
Lessons learned from the Boston Python Workshop, an outreach event for women - tswicegood
https://openhatch.org/blog/2011/lessons-learned-from-the-boston-python-workshop-an-outreach-event-for-women/
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Revisor
I welcome whatever brings more women to programming. I think the field would
only flourish with more gender diversity.

At the end of the article they suggest there might be a larger trend at play
because anecdotally all workshops are very succesful. So women are interested
but maybe intimidated; or not drawn enough to try programming on their own.

More of these workshops I say.

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feralmoan
I could really care less about penises and vaginas when I'm working through a
math or engineering problem and I'm absolutely not alone. I've done a tonne of
workshops and conferences and the sex of the other students hasn't even popped
onto the radar. Either my professional circle is full of Unicorns, or the
issue of requiring a dedicated space to foster female solidarity in the face
of insufferable male 'intimidation' is one of political invention.

I tend to view intentional partitioning of communities, rather than inclusive
interaction, as counter-productive.

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danohuiginn
and ~50% of your participants are female? if so, congratulations, you're doing
better than most of the tech events I've attended.

My experience has been that (a) women are a minority in almost all computer
communities and events, and (b) how _large_ a minority they are correlates
strongly to how much effort is made to encourage their participation.
Activities like the Boston Python Workshop are _effective_

~~~
feralmoan
I didn't say anything about the ratio, the male/female distribution is
irrelevant and would posit that anyone harboring feelings of self doubt or
insecurity about their skills will find tech conferences or workshops
intimidating, irregardless of their sex. My first GoogleI/O, for instance, was
nerve wracking and I barely spoke with anyone on technical matters - even
armed with a CS degree and (admittedly miniscule) male genitalia. Feelings are
not fact, a little courage and interaction can go a long way.

~~~
danohuiginn
oh, sure. The under-representation of women is just one, particularly visible,
way in which we're losing out on potential talented contributors.

If you can figure out ways to help newcomers participate in conferences
despite feeling intimidated, that's also a great way to deepen the talent
pool.

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Troll_Whisperer
It would be great if they had an event like this for men who want to learn
from the beginning, too. Obviously the same rules should go. Women could come,
as guests of the men.

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teilo
I see you had the bravery to make that statement without resorting to a one-
time account, so your karma isn't effected. Bravo!

Now here's my answer: This isn't about sexism. It's about the way a group of
men behave when they are working in / learning a field of study where the
overwhelming majority have, in the past, been men. It creates a lot of
needless tension for the women in the group.

Women stand a far better chance of learning to program when they are in a non-
intimidating environment where they don't have to put up with a bunch of
condescending jerks (take your pick): staring at them, competing with them,
putting them in "their place", patronizing them. And this is not because they
are women, but because enough of the guys are jerks. Reverse the roles, and
this would be just as true.

~~~
Troll_Whisperer
_I see you had the bravery to make that statement without resorting to a one-
time account, so your karma isn't effected. Bravo!_

Nothing I said was worthy of sarcasm. I would sincerely enjoy the opportunity
to learn python from the ground up with that level of support and mentoring.
And yes, it's a little disconcerting that some conferences would keep me out
based on my anatomy.

In the face of such support generated by this event, is it so bad to hope for
an analogous event aimed at my demographic?

~~~
feralmoan
I challenge anyone to name an event where the sex of its attendees is of
primary concern.

~~~
rada
When my husband joined a parent group, it was through an event aimed at
seeking out and welcoming full-time dads. The group gained a few cool guys,
the guys gained things to do with their little ones, everyone won.

