We Agile enthusiasts have a tendency to believe that we're miles ahead of the rest of the IT industry. And in many ways, we truly are. But let me share a personal experience that might challenge this perception. Picture this: I'm a woman attending an Agile conference, ready to soak in all the knowledge and excitement. But there's one thing that never fails to catch my attention. Every time nature calls, I find myself standing in line for what feels like an eternity, just to access the women's restrooms. Interestingly enough, this never happens at general IT conferences. So, are we there yet? Not quite. In this session, I want to shed light on the gaps between our perception of Agile and its community and the harsh reality we face. It's not just about diversity, although that's an important part of it. We still have hurdles to overcome, and it's time to cross the chasm that separates us from our ideal Agile world.

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Jutta Eckstein
https://JEckstein.com
Perception and Reality on
Crossing the –Diversity– Chasm
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Agenda
What? Facts So what? Insights
Now what? This is what you can do!

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Inclusive Products?
◼ Mics that require either a waistband
or substantial pockets to attach to
◼ There are 5 required tests to
determine if a car is safe
– Only 1 includes a female dummy (in
the passenger seat…)
◼ Body scanners based on the
male/female gender binary
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Germans Top Agile Influencer
https://bit.ly/3S1sMSy

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Agenda
What? Facts So what? Insights
Now what? This is what you can do!
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Germans Top Agile Influencer
https://bit.ly/3S1sMSy
For more diversity:
Should we create 2
lists of top agile
influencers?

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Diversity & Inclusion
Protection
Ensuring the visibility
Separation?
Exclusion?
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Racial
Ethnic classifications
Age
Gender
Religion
Philosophy
Physical Abilities
Socioeconomic Background
Sexual orientation
Gender identity
Intelligence
Physical health
Mental health
Genetic attributes
Personality
Behavior
Attractiveness
Opinion
Fairness
Justice
Societal disparities
Class

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An organization produces a design
that reflects the organization's
biases.
Eckstein’s Law ☺

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Agile Social Sustainability
Aiming for equity, health, liveability
Social
Sustainability
IN Agile
Social
Sustainability
BY Agile
Use agile practices &
mindset to increase
(social) sustainability
Use (social) sustainability
to guide your actions &
outcomes in agile
development
Sustainability as a quality
attribute in the DoD & as
acceptance criteria!
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Agenda
What? Facts So what? Insights
Now what? This is what you can do!

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Where do we stand?
Full
assessment
under
(cc):
https://bit.ly/agile-sustainability
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Outsourcing
◼ Impact outsourcing
– Training & hiring
marginalized people
◼ Ethical outsourcing
– Imposing social &
environmental
standards on supplier

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Persona Spectrum
Source:
©David
Dame,
Microsoft,
https://bit.ly/3EYNdXk
◼ Make your system accessible
to everyone!
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Crossing DEI Chasm
Retrospective

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We need to think & step outside the box
for
Crossing the Chasm!
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Afterthought
Sustainability…
has to be taken into account
in everything we do
Agile…
won’t matter if we can’t
change course on climate
change
01
03
02
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E.g, DEI…
should ensure our products
are inclusive, resource-
efficient & helpful.
Increasing DEI…
Is an integral focus on
people for changing this
course (next to the focus on
the planet & prosperity)

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Many Thanks!
@agilealliance.social@JuttaEckstein
@juttaeckstein.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juttaeckstein
https://bit.ly/agile-sustainability
https://jeckstein.com/sustainability
https://bit.ly/AA-sustainability-initiative
Support & sign: The Agile Sustainability Manifesto
agilesustainabilitymanifesto.org