[COMMUNITY] Abstract and presentation for FINOS OSFF, London

[PaulaPaul]

OSFF London will be held on the 26th of June, 2024; the CFP is open until the 17th of March.

The DEI-SIG would like to have a talk featured at the event that focuses on the challenges under-represented groups face in engineering, lessons learned, and actions that can be taken to move in a more inclusive direction for people at all career levels.

James McLeod and the team at NatWest indicated interest in taking this on, and this issue can be used to provide resources and thoughts to the team for abstract submission and presentation content.

[PaulaPaul]

Over the years I've collected resources on this topic and found this article to be an interesting summary - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10664-023-10379-8#Fig1

Also, the AnitaB organization provides resources and research related to the topic of 'Measure What Matters' https://anitab.org/research-and-impact/

[KaajalAminSharma]

@PaulaPaul

I'm happy to help where I can. Are we going with the talk on Gender Bias? If yes, anyone have any thoughts on potential speakers? James do you already know of speakers from Natwest?

Once we have theme confirmed I can reach out to a few people internally about their availability.

We also need to consider whether the format would be a talk or panel discussion-
If the submission forms are the same as NY- we will need a diverse panel, and the form will need to include panelists/speaker details and bios.

[mcleo-d]

This weekend I'll be raising the CFP for OSFF that includes the themes raised in the last meeting and in the issue comments.

The main topic thread will be delivering actions that people can engage / replicate rather than another DE&I discussion.

The CFP will be loose, so I won't be naming people specifically. However, it would be good to have a show of hands for those willing to be on the panel.

The only criteria is that change needs to be demonstrated rather than theoretical.

I look forward to hearing from you.

[mcleo-d]

FYI - I agreed to submit the CFP on behalf of the DEI SIG and this is not a NatWest specific initiative.

[tenatzen]

I have a contact who may be a valuable insight for your panel. Tandy Nicole runs a number of initiatives supporting females and refugees to get into the Tech Sector. She also pioneers in pushing to change governmental strategy while raising capital and managing these projects, giving a very robust and complete view of challenges faced making a difference everyday through DEI initiatives.

Let me know if you would like me to make an introduction

[Perelmuter]

Hi @mcleo-thanks so much for taking this forward - Just a point of clarification - On the SIG call we discussed the panel session focus would be 'Avoiding Bias for Developers' - title TBD - we agreed this was very timely given all the discussion around AI and to ensure it's actionable and offer best practice for the audience. You had mentioned it's a focus for Natwest and I'm sure other FSIs have this as a priority.

We invite all to contribute to the proposal that James is pulling together on behalf of the DEI SIG!!

[mcleo-d]

Hi all 👋🏻 The following DEI SIG panel discussion was submitted with NatWest colleagues and FINOS DEI SIG members on the panel. I'm sure there is room to edit following the submission if needed.

Title :

FINOS DEI SIG : Addressing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Financial Services and Open Source

Description :

Diversity is a cornerstone of innovation, driving better outcomes in technology focused fields. Despite the known benefits, gender diversity and equity continue to pose challenges in software development.

Join us at the FINOS Open Source in Finance Forum as the FINOS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion SIG delves into how financial services and open source communities should adapt to tackle these issues.

Our panel will explore strategies to foster meaningful participation, create inclusive environments, and address barriers faced by underrepresentation in financial services and open source communities.

Drawing from the experience of working in male-dominated fields we aim to shed light on and discuss how to address the experiences of new and seasoned professionals from different genders and age groups.

By sharing experiences and insights, we seek to drive awareness and share actionable steps within the financial services and open source ecosystems.

Join us for a dynamic discussion on empowering diversity and promoting gender equity in the financial services and open source industries.

[Perelmuter]

Thanks so much @mcleo-d for pulling this together and for updating the proposal to highlight the focus on addressing bias in software engineering as follows:

Description :
Diversity is a cornerstone of innovation, driving better outcomes in technology focused fields. Despite the known benefits, gender diversity and equity continue to pose challenges in software development.
Join us at the FINOS Open Source in Finance Forum as the FINOS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion SIG delves into how financial services and open source communities should adapt to tackle these issues.

Our panel will explore strategies to foster meaningful participation, create inclusive environments, and address the biases that having non-diverse teams and skewed data can unintentionally drive into software applications and Artificial Intelligence models.

Drawing from personal experience we aim to shed light on and discuss how to address unconscious bias and why developers and community managers should be educated to create diverse teams of mixed genders and age groups.

By sharing experiences and insights, we seek to drive awareness and share actionable steps within the financial services and open source ecosystems.

Join us for a dynamic discussion on empowering diversity and promoting gender equity in the financial services and open source industries.

[Perelmuter]

Please contact me if you have know-how in this area especially as we are looking to repurpose it for the Grace Hopper Celebration due on Wednesday March 20th and keen to to get great speakers!

[PaulaPaul]

Abstract has been submitted for the CFP!
Avoiding bias in software engineering

The final panelists have not yet been engaged - James would like to extend a request to the SIG to engage other voices on the panel.
CFP decisions will be made next week. Rita and Sergio can reach out to people from MS and Citi-

[Perelmuter]

@mcleo-d et all - Here is the GHC submission which get a bit more detailed on what we'd like panellists to potentially cover at OSFF - decision coming next week:

Practical Steps for Tackling Bias in Software Engineering in the Age of AI

Diversity is a cornerstone of innovation, driving better outcomes in technology and innovation. Despite the known benefits, gender diversity and equity continue to pose challenges in software development in the financial services and beyond. Open Source is a crucial space for addressing algorithmic fairness and FSIs have an outsized influence in society such that focusing on this sector is set to be game-changing. As the open source foundation for
fintech and part of the Linux Foundation, FINOS has a strategic DEI initiative focused on how financial services & open source communities can best adapt to tackle these issues. Since launching in 2022, the DEI SIG has achieved strong momentum increasing awareness and the participation of underrepresented groups at our annual & community events. For 2024, we have set further goals to create expanded SIG leadership and contributor opportunities; prioritise plans to develop, advance and retain diverse talent; and ensure that FINOS projects and software development is inclusive and diverse. Our panel will explore strategies and actions to foster meaningful participation, create inclusive environments, and address the biases that having non-diverse teams and skewed data can unintentionally drive into software applications and AI models. Drawing on the best practices of our members Microsoft, Morgan Stanley and AI fairness/accessibility experts, FINOS will share best practices on tackling bias around new Gen AI models and software to avoid bias, drive inclusion and ensure conformance to regulation such as the ethical and responsibility standards set forth in the AI Act and beyond. Equally, we will draw on FINOS' AI Readiness project which brings together FSIs and tech players such as CITI, MSFT, LSEG, MS to develop a responsible Governance Framework and uses case to ensure trust, inclusion and safety are at the heart of AI and software development–raising the bar towards a more equitable and inclusive future in tech.