Diversity and Subsidized Passes

Last year, we wrote about the lack of diversity of the first two festivals and took our first steps towards changing it. We want to talk about the results of that effort, and what we’re doing this year to continue it.

We firmly believe in inclusivity and want everyone to participate, feel welcome, and know that they belong.

XOXO isn’t a tech conference, but as it spread through word-of-mouth, it inherited the homogeneity of tech culture: a dominantly male, dominantly white group of attendees. In its first two years, XOXO was about 80% men and almost entirely white, which doesn’t represent the community we want to foster.

So, last year, we decided to do something about it with some relatively small changes:

1. We formalized our Code of Conduct, and talked openly about our zero-tolerance policy for harassment.
2. In the registration survey, we asked attendees if they self-identified with a group that was previously underrepresented at XOXO, and factored that into admission.
3. We ramped up security for speakers and attendees, and had two counselors on site specifically to support attendees who needed it.
4. We talked publicly about these changes and why diversity matters to us, here and on stage.

Small changes, relatively speaking, but it had an impact. Most notably, the percentage of attendees who identify as women doubled to roughly 40%, which was a clear improvement. Around 12% of attendees self-identified as LGBTQ.

But XOXO is still dominantly white, with only 13% of attendees self-identifying as people of color. Just over half of our attendees are white men, which isn’t good enough.

We’ve made some small steps in the right direction, but there’s so much more we can do.

Subsidized Passes

Since 2013, XOXO tickets have cost $500. We like to think it’s a good value for the four days we offer, but it’s a price that’s far out of reach for many people who want to go.

It favors those in well-paying jobs — many in technology from San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles — while excluding many of the independent artists the festival was designed for. This is compounded by the structural and systemic inequality faced by anyone who isn’t a healthy white affluent cisgender male.

Earlier this year, we reached out to someone whose pioneering work in this area we’d previously leaned on heavily for our code of conduct: Ashe Dryden, the tireless diversity advocate behind AlterConf. With Ashe’s help, we’ve worked out a way to offer a number of passes at a severely-discounted rate without compromising the scope of the festival.

Thanks to the generosity of our patrons, we’re thrilled to offer 50 full conference passes for $50 to those who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend.

In order to distribute these passes, we’re adding a new question to our survey: “Do you need a subsidized pass in order to attend XOXO?” Like the question we added last year, “Do you identify with a group that’s been underrepresented at XOXO?”, we’re leaving the answer open. You can provide any information you feel is relevant.

Each request will be reviewed by an advisory board composed from a broad spectrum of individuals and organizations advocating for underrepresented groups. This board will review responses with two questions in mind: do you believe this person wouldn’t be able to attend XOXO otherwise, and do you believe attending would make a positive impact on this person’s life? With Ashe’s help, we’re finalizing the board and we’ll share the details before registration closes next week.

Code of Conduct

We’re proud of our Code of Conduct, but without enforcement and awareness, it’s completely meaningless. 

We try to make sure nobody can possibly claim ignorance by repeatedly talking about how our anti-harassment policies work, and the repercussions for violating them.

In each of the last two years, we immediately and permanently banned an attendee who chose to ignore those warnings and harassed others. We’re not naive: we know that there’s no foolproof way to eliminate all bad behavior, but we want to make sure attendees feel comfortable knowing we’ll act quickly and decisively when incidents arise.

This year, accepting the terms of our Code of Conduct is a requirement for buying a pass.

Expectations

Each year, you put enormous trust in us. We like to think we’ve continually improved the festival, but inevitably, there will always be room for improvement.

Last year, we failed to provide non-alcoholic options at our bars, we neglected to fully consider our venues when it came to attendees with mobility issues, and we definitely could have done a better job providing resources to families attending the event.

This year, we’ll make those things better, along with anything else we can find. We hope you’ll continue to be candid with us about the things that we’re doing wrong, or the things that can be better. More than anything, your honest feedback is what’s helped us improve XOXO.

Last year, we opened XOXO jokingly asking you to “lower your expectations.” This year, we’re working as hard as we can to exceed them.

— Andy & Andy