Yesterday I went to the Amazon Web Services Enterprise Summit, in London. I listened to this man first, then this man; then this guy, this one, and then after lunch these six men all spoke too. And throughout all of it, another man acted as compère.
Eleven. White. Males. (I couldn't find a picture of the other two, but trust me: the other two were white and male too). Not exactly a shining example of diversity, is it? And I fear that the speaker line-up at AWS re:Invent won't exactly be that much better.
This is is no way a criticism of the eleven men in question: it's a criticism of the industry in general, and Amazon Web Services in particular.
Diversity helps us all. It encourages everyone to participate. For example, having women on stage will help other women to feel like they're represented, welcome, and included. And with that inclusion comes a greater array of ideas and perspectives. Surely you want the best people, whatever their gender, race, sexuality? Lack of diversity means that you're risking excluding some of the best people who would otherwise feel included.
So, AWS: just how hard did you try to bring in non-white-male speakers? I find it hard to believe that you tried, but were unable, to find any speakers who were female and/or non-white. Call me cynical, but what I find much easier to believe is that either you couldn't be bothered, or that the concept of ensuring diversity in your speakers just didn't even occur to you (and straight white non-disabled male is the default state for humans, amirite?).
Come on Amazon. I love your products, but on the diversity front you're setting a bad example. A company of your size, influence and reach is in a fantastic position to lead by example: just as your services help your customers (and, some would say, lead the way), please use your influence to help the industry improve in diversity too, so we can all feel included.
Thank you.