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I'm really confused by this statement. I've gone to female-oriented conferences (that were also open to male attendance) and much of the discussion was about th

I'm really confused by this statement. I've gone to female-oriented conferences (that were also open to male attendance) and much of the discussion was about the technical aspects of whatever people were doing both in employment and in hobby. Anything from the details of SEO to hobbyist arduino projects. Only rarely does someone bring up being a woman, and usually it was something like "a coworker/other peer referred to me with a rude comment concerning my being female, how do I navigate this" which seemed perfectly reasonable to ask a group of women about. Do you have some kind of study or article I could read that verifies your view? I do apologize; I haven't gone to many female-oriented conferences or meetups other than the several I can drive to.

junko 11y ago
Sorry I don't have studies or articles, my views are formed by my own experience. Surely that's still valid? (Sorry I didn't mean that in a snarky way) As a female, I've been to a few female-oriented tech events myself. And I don't hear very intimate stories, except general ones such as the "how do I deal with a sexist remark" as you mentioned. But I do hear, and see, from my close female tech friends ... I think it's because it's generally too complicated to be expressed and more than that, there's an associated shame - for example, for a long time I didn't want to talk about it because I thought that people can't be that discriminatory and therefore it MUST be something that I've done. Cue in unhealthy self-analysis and reproach, and it was only after many years, I considered sexism (and other types of discrimination) though not without grudge. But on the other hand there are also women in tech who seem to be tougher - sometimes I think the scornful "you're-letting-our-race-down" looks on their faces hurt even more. I think that any activism for empowering women for tech needs to deal with the deeper issues, beyond the random colleague sexist remarks. Sticks and stones can't hurt, but a lack of self-worth, leading to imposter syndrome, can. Though I'll be honest with you, when I go to tech events I don't even think about my femaleness let alone gender issues. And that itself means something, that most people aren't generally discriminatory! So I'm still positive, but is there a need to build confidence for women in tech? Yes. I will also add that my own experience of getting discriminated may not just be due to one factor (i.e. gender) as I happen to tick a few other "minority" boxes.
junko 11y ago
Crap I thought you were commenting on my post! (The other got flagged)

junko 11y ago

Sorry I don't have studies or articles, my views are formed by my own experience. Surely that's still valid? (Sorry I didn't mean that in a snarky way) As a female, I've been to a few female-oriented tech events myself. And I don't hear very intimate stories, except general ones such as the "how do I deal with a sexist remark" as you mentioned. But I do hear, and see, from my close female tech friends ... I think it's because it's generally too complicated to be expressed and more than that, there's an associated shame - for example, for a long time I didn't want to talk about it because I thought that people can't be that discriminatory and therefore it MUST be something that I've done. Cue in unhealthy self-analysis and reproach, and it was only after many years, I considered sexism (and other types of discrimination) though not without grudge. But on the other hand there are also women in tech who seem to be tougher - sometimes I think the scornful "you're-letting-our-race-down" looks on their faces hurt even more. I think that any activism for empowering women for tech needs to deal with the deeper issues, beyond the random colleague sexist remarks. Sticks and stones can't hurt, but a lack of self-worth, leading to imposter syndrome, can. Though I'll be honest with you, when I go to tech events I don't even think about my femaleness let alone gender issues. And that itself means something, that most people aren't generally discriminatory! So I'm still positive, but is there a need to build confidence for women in tech? Yes. I will also add that my own experience of getting discriminated may not just be due to one factor (i.e. gender) as I happen to tick a few other "minority" boxes.

junko 11y ago

Crap I thought you were commenting on my post! (The other got flagged)