Re: PgUS Diversity Initiatives Questionnaire

Hi there,

I really appreciated reading this questionnaire and the effort it took to
create, it was thought-provoking. However, I must echo Laetitia's thoughts
and comment that I am at a loss in my ability to provide meaningful
feedback, and feel there is listening needed. Recently, I have been asked
to reflect on my experience being the only female in an IT Support Program
at a Canadian College. When asked how to encourage more women to enter
such a program, I felt totally stumped, and said so. I did say "having a
lack of role models doesn't help" but that was the best I could do.

Something did catch my attention and had my wheels turning: a story in the
National Geographic called "They Risk Their Lives to Save Elephants"
(please see below for more details). In anticipation of World Elephant Day
next Wednesday (August 12) , I do wonder if we have a platform to highlight
such exceptional dedication and achievements? While these efforts may not
be directly towards the PostgreSQL project, I do feel that highlighting
stories of female heroes and efforts to save the elephants may be helpful
ways to empower those in our community who do not identify as male. I would
be interested in others' thoughts.

Sincerely,
Katie
TODAY'S BIG TOPIC:
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bcc5/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0JoZLAZABQF30xF0sKPois3VqfW5bf1WlfvPhqF6LHwJz8pfr7aZACnJ_dtz2KUZifR20z7KMEvXzjOlactL_gpnLTLrzc8gihgJ6lmz2Xh4-1duS_h-m4D_c9iw0SAlF4UjTiVpSEHGzvCFqRc011ZVcMXcX-FWkChvfquShfkvltdAVStiSfOcriYwTafPDoKcrVrx-_saEuuuSJCqH66HqD9CZSOZqerz9gK0TS9grh82wJ_qwAwi4ToyG87ke6nh26roqlvdUqkTRvfRuMLYhoajFraByP3JrFToiyNfLPhYhdesYSPCRLgsB6mSBpzsLuXV8nVI93MRCmWpUjOR98kL83t6jN4kdrS85A9ATG20p6gBtIGVY8SUxQg69znmjEYqEUri4FLktZZhOjLhN6A8SzQ1lzE_RoqtokoDC3dNte9PM0MqcP9-8D3IgYdUCx24C2mDIDcvazpTbuasaUlaZ7IAedEAL3kO0osL9GHIzJyCuM1w7RDh5wicEibzJNySCMcJVPN3X9zYku>
THEY RISK THEIR LIVES
TO SAVE ELEPHANTS
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bcc6/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0JoZLAZABQF30xF0sKPois3VqfW5bf1WlfvPhqF6LHwJz8pfr7aZACnJ_dtz2KUZifR20z7KMEvXzjOlactL_gpnLTLrzc8gihgJ6lmz2Xh4-1duS_h-m4D_c9iw0SAlF4UjTiVpSEHGzvCFqRc011ZVcMXcX-FWkChvfquShfkvltdAVStiSfOcriYwTafPDoKcrVrx-_saEuuuSJCqH66HqD9CZSOZqerz9gK0TS9grh82wJ_qwAwi4ToyG87ke6nh26roqlvdUqkTRvfRuMLYhoajFraByP3JrFToiyNfLPhYhdesYSPCRLgsB6mSBpzsLuXV8nVI93MRCmWpUjOR98kL83t6jN4kdrS85A9ATG20p6gBtIGVY8SUxQg69znmjEYqEUri4FLktZZhOjLhN6A8SzQ1lzE_RoqtokoDC3dNte9PM0MqcP9-8D3IgYdUCx24C2mDIDcvazpTbuasaUlaZ7IAdNoDf-TQKy4cj24HZXRQKd4f1XZToR7gvNftsx0KC_Lc9x9sSUuvM3>
Thursday, August 6, 2020
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bcc7/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0JoZLAZABQF30xF0sKPois3VqfW5bf1WlfvPhqF6LHwJz8pfr7aZACnJ_dtz2KUZifR20z7KMEvXzjOlactL_gpnLTLrzc8gihgJ6lmz2Xh4-1duS_h-m4D_c9iw0SAlF4UjTiVpSEHGzvCFqRc011ZVcMXcX-FWkChvfquShfkvltdAVStiSfOcriYwTafPDoKcrVrx-_saEuuuSJCqH66HqD9CZSOZqerz9gK0TS9grh82wJ_qwAwi4ToyG87ke6nh26roqlvdUqkTRvfRuMLYhoajFraByP3JrFToiyNfLPhYhdesYSPCRLgsB6mSBpzsLuXV8nVI93MRCmWpUjOR98kL83t6jN4kdrS85A9ATG20p6gBtIGVY8SUxQg69znmjEYqEUri4FLktZZhOjLhN6A8SzQ1lzE_RoqtokoDC3dNte9PM0MqcP9-8D3IgYdUCx24C2mDIDcvazpTbuasaUlaZ7IAcu6y0JXShbb-LVLuImya-K-iTGGoDAlcwNZ90EhFx6q3-BqyrAgKip>
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRENT STIRTON

*By **Rachael Bale*
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bcc8/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0JoZLAZABQF30xF0sKPois3VqfW5bf1WlfvPhqF6LHwDkXhCqC1YIMboBeazolJCpfQSGLMNFjph9zfdEArkHQ-W10BVK2JJ85yuJjBNp88OgpytWvH7-xoS665IkKofroeoP0JlI5mp6vP2ArRNL2CuHzbAn-rADCLhOjIbzuR7qeHbquiqW91SqRNG99G4wtiGhqMWtoHI_cmsVOiLI18s-FiF16xhI8JEuCwHqZIGnOwu5dXydUj3cxEKZalSM5H3yQvze3qM3iR2tLzkD0BMbbSnqAG0gZVjxJTFCDr3OeaMRioRSuLgUuS1lmE6MuE3oDxLNDWXMT9Giq2iSgMLd021708zQypw_37wPciBh1QLHbgLaYMgNy9rOlNu5qxpSVpnsgB6PswirzD5mtggNwE9pd7bmXeGTXvjhyJgINmPyTlZvKlHBPjU59Wu0=>*,
ANIMALS Executive
Editor*

With World Elephant Day next Wednesday, I’ve been thinking a lot about the
people who risk their lives to protect them. In Zimbabwe, the Akashinga—an
all-female, nonprofit, anti-poaching unit—is one of the most remarkable
groups I’ve learned about.

Made up of local women from disadvantaged backgrounds—some of them orphaned
by AIDS or victims of domestic violence—the Akashinga undergo special
forces-type training and are charged with protecting a 115-square-mile
wildlife area in the Zambezi Valley, which has lost thousands of elephants
to poachers over the past 20 years. *(Pictured above, ranger Petronella
Chigumbura practicing reconnaissance techniques).*

Founder *Damien Mander*, who has been training anti-poaching rangers in
Africa for more than a decade, says female rangers tend to be far more
successful than male rangers. They’re better at de-escalating potentially
violent situations, are less likely to accept bribes from poachers, and
usually invest as much as 90 percent of their income in their families, as
opposed to 35 percent with men, *Lindsay Smith *wrote in a story about them
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bcc9/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0JoZLAZABQF30xF0sKPois3VqfW5bf1WlfvPhqF6LHwJz8pfr7aZACnJ_dtz2KUZifR20z7KMEvXzjOlactL_gpnLTLrzc8gihgJ6lmz2Xh4-1duS_h-m4D_c9iw0SAlF4UjTiVpSEHGzvCFqRc011ZVcMXcX-FWkChvfquShfkvltdAVStiSfOcriYwTafPDoKcrVrx-_saEuuuSJCqH66HqD9CZSOZqerz9gK0TS9grh82wJ_qwAwi4ToyG87ke6nh26roqlvdUqkTRvfRuMLYhoajFraByP3JrFToiyNfLPhYhdesYSPCRLgsB6mSBpzsLuXV8nVI93MRCmWpUjOR98kL83t6jN4kdrS85A9ATG20p6gBtIGVY8SUxQg69znmjEYqEUri4FLktZZhOjLhN6A8SzQ1lzE_RoqtokoDC3dNte9PM0MqcP9-8D3IgYdUCx24C2mDIDcvazpTbuasaUlaZ7IAcAbX_PxflointkujBye7_-37KWvZ7H_aXHHfcy7VSWJg1u3H8xqLLx>
last
year.

Zimbabwe has lost about 11 percent of its elephants since 2005, and Africa
overall loses some 8 percent of its savanna elephants
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bcca/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0JoZLAZABQF30xF0sKPois3VqfW5bf1WlfvPhqF6LHwATe-tFJDxBMhBSYuE-BsKYlRYXt7yLCMjPJ6wzyTc3Hji0acJoR-zbJ_in0hEvRub0dQdEynj1J2ck_jBMJThZhYoQdoyX7XjU7jCybpS_Rm8P_swdOuFNvXefNIT0OSqAge8KnIBs-rUEu-v_ydkjVqKpglchm7kWsJ_KhkqX8x8mJm3vBv2U2q68olpmbsZDFQ9SqH3hbgJdcRkEnapz3O4FYlvlaG0DAWEch8PhI8nd8vqb8bGSJ3xf-vo6HrePXS2rPCNqdVs0YeC5IH4GenLuJAH8pvjcLoDrvfxBBx0mCAP5NX1dShLbvHuNly8VyMVGnKGPqGIKfn1No5ofGLfypOjV7Sn9-ItTysKCnB3ueit_BTwkwBx37-jw3jq2yEmJX7dBjG8XXtgVdPSPilCoBUTgaWjkhCUTGOdaPL-k1X0kVCIILqGvL6ZY7lnscErBY09K9dlyxHfQK4KVUz1J9QL8Spg==>
each
year, almost entirely to poaching for their ivory. Asian elephants continue
to lose ground as well.

On World Elephant Day, National Geographic is raising awareness about the
plight of elephants and the risks the Akashinga take to protect them. Nat
Geo is premiering the documentary *Akashinga: The Brave Ones*, executive
produced by *James Cameron* and streaming at akashinga.film
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bccb/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0h_ycLATMmA-0PdbpJkRnykfLREatu39_FVFMoeDbCQ3FUrWLmIyTmxpYLwdEvh_P5bXQFUrYknznK4mME2nzw6CnK1a8fv7GhLrrkiQqh-uh6g_QmUjmanq8_YCtE0vYK4fNsCf6sAMIuE6MhvO5Hup4duq6Kpb3VKpE0b30bjC2IaGoxa2gcj9yaxU6IsjXyz4WIXXrGEjwkS4LAepkgac7C7l1fJ1SPdzEQplqVIzkffJC_N7eozeJHa0vOQPQExttKeoAbSBlWPElMUIOvc55oxGKhFK4uBS5LWWYToy4TegPEs0NZcxP0aKraJKAwt3TbXvTzNDKnD_fvA9yIGHVAsduAtpgyA3L2s6U27mrGlJWmeyAHZavemByeTS_9M8pm0c5-VQxgaa85LhIwjuCj8MiiCuxWPqtkfdlwYg==>
. Check out the trailer now
<https://email.nationalgeographic.com/T/v400000173c4f91d4a9cc5daf4bbe5be50/2d2398ddcda347300000021ef3a0bccc/2d2398dd-cda3-4730-9b39-4bafe6df6c6f?__dU__=v0G4RBKTXg2GtTHJDsy7ii3waBSrIwMXGZJ7x_OARFKFQAIe3mwx22JG_r9Sy1LWLGyMVrrFIdudbYjwKGAKz6iTAgyV5XAM3SbSN-FzJU9XXpFWtSFRxbGw4nHcgLdnvWYAVcbDlQyQtE1-NmUBscmA==&__F__=v0fUYvjHMDjRPMSh3tviDHXIoXcPxvDgUUCCPvXMWoX_0h_ycLATMmA-0PdbpJkRnykfLREatu39_FVFMoeDbCQ3FUrWLmIyTmnPpu4cMq5ZvQ1z0NbViyw6QP9FZL0a0fyqpE9zTn0XynEusg0jq4EW4Cumsvd0U5Os56RyJvxlPiRbFHWmSVbMnGYJjZdgQJ1sxZjOZVxwZYrwVluhrkX4d66QDVIFhNyBRBzN1RPzIjdS2aOC3FvtVcrNB041wGygdqrKudCf1pmq0_LiSlPSutnoDyw5yy_V0sG1U8f4jlrsRHhUOcHBzIpXSO4Q7f2q2UudTA-hNdKDgOtJnjcd-nTvJlTlJJGpCzPlo0-vsVAYrVQ7ztoas2VHatrcnCXYlyfqeRqUDn2nLd_rgzXjortMuJb9RUm1IbnolV_XQ-hUcUAylJSJpdhDkK2KZHwnqWVxqzlSGfn0RRZ1dexgu3q_6uCWR5Gb72haawdIS_YB8WxqopKg==>.
(*Below, Akashinga rangers with an elephant at a watering hole.)*

On Wed, Aug 5, 2020 at 3:33 AM Lætitia Avrot <laetitia(dot)avrot(at)gmail(dot)com>
wrote:

> Hi Stacey,
>
> Thank you for this form.
> I'm sorry that I have to admit I don't know how to help. I do think it
> would be great to match the diversity in the planet in our community, but I
> also think that as a white woman, I need to stop talking on the subject and
> begin to listen.
>
> So, anyone out there if you have any idea how to help, please, fill in
> this form.
>
> Have a nice day,
>
> Lætitia
>
> Le ven. 31 juil. 2020 à 07:51, Stacey Haysler <shayslerpgx(at)gmail(dot)com> a
> écrit :
>
>> The PgUS Diversity Committee has compiled a Diversity Initiatives
>> questionnaire to gather ideas from a variety of backgrounds and
>> perspectives across open source technology communities. These ideas will
>> form the basis for real change in the United States PostgreSQL
>> Association's Diversity Committee, and will aid in providing resources for
>> other organizations to rebuild and recreate their own communities that both
>> uplift and are uplifted by diversity.
>>
>> The questionnaire can be found at:
>>
>> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1oX59RNtG6lMOqm893LquxtkzEKXu25OtfNj5hR5-GV4
>>
>> Your contribution of thoughts, knowledge, and time to this project
>> through responding to these questions is valuable, and much appreciated.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Stacey
>>
>> Stacey Haysler
>> President, U.S. PostgreSQL Association
>> Call Me: Stacey
>> Pronouns: She/Her
>>
>>
>
> --
> *Paper doesn’t grow on trees. Please print responsibly.*
>