yup yup yup to all of this this is the sort of thing that frustrates me about the conversation around "it's just names on a mailing list how can there be any discrimination". it's so much more than that. it's the whole environment from top to bottom
just to illustrate this with an example. what happens when a relatively new person on Apache Foo dev list suggests a change that needs a bit of tweaking. how do the more experienced contributors handle that feedback? is it a "yes, and..."[1] culture? are people enthusiastic and supportive? or is the tone confrontational? stubborn? dismissive? and I don't just mean in *really obvious* ways. I mean, you have to get right down to the subtleties of word choice, phrasing, and so on people are socialized to navigate these things very differently depending on gender, race, socio-economic background, and so on. it doesn't require active or conscious discrimination. in this example, it is the mode of interaction itself that does the job of making sure that some people never speak up, never contribute (because they see how people interact on list and decide it's not for them) or try to, and are quickly discouraged this is a complex and multifaceted topic, of course. this is just a small example, in case it helps anyone (you might've already noticed that if we run with this example, switching the style of discussion towards a "yes, and..." is quite likely to increase participation *across the board*, not just from marginalized/underrepresented groups) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_and... On Tue, 2 Jul 2019 at 21:27, Joan Touzet <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > A good friend of mine turned me on to an academic paper from 1995. > This paper was key to her understanding of how diversity plays into > technology communities. > > The title is: "Of spanners and cyborgs: de-homogenizing feminist > thinking on technology". Full citation is at the bottom of this > email[1]. I'm trying to get a copy I can share with the list, or for the > wiki. > > In short, the paper argues that you can't just "give a girl a spanner" > (wrench, for you Americans) and expect them to succeed in being a > competent technologist. This point naturally extends beyond just women > to other marginalized groups who have an interest in technology. > > Quoting my friend (not the paper): > > "We should not expect that women/marginalized groups to just join > dominant space, especially when those spaces actively discriminate or > uphold discriminatory standards. We must always consider the context > from which we ask [people] to engage with technology. And often it is > our contexts which need to change in order to truly benefit from the > experiences of women/marginalized people. > > "Bluntly: if we want more women/marginalized people [here], the way we > construct and implement those experiences need to change. > Women/marginalized people are not add-ons. We can't just add them to our > [communities] and expect them to stay. > > "This change can only occur through listening to women/marginalized > people and seeing how technology is best used by these people. We need > to take a very critical look at who is making decisions about diversity, > and how those decisions are made. > > "I love technology. I love computer science.... But I'm feeling burnt > out at ignoring something I have always known: *the [women]/marginalized > people might want different experiences.... [T]here is nothing wrong > with [women]/marginalized people not wanting to participate." > > I think this diatribe touches on two things that have been raised on > this list: > > 1. Some projects and ASF participants don't want to change. That's fine. > But like the old adage about the Internet routing around censorship, > women and marginalized people may simply route around those projects > and do their own thing. The ASF will be poorer without those > participants and their energy, even if it might have taken projects in > new and unexpected directions. > > 2. Some projects and ASF participants *do* want to change. They should be > listening to the experiences of those women and marginalized people who > choose to participate, and understand why or why not they continue to > do so. I'd encourage any of us (I am female, and in a number of > marginalized groups) to explain why and how, if we feel safe doing so. > If not on this list, then hopefully the survey-to-come will provide an > anonymous way those experiences can be shared. > > -Joan "food for thought" Touzet > > [1]: Sofoulis, Z 1995, 'Of spanners and cyborgs: de-homogenising > feminist thinking on technology', in B Caine & R Pringle (eds), > Transitions: new Australian feminisms, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 147-63. >
