Diversity in Open Source

Improving diversity in open source—and other tech communities—is an increasingly popular topic for many people these days. How can we increase the number of people with different abilities, experience, and skill sets, and from different backgrounds working on open source projects and in open source communities?

"Open source projects benefit from promoting an inclusive environment and valuing diverse perspectives." — 5 ways to promote an inclusive environment where good ideas can emerge by DeLisa Alexsander, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Red Hat

One way we can foster an inclusive and welcoming environment is to listen to a diverse range of voices and cover a variety of international open source topics. In August, Opensource.com will spotlight these stories in a Diversity in Open Source series. Help us by reading and sharing these stories with your friends, families, colleagues, and communities. Our series kicks off on August 10, 2015, so check back for new articles.

"It's really easy to argue that tech is a meritocracy, and the reason there are so few marginalized people in tech is just that they aren't interested, and that the problem comes from earlier on in the pipeline. They argue that if someone is good enough at their job, their gender or race or sexual orientation doesn't matter. That's the easy argument. But I was raised not to make excuses for mistakes. And I think the lack of diversity is a mistake, and that we should be taking responsibility for it and actively trying to make it better." — Patricia Torvalds, interviewed by Rikki Endsley in Torvalds 2.0: Patricia Torvalds on computing, college, feminism, and increasing diversity in tech

Read more about diversity in open source on Opensource.com from this list and this series:

1. Outreachy and the road toward diversity
2. How open source helped one woman break into the tech industry
3. 8 accessible Linux distributions to try
4. Founder of Open Source Hardware Association shares her story
5. 5-year plan for improving diversity in tech
6. Love for Perl unites diverse community
7. Diversity enriches middle school Linux user group
8. We need YOU to help close the IT gender gap
9. Torvalds 2.0: Patricia Torvalds on computing, college, feminism, and increasing diversity in tech

Past articles

• Succeed in open source, change the world
• Accessibility in Linux is good (but could be much better)
• How to attract more women to tech conferences
• Research reveals value of gender diversity in open source communities
• What I learned while editing Wikipedia
• The Women of OpenStack talk outreach, education, and mentoring
• Call to all open source communities: Emphasize inclusion
• Open source event planning is work, fun, and good for business 
• Teaching open source communities about conflict resolution