[clug] Equality (was Announcing: Canberra Google Girl Geek Dinner #3)

[Francis Markham]

2009/9/11 Jack Kelly <endgame.dos at gmail.com>:
> I read your post in terms of "lively debate", not "thread of doom", so
> I hope we can continue at that level.

Likewise :)


> I don't know what the subscription stats are for this list, but let's
> take your quoted figure of 1.5% for all of FOSS and disingenuously
> apply it to the list.

I agree that 1.5% is an arbitrary figure plucked from the linked
article in the other thread.  I have no idea if it applies to this
list.

> Given that the dinners appear to allow a single
> guest, that's at most 3% of the list that is able to go to such an
> event (also disingenuously assuming that all guests are only drawn
> from the CLUG list). Posting an event where 97% of the people who see
> the invite won't be allowed to go is a pretty nasty thing to do (to my
> mind).

You're probably not surprised to find that I disagree :)  I would hope
that if CLUG members are serious about supporting women in FOSS (as
per the other thread) they would recognise that events where women can
meet to discuss issues facing 'girl geeks' are a good thing, and thus
worthy of CLUG's support.

What's more, I think a number of threads about women on list / in FOSS
have demonstrated that the CLUG mailing list is generally not a very
friendly place to hold these discussions.  Discussions of gender
issues (for example, how to not offend women on list by assuming
everyone is male) seem to inevitably degenerate into flame wars.
Thus the need for (off-list) functions of the type that Lana was
advertising in order to gain/keep women in FOSS, a notion that CLUG
members generally seem to support in principle.

Which is why we should be happy for these kind of advertisements to be
posted on list.  Its no good saying "we want more women in FOSS" but
they are not welcome to post about women in FOSS to the list, because
they aren't many women on the list.

Disclaimer: This is not a personal criticism of Jack or anyone in
particular, but more of a structural issue.  I hope it is read as it
is intended.

Disclaimer 2: I am not a woman.  I am by no means representing
anyone's views about this topic other than my own.  I could be wrong.


Cheers,

-Francis