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 in that process 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. In rare cases, however, behavior can intimidate, harass, or otherwise disrupt one or more people in the community, which W3C will not tolerate.

A Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is useful to define accepted and acceptable behaviors and to promote high standards of professional practice. 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

Unacceptable behaviour

Some behaviors run counter to the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. This list of unacceptable behaviors does not cover every case. Each person you interact with is unique, and behavior must be assessed on an individual level. Ensuring that your behavior does not have a negative impact is your responsibility.

• Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurotype, physical appearance, body, age, race, socio-economic status, ethnicity, nationality, language, or religion
• Unwelcome comments regarding a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment
• Deliberate misgendering or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names
• Gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behaviour in spaces where they are not appropriate
• Physical contact and simulated physical contact (e.g., textual descriptions like “hug” or “backrub”) without consent or after a request to stop
• Threats of violence
• Incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm
• Deliberate intimidation
• Stalking or following
• Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes
• Sustained disruption of discussion
• Unwelcome sexual attention
• Pattern of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others
• Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease
• Deliberate “outing” of any aspect of a person’s identity without their consent except as necessary to protect other community members or other vulnerable people from intentional abuse
• Publication of non-harassing private communication without consent by the involved parties
• Use of "dog whistles", coded language used to rally support for hate groups and to intmidate vulnerable groups.
• Microaggressions, which are small comments or questions, either intentional or unintentional, that marginalize people by communicating hostile, derogatory, or negative beliefs. Examples include
  • Patronizing language or behaviour
    • Pedantic corrections that don’t contribute to the conversation (For example: “Well actually…”)
    • Assuming without asking that particular people or groups need concepts defined or explained to them. (It’s great to be sensitive to the fact that people may not be familiar with technical terms you use every day, but assuming that people are uninformed can come across as patronizing.)
    • Assuming that particular groups of people are technically unskilled (“So easy your grandmother could do it.”)
  • Repeatedly interrupting or talking over someone else
  • Feigning surprise at someone’s lack of knowledge or awareness about a topic
  • The use of racially charged language to describe an individual or thing (such as “thug” or “ghetto”)
  • Referring to an individual in a way that demeans or challenges the validity of their racial identity
  • Mocking someone’s real or perceived accent or first language
• Retaliating against anyone who files a complaint that someone has violated this code of conduct.

Expected Behavior

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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