My name's Kay Martinez, I use they/them/theirs pronouns and our focus for today is gonna be on Inclusive Dialogues.

So the objective for today, we wanna talk about some strategies to foster inclusive learning dialogues in alignment with the W3C Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, and Accessibility guidelines.

Both of those are available online, if you haven't checked them out, I encourage you to do so.

I found the language in the Code of Ethics to be particularly great and powerful.

It talks about the spirit that we hope to foster in these spaces, which are inclusive to everyone, respectful of everyone, particularly mindful of identities, especially marginalized identities.

So we're gonna unpack a lot of the language that was there, but I personally think it's really great.

Just a bit of background on me.

So my background is not in tech, although I use the Internet a lot, so thanks y'all for all the work you do.

My background is in what we call JEDI or Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion in the United States.

I've been doing this for over about 10 years, and I have taught courses, I taught a course specifically at Stanford University on Intergroup Dialogue Facilitation.

So how do we create these inclusive spaces for dialogue, for conversation, for learning, my background is in education, so that's what I'm bringing to the space today.

Also a personal note, I'm Afro-Latinx Queer Non-Binary person, so I use they, them pronouns.

So the commitment that the W3C has to creating inclusive spaces and respecting people's gender identity and calling out racism, I think is really important and important to me personally, so I thank all of you for being here and committing to that effort.

So our agenda for today, first, we're gonna give an overview on accessibility.

So how we can make our content more accessible, if you have questions at any point, feel free to use the chat or raise your hand, as Dom mentioned, we will be recording, so if you are okay with being on video with your question, you can speak, you will be happy to have you but if not, you can just submit a chat and I'll read your question without naming you.

Second part, we're gonna focus a bit on Pronouns and Misgendering, which is a part of the W3C Code of Ethics, which I thought was really important.

And then lastly, why are we talking about addressing microaggressions?

So what are microaggressions?

What are some strategies to use?

If a microaggression comes up in the space that you're leading, and we'll be doing that in some breakouts, so you'll be working with at least one other person to kinda talk about how you would handle this.

I hope to give about 45 minutes for the last section, so the first two sections will be about 45 minutes and then the last one I hope to give you time to talk and work together.

So here's a practice that I use whenever I'm leading a workshop or a space, these are workshop agreements.

So there are like guidelines or things to keep in mind for participants in my space.

It's a way to say, I think as a facilitator, welcome, glad you're here.

And here are some things to consider in this space.

So I always say that this is a shared learning space and I don't know everything, I have a few things to share that I've researched, but I'm always learning, so I hope that you all share anything that you know, add on to this conversation as well.

Intent versus impact, where you see the greater than sign, so impact is greater than intent.

So in our conversations today, we will be talking about microaggressions, right?

Which happened, I think largely, inadvertently someone says or does something that's offensive to someone else.

And we have this relationship of intention and impact, although you may not have meant to say or do anything offensive, it's still maybe, and we want to prioritize that impact on someone that we've harmed by our actions, although unintentional.

So an example I use, is if I had a hot tea or a hot coffee or something, and I accidentally spilled it on you.

In that moment, would you want to know, “I'm a very great person who can carry a lot of things at one time and I don't have any balance issues.

I actually carry lots of hot objects all the time” or would you want that person who spilled hot tea or coffee to say, “Oh, I'm sorry.

Like, let me help you.

Let me get you a napkin or a Tide pen,” right?

We wanna prioritize the impact that this hot coffee or tea has had on someone, so help the person grab a napkin, give them a Tide pen, not tell them about your balancing skills and your ability to carry four or five beverages at one time.

So I guess just for all of us to think about in these moments, prioritize the impact on the other person, try not to make it about you, try not to tell someone your great intentions.

One speaker at a time, you're on Zoom or these web platforms, I know it can be difficult, I encourage sharing, I want people to share, but to the best of your ability to try to use the raise hand function or you submit in chat, and then I'll call on you, so that you can speak if you'd like to.

Take space, make space, I encourage participation, I hope you have questions, I will stop for questions, but just be mindful.

If you're someone that's asking a lot of questions think about how much space you're taking up in the session and conversely, if you're someone that tends to have a lot of questions, but maybe doesn't ask them, you don't take up a lot of space I invite you to take up some space here.

And then the last one, using I statements.

I think it's important for people to just speak for themselves.

I have experienced this in my lifetime, I do this rather than making generalizations, all women do this, or all queer people do this, for example.

So those are the ones that I use for facilitators, I encourage you all to also think about maybe a couple agreements that you can start your sessions off with for your participants.

And then I also leave an empty space, if anyone has any that they'd like to add.

So I'll ask y'all if you have any workshop agreements that you'd like to add, or if you have any questions or comments as we're kinda modeling in real life here about this idea of creating workshop agreements.

Cool, alright, we'll keep it moving.

Feel free to ask questions at any time.

So yeah, Workshop Agreements, I think are important because they show your values in this space, so I encourage you all to think of ones that would be important to you.

They establish guidelines for the space and you can co-create them, so if any participant says, I actually want this, or I need this in this space, I think he can create that like collaborative environment right from the beginning of the presentation.

So, now shifting to accessibility, so a lot of my work in the field has been on inclusion and advocating for inclusivity and all aspects, but particularly in terms of accessibility.

So in thinking about your content try to design for the broadest possible audience.

So I think your space is unique in that, if it's bringing people from all over the world.

People have backgrounds, varied backgrounds in different subject matters, different lived experiences, so I think all of you are very inclusive and diverse already, and that also presents some challenges to think about your attendees.

This is also on the W3C website, but just thinking about some of your audience may not be able to see clearly or well or at all, right?

We're gonna have variables there, people's abilities.

Also hearing, speaking, and understanding.

So for you as a facilitator, you wanna take all of these things into account when we're creating spaces.

So I hope that you notice like with these slides, for example, we'll talk more about the visual design using high contrast color combinations.

So I choose a white background, a lighter colored background, darker colors using large legible font.

So the fewer words you have on the slide, the better.

So I try to use the slides to just accent key points, so you're not reading off of the slides, but using just like smaller paragraphs or small sentences to highlight your point and then in just like minimal text.

And for audio and visual accessibility, there will be closed captioning, so Dom mentioned that to me.

So for participants who may need assistive technologies that will be provided, but in general, it's helpful to try to speak slowly and clearly for your participants and also for any close captioning that might be happening.

Using microphones, so if you have a headset or a microphone on you that will help amplify your voice for those who might not be able to hear.

And then, since we'll be using Zoom, Zoom has a lot of features.

If you're not familiar with that, you can use to enhance accessibility.

Also on your presentations like on this one, I use Google Slides to make this.

You can right click and you can include alternative text.

So for images like this cute image here of these two young folks in front of a computer, the images from Black Girls Code, we want to try to describe the image for someone who might not be able to see it.

So there are many assistive technologies like screen readers that have features in them that can read images for you or for whoever's using it.

So an example of alternative text for this image would be two smiling, black girls seated in front of a blue laptop computer in a classroom.

So you wanna try to provide as much description for these images as possible.

And I learned that these image readers or screen readers will announce that an image is there, so you don't need to say, this is an image, it will say image of, and you just put it in the description.

Does anybody have any questions or comments this far about maybe alternative text or any of the other aesthetic keys?

Great, also there's a website on the W3C page that gives you additional tips on accessibility, so I just wanna highlight a few for us today.

There's also a feature in Zoom that it's good to remind participants to enable.

You have to go to your Zoom web portal to enable it, and it's specifically called nonverbal feedback.

So there's a little picture of it here, right?

And describing pictures as I go, you can raise your hand, so I think this is a very important tool for facilitators to use if people have questions because we have a smaller group, we don't necessarily need that right now but if you had like 30, 40 people you might want that.

There's a yes, no button, your participants can ask you to go slower or faster, which I think is really helpful and they don't have to announce that, so they can just submit it to you, and you will see that as a facilitator.

And then these other icons, the thumbs down is disagree, thumbs up is agree.

So if you wanted to ask people is this okay or not?

There's the reaction button, the handclap, the coffee cup is for like taking a break or if someone needs more time, so someone says I'm gonna be right back, with the coffee symbol, and the clock there is asking for a break.

So, just telling participants to make sure that these settings are enabled, I think will help you, I see y'all playing with them now, thanks.

Now for the understanding, you will have participants come from all over the world and from all walks of life and also various levels of familiarity with your topic, so we want to take that into account too.

We may have newcomers in the space and maybe their first time there.

So for us as facilitators and people who want to be inclusive facilitators or educators, we want to try to explain terminology, complicated concepts in its simplest form as much as possible.

Revise your contents and see if you have any insider jargon, if you do, just make sure that you mention that upfront.

And as I mentioned earlier, just clearly defining your learning goals and objectives, and agenda, I think can help get everyone on the same page.

And Sheila made a note earlier to me while we were planning this, that if you're using a channel for your session to put that up front and early so that people can know.

And Wendy, I think you asked about a channel as well.

So just putting that in your workshops up front in the beginning, can help, I think, get everybody on the same page.

Any questions on anything so far?

Okay.

So this other section impacts me personally, and I was very glad to see it on the W3C Code of Conduct and Ethics.

So in terms of diversity and inclusion, you may have participants like me, who use they, them pronouns, who may be transgender or gender nonconforming, or non-binary.

And for you all as facilitators, there are a few things you can do right off the bat to create a space that's inclusive for people of all genders.

So we're gonna talk about pronouns and misgendering.

So as you saw today, when I started the presentation, I introduced myself by my names and pronouns.

I also displayed them on my name here in Zoom.

Doing those two things, introducing yourself and putting your pronouns are really great markers to create the space that would be inclusive for people of all genders.

By putting your name and pronouns out there, we prevent misgendering.

And thank you Chris.

Yes, today is International Pronoun Day, so even more appropriate timing for this conversation.

So I think it's really quick, easy way just to put that out there.

You may even have participants who have never done that before, so, yeah, just start right off the bat by teaching them something new.

Misgendering is what happens when you refer to someone by their incorrect pronoun.

So like for me, for example, right?

I use they, them, theirs.

If someone were to call me she, her, or he or him, that would be incorrect.

And so, they would be misgendering, so they would be using pronouns that were inappropriate or incorrect for me.

Doing that is not an inclusive environment, it's not ideal.

I mean, to make a parallel, I guess I don't think you would all appreciate if someone called you by the wrong name repeatedly.

This is kind of like that, but with an added layer of discomfort because of the misgendering.

So, putting that out there, putting names and pronouns can help prevent this active misgendering from happening.

So these are a few pronouns that are out there.

Perhaps maybe the most widely known or used She, Her, Hers, He, Him, His, They, Them, Theirs.

Also a note that some people don't use pronouns at all, so they just ask that you refer to them by their name.

In the event that you don't know someone's pronouns, my best advice to you is to always refer to them by their name.

So, if you didn't know my pronouns or if using they, them, theirs pronouns was new for you, just call me Kay.

And that way we don't have pronouns at all.

Any questions on pronouns so far?

So, very quickly on what to do if you misgender someone, my advice is that you apologize, right?

Intention versus impact.

We don't wanna say, oh, you know I have so many trans friends, right?

I can't believe that that happened.

We just wanna say, oh, you know sorry, Kay, I recognize that you use they, them pronouns.

So address it, apologize.

Let's not make a huge deal out of it, and you're like, oh my god, Kay, I'm so sorry.

I used your wrong pronouns, right?

We don't wanna draw more attention to what has happened.

I think we would just want to move quickly, address it, apologize and then try your best to not do it again in the future.

So, if just referring to someone by name would be more helpful for you to do that.

And then as an aside, I think trying to find ways to practice on your own time like, especially if you are going to have more interactions with someone who use pronouns that were challenging for you, find ways to practice that.

Some people have to say things out loud, some people have to write it down, so do whatever you need to do on your own time to help you with that.

Any questions on what to do if you misgender?

Okay, we'll keep it moving then.

This is a simple script that I use, I used it today.

If you would like to introduce yourself with pronouns at the beginning of your session and encourage participants to do so.

So I would say my name is, fill in the blank for yourself and I use whatever pronouns you use.

You can share your pronouns in your display name if you'd like to.

So I can also provide that to y'all, if you'd like to use that.

And there's just a question in the chat.

Do I have a recommendation for what a facilitator should do if you hear a participant misgender another participant?

Great question, so I would, in that instance, just pause the conversation and just reiterate the participants pronouns.

So if we made up a hypothetical situation, if I'm the facilitator and I heard Dom misgender Sheila, I would just say, oh yeah, thanks Dom for sharing, and just wanna remind everyone that Sheila's pronouns are et cetera.

So, I think it would be important for the facilitator in that space to intervene because the participant might not feel comfortable doing so.

And if that were me, I would really appreciate it if a facilitator stood up for me and intervene on my behalf.

So I think that's also a way that facilitators can create these inclusive spaces, which is what we're gonna be talking about when it comes to addressing misgendering.

So be an active facilitator, intervene when we see things happen.

But thank you for the great question.

Anyone else, questions on pronouns, or misgender?

Alright, so the last part, we're a little ahead of schedule, so we'll have more time here to talk about this.

I think this is frankly the most challenging part of being a facilitator in my experience.

We put together the content, you're leading the session and then something happens in the session, someone says something, someone does something and you have to intervene.

You have to kinda step in and handle it.

I've been doing this work for over a decade and I have a lot of experience with it, but it doesn't mean that it isn't challenging.

And so, I'd like to share, I guess some of my best practices that I've learned along the way.

As a facilitator for the W3C, you're responsible for living up to these code of conduct values and I really appreciated this language and the code of conduct, where they say that W3C strictly prohibits discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and bullying of any kind and on any basis.

So in your sessions, it may happen that a participant would say something that would constitute intimidation or bullying or harassment.

And we want to create this space to kind of work through what some of those scenarios might look like.

Microaggressions were also mentioned in the code of conduct.

And just to break down that term, it refers to any actions, comments, or questions, which marginalize people.

The comments can be hostile or derogatory and they do not create an inclusive environment.

So, I largely think that these are unintentional comments but sometimes they are very much intentional but regardless of the intent, right?

We wanna focus on the impact that we want to step in, we want to stop it, we want to address it.

And also I think holding some compassion for both the person or people who've been impacted but even the person that said the thing or did the thing, right?

I don't think they're necessarily a bad person, I think it can be an opportunity to address it and then maybe help this person see the impact of their actions.

And so, it's a tricky job for you, where you're kinda holding all of these things.

And also, there's like a third dimension where you yourself may be impacted by what was said or done.

So you're kinda managing all these different things at one time.

So here's my approach, first and foremost, trying to calm and center yourself.

So when these comments are made, I feel like sometimes my heart can race quickly or I could be angry or upset.

And if I feel like a heightened sense of emotion, that's not the best space for me as a facilitator to respond to someone else.

So I need to take like two or three seconds to calm myself and center myself.

I could take a deep breath, I could think of a happy thought, think of your favorite song in your head, whatever it is that will bring you back to your centers, that you can approach whatever was said.

Secondly, I would pause.

Someone says something, someone does something, I'm centering myself and I'm gonna pause, so kinda holding a silence for a second, I think is an impactful way for the facilitator to demonstrate without saying anything at all that we're going to transition, that something is going to happen here.

So it's kinda holding a silence for a moment.

I always start with an appreciation, so in this hypothetical that we said earlier, right?

If Dom had inadvertently misgendered Sheila, I saw it, I witnessed it, I wanna intervene my heart's racing I know I need to do something or take a second, take a deep breath, center myself.

And I would say, oh yeah, thanks Dom for sharing.

That's kinda like a reflex at this point.

Like thanks, not for misgendering Sheila, but yeah, thanks for contributing.

And then now, I want to revisit what was said, I wanna create a moment for learning.

So, as I said before, what I would do is I would say, thanks Dom, for sharing that point, I just wanna remind everyone, so it's not just about Dom, I'm not calling Dom out, I'm not singling Dom out, I'm just reminding the entire space that Sheila's pronouns are she, her.

And so, I think that that changes the frame but it doesn't just single out Dom, it doesn't make him necessarily feel like he's being chastised in front of a lot of people.

And then, I would try to check in with everyone and say, and as I've been modeling that today, does anybody have any questions or comments or is everyone okay?

And then we can move forward.

So as a facilitator, you're also trying to be I guess, aware of the emotional intelligence, emotional range in the space that you're in as well.

So people are having a heated discussion, right?

You want to try to diffuse that and pivot.

Any questions or thoughts on this model?

Because we're gonna throw you into it.

We have a couple of scenarios for you all to work through.

But thoughts, questions or reactions to this.

All right, so now we're gonna get into some breakout groups.

Just looking at the participants, I think we could do two people per group and just kinda pair people off.

So in this scenario, you are yourself, you're leading your your workshop space and you have John who uses they/them/theirs pronouns in your workshop.

And John makes a comment and they say, I found this used in many third world countries." For example, you could be talking about, I don't know, technical things that y'all work on, plans that they've seen, for example. Now, my questions for you all to think about are, is this comment offensive? How does that comment make you feel? And then how would you address John and create a moment for learning? So going to attempt some breakouts here.