I helped organize my first conference last year, Write the Docs. It was a great experience, but also rather stressful. It turns out that organizing things is an interesting exercise in managing fear and risk. There is so much that could happen badly, and this is scary as hell.
As an organizer, I found myself looking for systems to minimize stress and uncertainty. Uncertainty is the breeding ground of fear.
We established a Code of Conduct for the conference because it felt like the right thing to do. I believe in increasing diversity, and I know that Codes of Conduct matter to people who I care about. So, it initially started out as a way to signal to people that we really care.
As the conference came closer though, it became really valuable for me as an organizer in another way. It was one aspect of the conference that I didn’t have to worry about. Something bad might happen, but you can’t remove that possibility from existing. However, if something bad did happen, we had a plan. I felt prepared to deal with any issues. This was much easier thanks this amazing document from the Geek Feminism Wiki, which provides an example internal policy to follow.
The Code of Conduct also gave us a leg to stand on if there were any issues. Someone couldn’t complain about being reprimanded or expelled from the conference by pleading ignorance. We mentioned the Code of Conduct on speaker signups, on the website, and in the opening address to the conference.
Adding a Code of Conduct for your conference will reduce a source of stress as an organizer. If anything happens, you have a playbook ready, and you won’t be caught off guard.
If you need a place to start, the Geek Feminism Wiki has you covered. I hope that you consider adding a Code of Conduct to your next event. It means a lot, and will let you sleep easier at night.