The Inclusivity Challenge with Django

UX and the Django Community

Not only developers measure themselves on the Django playing field.

Since last year, our designers have been working in synergy with the Django Software Foundation and together with community members on the Django Project site. During 2023, 20tab conducted a user research project to listen to the opinions, needs and desires of developers who actively participate in the life of the community, as we also reported here on the blog.

This extensive research led to the identification of the most relevant issues for users and critical issues to prioritize for action within the site.

Full details and the report can be found here.

One of the issues raised by community members was accessibility, or the ability of everyone to make the most of the platform and its resources. The Django Software Foundation and its community understand the importance of welcoming everyone into the world of code and open source.

Django Girls

And so some team members with different skills approached this world for the first time and discovered how Django works.

In March, we met in Turin with Django Girls, the community founded in Berlin in 2014 by female developers with the support of the whole Django community, with the aim to bring more diversity to the environment, which could lead to contamination and exchange of inspiring ideas and different views.

Natalia, Alessia, Serena and Jessica attended the event and called the experience «fantastic».

The 20tabbers had a very busy day learning the basics of coding and setting up their personal blog, using Django of course. In addition to a lot of new knowledge and an experience out of their comfort zone, the girls brought home - and to 20tab - new awareness and something useful for their professional growth.

• Jessica learned about a more technical glossary that will «make communication with developers easier»;
• Serena came to the realization that «I can do this, and this is more in my wheelhouse than I thought».
• Natalia went back to her past, her IT background, and brushed up on useful concepts to apply in her work as a product manager. She wanted to be there to «experience the excitement of someone who has never written a line of code» and because «writing code has always given me a sense of autonomy».
• Alessia completely broke out of her work routine and brought with her this proactive and enthusiastic attitude towards new challenges: «It was a day full of new things for me! I got out of my work comfort zone and I was happy with it».
  

They told us about the Django Girls day describing it as stimulating, engaging, challenging, collaborative, creative, engaging, enlightening, a rediscovery.

Another opportunity to share and grow, for 20tab and the Django project we believe in.