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Re: Diversity of IETF Leadership

2013-03-20 11:21:09
On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 11:10 AM, Keith Moore
<moore(_at_)network-heretics(_dot_)com> wrote:
On 03/20/2013 11:41 AM, Mary Barnes wrote:

Given that folks are still debating whether this years nominees
reflected a reasonable diversity (there were 9 women out of 37
nominees),

I actually don't think that the number of female nominees is relevant.
What is relevant is the number of qualified female nominees who had the
willingness, the availability, the required expertise, and the support
necessary to fill the position.
[MB] Sure. But, I know of at least two that I don't think or would
hope anyone would debate
were qualified in all the areas you suggest. Both have contributed
significantly to IETF in a variety
of leadership positions.   I do not believe at least one of the
choices would have
stood up against scrutiny by my own HR dept.  Certainly, you have
opinions, as does the IETF population that is in the  majority, as to
what makes one qualified.
One concept that is not very well understood, however, is the basic
fact that women
work differently than men and thus expecting us to fit the cookie
cutter of IETF leaders isn't quite
appropriate.   To be told by a nomcom voting member, when I mention
this fact, that this just isn't so because IETF is a meritocracy is
insulting and shows a sheer lack of respect for the value that
diversity brings to an organization.
[/MB]

On several occasions in the past decade I've been asked if I were willing to
be nominated to serve on IESG again, even though I didn't have either
sufficient time or support to devote to the task, just so that nomcom would
have a slate of candidates to compare.   I thought on those occasions, and
still think, that it's a bit silly to ask nomcom to investigate candidates
who don't have the time or support to do the job.   But I still agreed to be
nominated because I could also see some value in having nomcom compare
several candidates.  (Just like when shopping for a new car, it doesn't hurt
to look at models that you know that you're probably not going to buy, just
to get a sense of whether you really want what you think you want).

So I guess I've formed the impression that merely being nominated for a
position doesn't really mean that a person is available.
[MB] You have to keep in mind in the past that the there were
"dummies" in the nominee pool before open list.  I was explicitly told
by this year's nomcom chair that they were not doing that. Thus, I
would anticipate that the majority of those in the pool this year were
willing and able.[/MB]

Keith