To respond to the question Mr. Eveland posed, I believe that cis men of Arab or North African decent or cis men who identify as multi-racial or multi-ethnic may be technically excluded by the specific phrasing of the diversity scholarship, given how the definitions are used by the US census bureau. (I would personally recommend people fitting those descriptions to apply anyway.) These are at least two groups who may not receive the career advantages and privilege accorded to white cis men (like myself), but may not qualify according to a strict reading of this particular assistance and award opportunity.
Beyond that, I would like to specifically contradict the assumption that this is a zero sum game and assistance for traditionally under-served demographics hurts others. If I am reading the posting correctly, the funds for these awards comes from CLIR/DLF, vendors, and private donations. As others have pointed out, other avenues, not specifically tied to diversity or demographics, are available for those in need. This will make Code{4}Lib better for all. After all, given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow. By making efforts to specifically invite people who have not have felt welcome or been excluded in the past, this assistance is making a better Code{4}Lib for everyone.
White cis men who have financial need have avenues, as others have referred to. Additionally, this scholarship is not the ONLY form of aid. No avenue for financial assistance has been taken away from white cis men. This is *new* aid that was not available in the past. Scholarships in the past have been given for staff from public libraries that use Evergreen/Koha. Those awards did not harm staff from academic libraries or public libraries that purchase commercial products. In precisely the same way, taking action to make the conference accessible to people not traditionally served by it does not harm anyone. Indeed, by making the community more welcoming, it strengthens the group and brings in more eyes to make the bugs even shallower.
