Diversity & Inclusion Policy

April 2023
Version 2.0

Our policy is based on the industry standard charter set out by DICE, the 2010 UK Equality Act and 9 Protected Characteristics. We review our policy regularly to reflect changes in the industry and learnings from the past year and will likely refine and update where required.

We meticulously design all our events in adherence to the principles outlined in the DICE Charter, which can be found at https://www.getdice.co.uk/dicecharter.

Per their established guidelines, we aim to obtain DICE certification for each event we organise.

We dedicate considerable time to identifying speakers who can impart their knowledge and invaluable experiences during our events. We aim to provide diverse viewpoints by featuring various speakers from different backgrounds, resulting in a more comprehensive and enlightening conversation that greatly enhances the learning experience.

We supply our speakers with guidelines to ensure their presentations are both accessible and inclusive for all attendees.

We ensure equal compensation for all speakers at our conferences. For every event, all participating speakers are granted a complimentary ticket, for themselves and a friend, with complete access to the conference.

Tech Circus subsidises community-driven events that do not have a speaker budget, while our commercial conferences in 2023 will have a speaker budget. 

When a budget is available for speakers, it will be allocated based on the event's profit share. This share will be distributed proportionally among all speakers who can choose to opt in, opt-out, or donate their fee. Fees from those who opt-out will be returned to the pool and divided among speakers who have opted in.

Events with budgets in 2023 include:

• What IF? Summit (online) and all in-person design conferences:
• Business X Design (London)
• The Bad Conference (London)
• UX Live (London)
• FinTech Design Summit (London)
• FinTech Design Summit (New York)
• UX Writing Conference (London)

There will be no speaker budget available for the following events:

UX Crunch meetups (London and Online) 

Business X Design (Online)

The Bad Conference (Online)

UX Live (Online)

FinTech Design Summit (Online)

UX Writing Conference (Online)

Web3 Events, as they are more focused on B2B and networking

Note: In 2022, we could not pay speaker fees due to our post covid financial situation; no speakers were compensated. Speakers volunteered to help us during a tough period when we were recovering from substantial losses. We appreciate those who kept our community going while we got back on our feet and were non-profitable. This year we are better positioned to start making some of our events equitable again. 

Language plays a crucial role in fostering and impeding inclusivity, and we aim to cultivate a feeling of unity and engagement within our communities. Our dedication to inclusive language is demonstrated in our social media and promotional materials, such as our website, email campaigns, and social media posts.

To guarantee that our language remains inclusive and respectful, we have established guidelines and standards for our team to adhere to when generating content.

We prioritise both physical and digital accessibility when planning our events. For in-person gatherings, we consider numerous aspects, including dietary preferences, diverse mobility needs, venue locations, and the availability of volunteers and team members to assist as needed.

Our internal Accessibility & Inclusivity checklist directs our teams in making our events as accessible as possible to a wide range of attendees.

To deliver an inclusive digital experience, we incorporate various features that enhance accessibility on our website, such as:

• Utilising a colour contrast checker for all colour combinations to guarantee readability.
• Ensuring links can be comprehended out of context by screen readers.
• Providing logo links to the homepage for simplified navigation.
• Opening links to pages and other websites in the same window unless specified in the link text or preceding a list of links. Some links also open in a new layer, like a pop-up, on the page visitors view.
• Offering a responsive website that functions at any screen size and zoom level.
• Maintaining a sufficiently large text point size across all devices to guarantee legibility.
  

If you require information in an alternative format, such as an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, or audio recording, please contact us by emailing hello@techcircus.co.uk.

We are constantly working on learning and enhancing our offerings. If you have any feedback regarding our accessibility, please contact us at hello@techcircus.co.uk.