Print

Print


> There are later emails which claim otherwise. twitter.com/libtechwomen
> and http://libtechwomen.tumblr.com/ don't say either way, as far as
> I can see (if you'll excuse the pun).  I don't really want to hop on
> IRC and ask because of past bad experiences with a previous group.
>

MJ, i completely understand that past experiences may cause you to be
skittish -- i deal with the same thing every time i go to a tech event.
 its hard knowing i'll likely only see only one or two women there and that
most of the men will only talk to me because they think i'm pretty.  in
fact i can't begin to tell you how many men have lied to me about being
interested in getting my opinion on a new start up or project they are
working on, only to find out that the new "project" is getting me to on a
"date" with them (btw -- if i don't think we're on a date, we're not on a
date).

but i also know if i don't keep going to events, then the jerks out there
win.  and i don't want the jerks to win.  so i'm grateful for libtechwomen
because everyone there (male and female alike) know that behavior like what
i described above is unacceptable.  and even better, i can whine about that
jerk to all of the folks in IRC and they will sympathize with me, and maybe
together we'll come up with a way to tackle the root cause of the problem
head on.

and i say all of this to point out that I (and many other folks it seems)
agree with what Tim said:

Each minority faces issues that are unique to their group. Women face their
own unique issues in the technology landscape.