The Great Austin Migration

This panel seeks to change the conversation from “What can technology conferences do about diversity?” to “What can attendees do about diversity at technology conferences?” The panel is composed of speakers who have each presented at multiple technology conferences on topics that did not focus on race or diversity but instead spoke on topics of sci-fi, electronic ownership of email and digital wills, the influence of mobile development via comic books, social media for youth and business automation lessons from Amazon. While the diversity of some major tech conferences has steadily improved over the years, geek culture - which remains overwhelmingly white and male - is still the norm. This can be daunting for people who, despite being experts in technology and new media, don’t see themselves reflected in the marketing materials or content. For example, there are almost no people of color on sxsw.com home page. The panelists will share how individuals can contribute to making technology conferences more inclusive. How about: This panel will look at some of the cultural and economic factors that shape inclusion and exclusion and generate an action list for attendees.