Statement of Purpose:
The WHC is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all of its participants as well as increasing the participation of groups traditionally underrepresented in robotics and haptics research (including but not limited to: women, LGBTQ+, underrepresented minorities, and people with disabilities). Part of this commitment includes striving to provide a safe, respectful, and harassment-free conference environment for everyone involved. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, overt and/or covert acts of:
▪ Verbal accusations or bullying
▪ Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following both in person and online
▪ Harassing photography or recording
▪ Sustained disruption of talks or other events
▪ Interference with a person’s participation or opportunity for participation
▪ Inappropriate physical contact
▪ Unwelcome sexual attention
▪ Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior
We expect all interactions between attendees to be respectful and constructive, including interactions during the review process, at the conference itself, and on social media. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference (without a refund) at the discretion of the conference organizers.
Code of Conduct
In order to create an inclusive and welcoming environment, the WHC participants and organizers are committed to being:
- Welcoming
The WHC is an international conference in which people from all over the world participate including PhD students, undergraduates, master’s students, faculty, academic staff, industry professionals, and others. We are a diverse group and we welcome further diversity! To this end we are dedicated to providing a harassment-free, safe, and inclusive experience for everyone, regardless of personal and professional background, gender, gender identity and expression, style of clothing, sexual orientation, dis-/ability, physical appearance, body size, race, class, age, or religion. The WHC resists and rejects: racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, body shaming, religion shaming, “geekier-than-thou” shaming, education bias, the shaming of people nursing children, and the dismissal or bullying of children or adults. This applies to all our venues of engagement, be they in person or online interactions.
- Intolerant of Harassment
We operate under the assumption that everyone participating in the WHC operates according to the understanding above. As a WHC participant or organizer you are committed to stepping in if you witness any violation of the above policies and report it. Individuals who violate this code of conduct can expect repercussions from moderation of messages to expulsion from our community. This applies to all participants, including organizers, presenters, sponsors, and attendees.
- Empathetic
At the WHC, we strive for excellence but acknowledge that there is no one definition of excellence. Different views are allowed to respectfully coexist in the same space. When something’s happened and someone is uncomfortable, our first choice is to work through it. Endeavor to listen and appropriately adjust your behavior if someone approaches you privately with a request that you apologize or publicly requests that you stop an ongoing presentation. If someone questions your words, actions or motives, or “calls you out”, hear their feedback and respond respectfully. It’s okay to not understand why something is hurtful or causes discomfort, as long as you approach it respectfully, with empathy. Repeating hurtful behavior after it has been identified is disrespectful and is not allowed.
- Helpful
No one was born knowing everything. Haptics and Robotics research constitutes many different forms of practice and embodies many types of knowledge. We listen to each other and learn from each other. If someone asks for help or instruction, our default response is to provide it. If we believe we might be helpful with a task, we offer assistance and wait for consent to provide it. At the WHC, we all chip in to organize our community, engage with new ideas, and lift each other up.
Reporting an Incident:
Sometimes things go wrong. When a situation is uncomfortable, hurtful, exclusionary, or upsetting, there is a problem that should be addressed.
All issues can be brought up with the WHC organizers. If you want to email a trusted confidant, the chairs can be reached at chair@2021.worldhaptics.org. You can also always email the EDI chairs at edi@2021.worldhaptics.org.
Acknowledgements:
This statement was inspired by the amazing work being done at Inclusion@RSS, Diversity and Inclusion at UIST, and Diversity & Inclusion at CHI. We would like to thank these previous trailblazers for all of their mentorship, support, and for allowing us to base our work on theirs.