[clug] Open Source Software's Dirty Little Secret

[Daniel Pittman]

Jessica Fryer <jessicanumber at gmail.com> writes:

> I wonder if any of the men would like to volunteer what they think would be
> the advantages of having women more involved in Linux and the Open Source
> community.  What would you like us to contribute? What do you think you are
> missing?

I suspect that I don't have a very good answer to that, because I don't see
that women *as a class* are able to contribute anything that men *as a class*
cannot also contribute.


My personal reasons for wanting to see this cultural change happen in FOSS
projects, and IT in general, are:

An overall cultural change to greater equality is, I think, a good thing for
everyone.  Since changing both IT and FOSS culture helps change the overall
culture, and because I have a greater connection to, and influence over, those
than I do other areas of culture, I focus my efforts where I can (hopefully)
do the most good.


I think that bigger picture change is good because, frankly, there is no real
distinction between the abilities of women *as a class* and men *as a
class*[2].

Since there is no distinction there is no reason to refuse or devalue the
contributions (or potential contributions) of (in the case at hand) the
majority of people on the planet.


To come back down to a more concrete level: I don't want women *as a class* to
contribute anything specific, but rather to make there skills, experiences and
abilities available to FOSS and IT in general.

So, if you asked "what would you like *me* to contribute" I could have a shot
at answering it[3], I guess, although I don't think any answer I gave would be
especially meaningful in the general sense.



What I can answer is your second question: what do I think FOSS and IT[4] are
missing because they exclude, marginalize or devalue women:

First, a good deal of humanity, and second, the contributions that those women
*as a class* can make.  I can't speak to what exactly those contributions are,
other than to say they are, as far as I can tell, no different to the
contributions men can make.


Actually, I can think of a third item, although it isn't in any way specific
to women and men[5]: every contributor brings a different background, a
different view of the world, of the project, and of the problems.

Having that diversity of views is extremely valuable to any project, or any
person.  So, the more people of diverse backgrounds we bring to any endeavour
the more likely we are to do the best we can, full stop, not just the best
that we can within the limits of the world view of the people involved.


> I have some of my own ideas about why I am personally reluctant to get
> involved but I'd appreciate your thoughts while mine settle into something
> more coherent than the angry rant I've been drafting since I saw Lana's
> message.

Well, I would be interested to read them once you have them finished.  If
nothing else I find that understanding the causes of problems helps me come to
some understanding of how I can best help resolve them.[6]

Regards,
        Daniel

Footnotes: 
[1]  Imagine this said with an awful lot of reserve and understatement.

[2]  ...and, generally speaking, any binary[7] class distinction you want to
     name, including but not limited to education, sexuality, gender, ethnic
     background, country of origin, platform of choice, experience, Vi vs
     Emacs, or whatever else.

[3]  answer: I have no idea, because I don't know you.  What do you want to
     contribute?  (...plus, y'know, it isn't exactly my place to be the
     gatekeeper of your contributions anyhow.)

[4]  I am assuming you mean "you" in the broader sense rather than the
     personal sense to answer this.  Otherwise, if you mean me, personally,
     see the previous question. :)

[5]  ...but, then, neither are my previous answers, really.

[6]  ...which, in some cases, is "shut up and stay out of it." :)

[7]  ...not to mention that any binary distinction is foolish anyhow, because
     *NOTHING* is ever that simple.  Ever.

-- 
✣ Daniel Pittman            ✉ daniel at rimspace.net            ☎ +61 401 155 707
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