I'm a bit late on this thread, but oh well.
Jenn Vesperman writes:
Actually, finding an advocate itself is daunting. :/
Do you have any Debian SIGs or groups in the area? The only reason I know so
many Debian people is because I have followed my interest and made
acquaintences with local Debianites. There were several people who are
contributors I didn't know till the topic came up, so getting involved in
the Debian community means making the sort of contacts you should have to
contribute. I know some people don't like the Debian system, but I like the
fact that there is so much emphasis on trust. I like the fact someone has to
know you for you to get involved, because it shows a person has the
initiative to get involved in the community of Debian, not just the code
(and I feel the community is very important).
This is how one or two idiots who aren't told to shut up cause a whole
community to lose/not gain women, by the way.
If you get those idiots making women feel unwelcome at the entry point
to your community, and noone slaps them down, the women go find
something else to do - and tell each other.
Hmm... I've had idiots speak to me, but both females and males (it certainly
isn't only men that make it hard for women to get involved in computers). I
guess that you can't wrap every person in cotton wool, or expect half the
species to be treated especially nice just because of their sex. I _hate_ it
when I get over the top treatment. I'm after equal treatment (for equal
quality work) and equal opportunity to do that work. I think that women
groups really need to understand that women groups are only necessary in our
paternalistic western societies (not all societies are paternalistic, and
I'm not suggesting that only western ones are), because we still have some
work to do. Women groups are a step in the process of bringing people back
together. A woman getting involved in Debian Women shouldn't use it as a
permanent safehaven/cage, and never truly get involved in the wider
community. If we segregate, the problem only gets worse.
Cheers,
Pia
PS - I am realising only really recently how much we have to fix ourselves
and our attitudes before we can fix the wider issues of opportunity and
treatment of women.
Pia Smith
President of Linux Australia
http://www.linux.org.au
