Positive Work Environment at W3C: Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

1. Introduction

W3C is a growing and global community where participants choose to work together, and it is committed to maintaining a positive working environment, where each participant feels appreciated and respected and where everyone adheres to the same high level of standards of personal behavior. In that process we experience differences in language, location, nationality, and experience. In such a diverse environment, misunderstandings and disagreements happen, which in most cases can be resolved informally.

• W3C community participants should treat each other with respect and professionalism and be mindful of cultural differences.
• W3C community participants should communicate constructively and avoid insulting, unwelcome or demeaning behavior.
• W3C strictly prohibits discrimination, intimidation, harassment, and bullying of any kind and on any basis.
• W3C will act formally to eliminate abusive behavior in any form, whether it is verbal, physical, sexual, or implied.

A Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is useful to define accepted and acceptable behaviors and to promote high standards of professional practice. The goal of this code of conduct is to ensure transparency in moderation of the working group and to ensure that the working group is an environment where everyone can participate without fear of harassment.It also provides a benchmark for self evaluation and acts as a vehicle for better identity of the organization.

This code (CEPC), complemented by a set of Procedures, applies to any member of the W3C community – staff, members, invited experts, participants in W3C meetings, W3C teleconferences, W3C mailing lists, W3C conference or W3C functions, etc. Note that this code complements rather than replaces legal rights and obligations pertaining to any particular situation.

Education and training materials are available from the Positive Work Environment public homepage.

2. Statement of Intent

W3C is committed to maintain a positive work environment. This commitment calls for a workplace where participants at all levels behave according to the rules of the following code. A foundational concept of this code is that we all share responsibility for our work environment.

3. Code

1. Treat each other with respect, professionalism, fairness, and sensitivity to our many differences and strengths, including in situations of high pressure and urgency.
2. Never harass or bully anyone verbally, physically or sexually.
3. Never discriminate on the basis of personal characteristics or group membership.
4. Communicate constructively and avoid demeaning or insulting behavior or language.
5. Seek, accept, and offer objective work criticism, and acknowledge properly the contributions of others.
6. Be honest about your own qualifications, and about any circumstances that might lead to conflicts of interest.
7. Respect the privacy of others and the confidentiality of data you access.
8. With respect to cultural differences, be conservative in what you do and liberal in what you accept from others, but not to the point of accepting disrespectful, unprofessional or unfair or unwelcome behavior or advances.
9. Promote the rules of this Code and take action (especially if you are in a leadership position) to bring the discussion back to a more civil level whenever inappropriate behaviors are observed.

4. Glossary

Demeaning behavior

is acting in a way that reduces another person's dignity, sense of self-worth or respect within the community.

Discrimination

is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on criteria such as: physical appearance, race, ethnic origin, genetic differences, national or social origin, name, religion, gender, sexual orientation, family or health situation, pregnancy, disability, age, education, wealth, domicile, political view, morals, employment, or union activity.

Insulting behavior

is treating another person with scorn or disrespect.

Acknowledgement

is a record of the origin(s) and author(s) of a contribution.

Harassment

is any conduct, verbal or physical, that has the intent or effect of interfering with an individual, or that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

Leadership position

includes group Team contacts, group Chairs, W3C management, and Advisory Board members.

Participant

includes the following persons:

• W3C Team (employees, contractors, fellows)
• W3C group participants (members and invited experts)
• Advisory Committee Representatives (and their guests)
• W3C Offices staff
• Anyone from the Public partaking in the W3C work environment (e.g. comment on our specs or email us, attend our conferences, functions, etc)

Respect

is the genuine consideration you have for someone (if only because of their status as participant in W3C, like yourself), and that you show by treating them in a polite and kind way.

Sexual harassment

includes visual displays of degrading sexual images, sexually suggestive conduct, offensive remarks of a sexual nature, requests for sexual favors, unwelcome physical contact, and sexual assault.

Unwelcome behavior

Hard to define? Some questions to ask yourself are:

• how would I feel if I were in the position of the recipient?
• would my spouse, parent, child, sibling or friend like to be treated this way?
• would I like an account of my behavior published in the organization's newsletter?
• could my behavior offend or hurt other members of the work group?
• could someone misinterpret my behavior as intentionally harmful or harassing?
• would I treat my boss or a person I admire at work like that ?

Summary: if you are unsure whether something might be welcome or unwelcome, don't do it.

Unwelcome sexual advance

includes requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, where:

• submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment,
• submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting the individual,
• such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating hostile or offensive working environment.

Workplace Bullying

is a tendency of individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behavior (e.g. verbal or written abuse, offensive conduct or any interference which undermines or impedes work) against a co-worker or any professional relations.

Work Environment

is the set of all available means of collaboration, including, but not limited to messages to mailing lists, private correspondence, Web pages, chat channels, phone and video teleconferences, and any kind of face-to-face meetings or discussions.

5. Feedback & Status

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