About ETAPS Conferences

Harassment is unwelcome or hostile behaviour, including speech that intimidates or interferes with a person’s participation or opportunity for participation, in an ETAPS event. Harassment in any form, including but not limited to harassment based on race, gender, religion, age, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity, will not be tolerated. Harassment includes the use of gratuitous language or sexual imagery in public presentations and displays, degrading verbal comments, deliberate intimidation, stalking, harassing photography or recording, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

Conference participants violating these standards may be sanctioned or be reported to local authorities if deemed necessary, at the discretion of the conference organisers. Conference organisers are requested to report serious incidents to the ETAPS General Chair.

This policy has been decided at the ETAPS SC meeting 2015.

In recent years, many things have changed for the better in most countries in Europe: gender equality, Schengen laws, marriage for all, and inclusion. However, despite this undeniable progress, large social groups are still underrepresented in science. We want everyone to be at the table at ETAPS. In line with this self-image, we want all people who share our dedication to software science to participate equitably, to represent their ideas and their interests.

We want to make invisible, exclusionary structures visible and find and tear down all barriers opposing equal participation in our conference structures. Thus, we aspire to ensure equal access to ETAPS and its conferences, steering committees, and program committees.

That is why we set ourselves the task of designing our structures so that they are inclusive in terms of race, gender, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sexual orientation and have a nondiscriminatory character. In particular, given the European origins of ETAPS, we strive to pay special attention to including scientists from Eastern Europe.

We resolutely oppose discrimination within ETAPS as well. Through critical self-reflection from an intersectional perspective, we want to increase knowledge and awareness of existing or possible discrimination mechanisms—and to dismantle these mechanisms. Furthermore, we actively work on cases of discrimination within ETAPS and its structures. We protect those affected from discrimination (see our anti-harassment policy). To achieve these goals, we rely on the experience and expertise of ETAPS members who have experienced discrimination themselves.

1. We want diverse perspectives to be reflected at ETAPS. Our long-term goal is to represent people in terms of race, gender, religion, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation, according to their social share in Europe at each level of ETAPS.
2. We want diverse geographical backgrounds to be reflected at ETAPS.
3. The ETAPS steering committee will report on the composition of the ETAPS attendees concerning diverse backgrounds yearly during a prominent conference slot.
4. The ETAPS steering committee will appoint a diversity chair, which discusses quotas and develops empowerment measures to help achieve our goal in § 1.

1. ETAPS strives to offer equal and safe participation options for every person, independent of their race, gender, religion, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. The steering committee may not consider hosting cities if this cannot be guaranteed.
2. The ETAPS steering committee and the steering committee of its conferences should strive to reflect our diverse European society.
3. ETAPS conferences and workshops should strive to have program committees reflecting our diverse European society.
4. To ensure progress made towards § 2.2 and § 2.3, all committees set themselves realistic targets and report their progress towards § 2.2 and § 2.3 to the ETAPS steering committee yearly.
5. ETAPS and all events belonging to it should be accessible and barrier-free.
6. Meeting times and rooms must be accessible.
7. There must be a trained and designated person at each ETAPS to handle cases of harassment and discrimination during the conference professionally and to protect those affected from discrimination and harassment.

1. ETAPS supports offers for the empowerment of groups that are discriminated against and underrepresented at ETAPS.
2. ETAPS supports offers for the bias-awareness training of all steering committees, all program chairs, and committee members of its belonging conferences, and all local organisers.
3. ETAPS supports activities to empower young researchers from diverse backgrounds, for instance, via mentoring workshops.
4. ETAPS holds an invited session on inclusive technology or science every two years and covers all costs of it.