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.
Education and training materials are available from the Positive Work Environment public
homepage.
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.
- Treat each other with respect, professionalism,
fairness, and sensitivity to our many differences and strengths, including
in situations of high pressure and urgency.
- Never harass or bully
anyone verbally, physically or sexually.
- Never discriminate on the basis of personal
characteristics or group membership.
- Communicate constructively and avoid demeaning
or insulting behavior or language.
- Seek, accept, and offer objective work criticism, and acknowledge properly the contributions of
others.
- Be honest about your own qualifications, and about any circumstances that
might lead to conflicts of
interest.
- Respect the privacy
of others and the confidentiality
of data you access.
- 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 behavior.
- 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.
- 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.
Feedback & Status
A Member Task Force, Positive
Work Environment Task Force [member-only link], is responsible for the evolution of this
document.
Send comments or questions on this document to public-pwe@w3.org [publicly archived].
Note: Do not use this list to report inappropriate behavior;
use Procedures instead.
This is the 22 October 2014 version of the document.
