attention to harmful language patterns.

ABLEISM

Words like “crazy”, “dumb”, “insane” or “lame” are examples of ableist language, devaluing and insulting people who have physical or mental disabilities. Its appearance often stems not from any intentional desire to offend, but from our innate sense of what it means to be normal. These words can be avoided by using more suitable, clearer descriptions of what we want to communicate. To find out more about ableism and replacement terms please read this guide.

SEXISM

Using gendered terms like “dude” or “guys” to address a group of people of varying genders contributes to furthering exclusion of underrepresented individuals. We strongly advise avoiding gendered pronouns as well as gendered terms. For more information please familiarize yourself with Geek Feminism wiki guide.

ENFORCEMENT

Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behaviour, event organizers retain the right to take any actions to keep the event a welcoming environment for all participants. This includes warning the offender or expulsion from the conference with no refund. Event organizers may take action to address anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for any participants. We expect participants to follow these rules at all event venues and event-related social activities. We think people should follow these rules outside event activities too!

REPORTING

If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Conference staff can be identified by their conference-specific staff t-shirts. Harassment and other Code of Conduct violations reduce the value of our event for everyone. We want you to be happy at our event. People like you make our event a better place. You can make a report either personally or anonymously.

ANONYMOUS REPORT

We cannot directly follow-up an anonymous report, but we will fully investigate it and take whatever action is necessary to prevent a recurrence.

PERSONAL REPORT

You can make a personal report by:

Contacting a staff member via the chat functionality on the virtual event
Emailing us: DEI@data-relish.com.
Calling us: We’ll publish a phone number that is staffed during main conference hours.

When taking a personal report, our staff will ensure you are safe and cannot be overheard. They may involve other event staff to ensure your report is managed properly. Once safe, we’ll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we’ll handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you. You won’t be asked to confront anyone and we won’t tell anyone who you are. Our team will be happy to help you contact hotel/venue security, local law enforcement, local support services, provide escorts, or otherwise assist you to feel safe for the duration of the event. We value your attendance

Virtual Code of Conduct and Decency Charter