Gender Diversity... it's about all of us every day!


#1

I’m listening to one of the old podcasts (over a year ago) and almost every reference to the Scrum Master role is “he” or “him”. (The speakers are all male too.) In the context of this conversation, most references were to the discipline/role at large, not an individual.

Now I know history and grammar allows “he” to be the default all-inclusive, but we also work in an industry dominated by white men. Being one of those white men, I’d like to leverage my privilege to suggest that we’d do better by saying “they” whenever possible.

I currently work in a company where all of our Scrum Masters are women, and I’m all-too-often reminded of the little comments made in front of them that prompt me to pull a team member aside and point out that something said wasn’t the best way to communicate their thoughts. I’ve also had a star female employee point out these issues as she was leaving the company. Thus, I’m doing my best to remain conscious of this issue… I think we can do better.

I pride myself in how agile is a philosophy, and part of the culture that comes with it is about encouraging and empowering the team. For me, these issues are included in that philosophy. As coaches or leaders, we are in the best position to make an impact.


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#2

The power of the language we use is immense.

And far too frequently our blind spots, our habitual behaviors, etc., are not reflected back to us.

You’ve done a wonderful job here with firmness, kindness, and imo validity.

Thank you for this post @kschlabach !


#3

I just wanted to say thank you for this! It is one of the first posts I’ve come across since joining the Coalition and it feels so good to see something like this. I am an Agile Project Manager, oft a scrum master, and the only female in either role in my company; basically, I’m not the default and no one thinks it should matter to me. This buoyed my day!


#4

Perhaps we can co-brand some swag?13 AM


#5

This is my shirt…

Generally, I find it easier in English than in German. There is no way to use the plural as a maybe not so elegant, but valid workaround when talking about people filling the roles. Even I have to say either “he” all the time or “he or she”, which becomes a bit bulky as language… but so important sigh The women in my seminars are almost all really eager to learn and enthusiastic about agile principles and values… don’t want to ignore them in my teaching