Diversity and Inclusion Plan

Diversity refers to the presence of differences within a given setting. In the context of FSE, this can include differences in race, gender, age, geographical representation, and abilities, such as people with hearing and visual impairments, as well as bringing underrepresented perspectives, such as those from industry or of a multidisciplinary nature. It’s about recognizing and valuing the unique perspectives and experiences that each individual brings to the table.

Inclusion, on the other hand, is about creating an environment where all individuals feel welcomed, respected, and valued. It’s the practice of ensuring that diverse individuals can fully participate and contribute to the organization or community. Inclusion involves actively removing barriers and fostering a culture where everyone has equal access to opportunities and resources.

Diversity and inclusion are crucial at scientific conferences for several reasons, including broader perspectives, enhanced collaboration, increased engagement, and representation. By prioritizing diversity and inclusion, scientific conferences can create a more dynamic, equitable, and productive environment for all participants. To promote diversity and inclusion, FSE 2025 aims for the following multitude of actions.

Diversity of Committees

To promote fair participation and ensure that decisions about the conference program reflect a wide range of perspectives and experiences, FSE pays attention to recruiting qualified members of the organization committee, members of technical committees, and reviewers to compose a diverse team in regard to a variety of attributes (e.g., gender, geography, and research expertise).

Diversity of Authors and Participants

In order to ensure the fairness of the reviewing process and mitigate unconscious biases against underrepresented groups in the community, the FSE 2025 Research Papers Track employs a double-anonymous review process, where reviewers do not know the identity of authors. Besides, to amplify the voices of the underrepresented communities (such as early-career researchers, industry representatives, women), FSE 2025 hosts numerous tracks and events detailed below.

Invited Speakers

The keynote speakers and panelists are selected to represent different groups and diverse software engineering themes. FSE 2025 is committed to give the invited speakers visibility in a way that promotes diversity and inclusion.

Students and Early-Career Researchers at FSE

Early-career researchers are of fundamental importance to sustaining a vibrant FSE community. Inclusiveness of this community is vital to ensure participation, uplifting, and integration of people at the start of their career. The Doctoral Symposium, Student Research Competition, and New Faculty Symposium are committed to support this vision, extending their inclusiveness also in other dimensions of diversity besides career stage.

Industry Perspective at FSE

The Industry Track and Industry Mentoring Symposium are crucial to open up the FSE scientific community towards the view and experience of researchers and practitioners from industry, facilitating vibrant exchange between academia and industry. FSE 2025 commits to creating a welcoming environment for representatives from industry, supporting a vibrant exchange of ideas, and making an effort to “meet in the middle” in terms of styles of sharing the knowledge and lessons learned of both worlds.

Women at FSE, Panel and Working Session on Diversity at FSE

FSE 2024 is committed to creating a space to exchange ideas on improving the representation of women and other underrepresented groups within software engineering communities and institutions. This dedicated space will provide an opportunity for anybody interested in the matter to come together, share ideas, best practices, and follow up with a coffee/meal. The goal is to facilitate networking and open up for mentoring connections that can be strengthened during the conference and sustained after the conference ends.

LGBTQ+ at FSE

Within the FSE schedule, there will be a private and inclusive space for LGBTQ+ participants to have lunch together. This event aims to bring together individuals within the LGBTQ+ community attending FSE. By fostering a sense of community and inclusion, we aim to contribute to a supportive networking environment for LGBTQ+ professionals in the software engineering field.

Parents and Caregivers at FSE

FSE commits to supporting parents who bring their children to the conference by raising awareness about resources, such as ACM fellowships https://www2.sigsoft.org/caps/capsmain/ and linking to local services such as:

If you are traveling to FSE with your child, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Co-Chairs, and we will try to support you as much as we can. Note that while we can confirm the credibility of the linked services, we do not offer discounts or take responsibility for the services.

Feeling Safe at FSE

A primary goal of FSE 2025 is to foster the open exchange of ideas and the freedom of thought and expression among researchers. Achieving this requires an environment that recognizes the inherent worth of every individual and group; fosters dignity, understanding, and mutual respect; and embraces diversity. Therefore, FSE 2025 is dedicated to providing an inclusive harassment-free experience for all the participants, both at our events and within official communications channels, including social media. For more information, see FSE 2025 Code of Conduct.

ACM Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Anyone, from any background, should feel encouraged to participate and contribute to ACM. Differences – in age, race, gender and sexual orientation, nationality, physical ability, thinking style and experience – bring richness to our efforts in providing quality programs and services for the global computing community.

ACM is committed to creating an environment that welcomes new ideas and perspectives, and where hostility or other antisocial behaviors are not tolerated.

Learn more about ACM Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activities and the mission and commitment of the ACM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.

Contacts

Please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Co-Chairs for more information:

Letizia Jaccheri, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
Barbora Buhnova, Masaryk University, Czech Republic