As a former Chapter Leader of @girldevelopit, I implore GDI's national leadership team (HQ) to do better & be better.
an-open-letter-to-gdi-board.com
[a thread]
an-open-letter-to-gdi-board.com
[a thread]
GDI HQ has been flawed at best for years, but now - in the face of mounting criticism over story after story of WoC in our community & *even on this very leadership team* being marginalized - HQ has shown a complete failure of leadership at almost every step.
In response to striking commentary provided by @shanisebarona in an interview on @kimcrayton1's @causeascenePod about Shanise's experiences as an employee of HQ, GDI HQ released the following statement
That press release is another testament to the complete lack of accountability that has been taking place for years. Except now this lack of accountability is not just over financial reports or policy updates- it is actively harming women of color in our community & IT MUST STOP.
In the press release shared yesterday, the leadership fails to accept any responsibility for any of the incidences that occurred (with Shanise or others), places blame on the local chapters, and fails to outline actions being taken with any specificity.
If you read that press release & gave them any benefit of the doubt that the ambiguity creates, don't. I've been giving them benefit of the doubt for years & the only consistent deliverable I've seen is the phrase "more soon!"
As for me, I regret that myself and the co-signers of this open letter did not speak out sooner. I truly believed that direction and leadership from GDI HQ were imminent in light of these events. I was wrong.
I am deeply sorry to the members of this community who were directly or indirectly harmed by my silence.
In order for this organization to succeed, GDI HQ must take accountability for it's failures. This starts with a change of leadership, specifically anyone who was directly involved in the marginalization of Shanise or in sweeping the events in Minneapolis under the rug.
This also means putting money where their mouth is by implementing a core shift in GDI's programming and policies to better serve communities of color, including resources and training for the volunteers in local communities doing the work.
Let me be very clear: this is a vote of a no confidence in the current leadership of @girldevelopit. It's been brewing for sometime, this is long overdue.
TBH, I *want* GDI to succeed because I have seen and experienced the impact of this community and I truly believe in its mission. But more importantly than that, I am beholden to the community of women that I have served and learned from in Cincinnati.
If the GDI brand does not represent all of the women in my community, then I look forward to growing a community of empowered, confident technical women beyond the bounds of GDI.
I have lots more to say and there are many other people with stories to tell but I'll stop for now. But AMA - I'll answer anything you want to know.
