onsdag, maj 23, 2007

That gender thing

One of the foci on both JavaOne and RailsConf was the so called "gender problem"; that the current balance between men and women in the technological field is bad and that something needs to be done about it. I'm very happy about this getting awareness, but as my colleague Lars Westergren writes here (http://slashdot.org/~LarsWestergren/journal/172323) it seems like total hypocrisy when looking at the so called entertainment provided at these two events. We need to do better than this.

2 kommentarer:

Lyle sa...

Oh my.

To date I've never been to a technical conference that provided any kind of entertainment, but I honestly can't comprehend how the JavaOne organizers -- or whoever was responsible -- thought that this "marching band" was appropriate.

lukemelia sa...

Hmm. I saw the marching band at RailsConf, and I thought it was racy, burlesque, and bizarre, but not sexist or objectifying -- very different than E3-style "booth babes". I agree that the organizers could have been less risk-taking and eschewed that entertainment choice, but since when has the Rails community been conservative? I think we can be supportive and welcoming of women in the community without becoming total prudes.