<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large;color:#000000">just a thought: with a moderately small board, one might need to measure its diversity over time rather than expecting any particular board instance to show all the desired level of diversity. A kind of rolling 2 or 3 year view of diversity of the board might be appropriate.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large;color:#000000">vint</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large;color:#000000"><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Oct 7, 2021 at 7:39 AM Veni Markovski via Chapter-delegates <<a href="mailto:chapter-delegates@elists.isoc.org">chapter-delegates@elists.isoc.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Thanks, Ted. <br>
It is good to see that at some level of the BoT (though you said
you are speaking in personal capacity, I understand it that it's
not an opinion of the BoT, but your own), there is someone, who is
recognizing that this is an issue, which could (should?) be
addressed.<br>
See some comments below, please. <br>
</font><br>
<div>On 10/7/21 03:23, Ted Hardie via
Chapter-delegates wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">I'm speaking
on this topic as an individual, not on behalf of the board.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">After reading
a few of the ongoing threads, I wanted to point out that one
of the more unusual aspects of the Internet Society's board of
trustees is the rate at which membership can turn over. Our
election processes put 4 seats up in any one year and impose a
limit of two consecutive terms. <br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
This is not unusual; it is happening at other Internet-related
organizations, too. <br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"> That means
that any diversity that is attained for the board is subject
to rebalance as soon as the following year, and it means that
three different groups are responsible for attaining or
maintaining that diversity. </div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
Correct. However, currently this seems to be the responsibility of
only one of these groups - the Chapters. There was also a comment by
a former Trustee (I hope I am not mixing who said it), which could
be interpreted as a criticism, that the Chapters actually dared to
choose 1 of the 4 they elect to be from the USA. Such criticism, no
matter how delicately (or not) is said, has the potential to silence
some of the chapters leaders, who might feel intimidated, when a
person of a certain authority speaks. <br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">All three
groups essentially run open candidate solicitations, and
then each runs its own selection. In none of the IETF cases
that I was involved in can I recall a balanced set of incoming
candidates, whether measured by gender or region. <br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
That's a serious problem, which the IETF could (should?) address;
however, based on some comments of people, who are affiliated with
the IETF in some ways, it seems they don't see this as a problem...
at all?!<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"> In the other
selection processes I've been involved in, things were better,
but there were often other differences among the candidates
that were equal in importance to regional and gender
diversity. Put another way, the complexity of managing the
diversity of experience needed in a board is also significant,
especially when the turnover can be a third of the total board
membership. <br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
True; perhaps this can be addressed in the by-laws, so that the
three groups are aware that they have to make an effort to address
at least some of the diversity issues? <br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">But I think
the current system embodies something important: the
principle that the constituents of the society select members
of the board. <br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
This won't change, if the constituents select members, who are
coming from different geographies, for example. <br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"> Once on the
board, each member is expected to represent the interests of
the whole, but each clearly has experience in one or more of
the constituent bodies which they bring to the table. They
are known to and voted in by the chapters, the organizations,
or the IETF's delegated body.</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
Correct. However, it may be just a coincidence, but so far all BoT
chairs have been elected by (primarily?) the IETF-elected Trustees,
and not a single chairperson has been elected among the
chapter-elected Trustees, right? It would be interesting to find out
why is that. <br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div><br>
</div>
<div><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">One
concern I have is that efforts to create specific targets
for the board's diversity might end up limiting that
principle. If you assign the task to the board to manage
its own diversity, </span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
The other option is to assign this task to the constituencies. <br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"><br>
<div><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">Again,
just my personal thoughts,</span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
Thanks for sharing them!<br>
<br>
<br>
<pre cols="72">--
Best regards,
Veni
<a href="https://www.veni.com" target="_blank">https://www.veni.com</a>
pgp:5BA1366E <a href="mailto:veni@veni.com" target="_blank">veni@veni.com</a>
The opinions expressed above are those of the
author, not of any organizations, associated
with or related to him in any given way. </pre>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed<br>
to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):<br>
<a href="https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login</a><br>
View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: <a href="https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/</a><br>
</blockquote></div>