How can we make tech conferences more diverse?

After a lot of tech content in the last posts, it’s time again for a cultural topic: Tech conferences! They are great - and interesting spaces. As a speaker, I have visited quite a lot of them, and I’ve noticed over the years that the people you see there tend to look, well, very much the same. 😇

I remember several conferences where I was approached by “Oh wow, finally another woman.” or even a situation where a group of 3 women were chatting - surrounded by 4 photographers 🙈

To be fair: it’s getting better from year to year. And there are a bunch of positive exceptions with a super diverse crowd - both in the audience and on stage. So, many conferences are already quite thoughtful about diversity - and they are getting more. But still, when you look at the system as a whole, there is clearly more to do. So let’s have a look at some ideas that can help make conferences more diverse.

Dimensions of diversity

Before getting practical, let’s have a quick look at diversity in general. Because when we talk about diversity, the conversation often jumps immediately to visible aspects - and those are of course important. My examples above also focus on just one aspect of diversity. But diversity is actually broader than that. It includes many layers that are not always obvious at first glance: background, education, experience, communication style, even confidence levels in certain environments.

A model I often come back to here is the “4 Layers of Diversity” by Gardenswartz and Rowe, because it makes one thing very clear: Diversity is not a single dimension. It’s a combination of many factors that shape how people experience a space. And conferences are exactly such spaces.

So, why is it important?

There are the obvious reasons: Diverse conferences reflect the world we live in, they encourage different perspectives, and make discussions richer and more interesting. But there is also something more subtle going on.

When a conference is more diverse, it tends to feel more accessible. More people see themselves reflected in the program, and more people feel like they could actually participate and attend.

And that has a direct effect on who shows up, who speaks, and who stays in the community over time.

The good news: We all can help!

First of all: It’s not only the organisers who can help in making conferences more diverse. Conferences are a system with many actors in it and each of them has different ways of influencing the outcome.

And as so often in life, it’s not about big radical changes. It’s about many small actions that add up. Here are some…

Some ideas for organisers

Organisers have the strongest leverage of course, because they define the structure of the event.

And in my experience, diversity efforts often start too late. A common argument is: “We would have loved to invite more people from diverse backgrounds but none applied.” But that raises a more interesting question: what happened before the CfP closed? Who heard about the conference? Who was encouraged to submit? Did organisers actively reach out to communities? Did they invite first-time speakers to apply? Was it clear that newcomers were welcome?

Being proactive means not waiting for diversity to appear in the submission system, but actively creating the conditions that make people feel invited to participate in the first place.

Another aspect is the speaker selection. This is where a lot of diversity either happens - or doesn’t. And most of the time, it doesn’t fail because of bad intentions - but because familiar patterns take over. People tend to invite people they already know, or select talks that feel “safe” because they resemble previous years.

Being intentional here can already change a lot. That can mean consciously including underrepresented voices, or being careful not to reduce diversity to a checkbox exercise where someone is invited only to represent a category. Some conferences also experiment with blind selection processes, where submissions are reviewed without knowing who the speaker is. This can help reduce certain biases in evaluation.

Another very concrete factor is money. Travel, accommodation, and ticket costs are still real barriers. Even when people are interested and qualified, they might simply not be able to attend. Scholarships, stipends, or targeted free tickets can make a real difference here.

For some people, there are even more fundamental practical constraints, such as child care. Attending or speaking at a conference is simply not feasible without it. Providing child care options or support can make a real difference.

And then there is the question of safety and accessibility. A clear code of conduct is one part of it - but to be fair, I see this as a must-have nowadays. What matters more is that it is actually enforced and visible, and that the people enforcing it are approachable. On top of that, accessibility measures like captioning, wheelchair access, or virtual participation options are often what makes participation possible in the first place.

Something I also find important is support for first-time speakers. A lot of people don’t apply not because they lack experience, but because they assume they are not “ready enough”. Mentorship programmes or speaker training can lower that barrier significantly.

Finally, there is the aspect of community partnerships and tracking progress. Working with external groups can help broaden reach beyond the usual networks, and measuring diversity over time helps make progress visible instead of just assumed.

Some ideas for speakers

Speakers also have more influence than it might seem at first.

One part of that is mentorship and advocacy. If you have spoken before, it’s relatively easy to open doors for others - by recommending people, inviting co-speakers, encouraging peers to submit, or simply helping someone prepare for their first talk.

Another part is content. The topics we choose also shape what conferences look like. If we only talk about the same narrow set of “safe” technical topics, the stage will reflect that. If we broaden what we consider relevant, we automatically broaden who feels invited into the conversation.

Speakers also have a certain visibility and influence within conference communities. That means they can raise concerns when they notice a lack of diversity and start conversations with organisers about it. This does not need to be confrontational. Often organisers genuinely want to improve but are unsure where to start. Constructive feedback from speakers can help identify blind spots and encourage positive change for future editions.

Some ideas for participants

Even as an attendee, you are not just a passive part of a conference.

Being an ally can be as simple as actively engaging with a wide range of speakers, supporting people during Q&A, or amplifying different voices in conversations afterwards.

Participants also shape conferences through feedback and expectations. Just like speakers, attendees can raise concerns when they notice a lack of diversity or representation. Organisers cannot improve issues they never hear about, and constructive feedback can be surprisingly powerful when it comes from people who genuinely care about the event and want to see it improve.

And something very practical: bringing colleagues or friends along. A lot of conference attendance is social. If we lower the barrier for others in our network, we indirectly influence who becomes part of that space.

Final thought

When I look at conferences today, I do see change. Many events are already much more aware of diversity than they were a few years ago, and that’s a super positive development.

At the same time, when you zoom out, it becomes clear that diversity is not just something that happens on stage. It’s the result of many decisions that happen long before that moment — in who gets invited, who feels encouraged, who can afford to attend, and who even considers applying.

And the interesting part is: this means there is not just one single point of action. There are many small ones. And many of them are actually in reach for all of us.