Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
soledadpenades.com
Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
1–10 of 375 posts
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#2A better title would be "I won't give talks about being a woman in tech". She's not against talking about it in general.
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#3A better title would be "I won't give talks about being a woman in tech". She's not against talking about it in general.
And yet, she made the title the way she did for a reason and not by accident.
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#4"It not only is very insulting and distracting, but also pigeonholes you into “talking about being a woman in tech”, instead of “woman who knows her tech”. It feels like, once again, we’re delegating on women and other vulnerable collectives the “caring for others” matters, in addition to their normal job. That is not OK."
Sometimes, identity, gets in the way of things.
Do what you feel comfortable with. Do it for yourself. Don't do it for or because of others. Feel that you want to do it for your sake and for its own sake. Doing something because of agendas, can be good for the group, but, it's less clear it's always good for the individual.
In a nice world, you'd be valued for many things, not just your economic productivity and contribution. And our identifiers would be afterthoughts. But for friends and foes alike, some at least, it's clear identifiers are important and some would want to find leverage and make use of the opportunity. Yet, it's not owed, and it's up to you if you feel comfortable with lending yourself for a cause, as it were.
That said, just do what you like to do, don't explain it as a result of principles, etc. What I mean, our decisions don't have to be internally politically explained, or consistent. Just like liking or not liking broccoli does not have to be internally politicized to like it or not like it (or bacon).
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#5uh.... you just did.
you're an ignorant hypocrite.
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#6A better title would be "I won't give talks about being a woman in tech". She's not against talking about it in general.
And yet, she made the title the way she did for a reason and not by accident.
I thought about it, but I couldn't figure it out. What's the advantage to the current title?
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#7This is very refreshing. Diversity is a key to strength but seeing a woman present tech stuff is my preference at a tech conference. I was at a conference recently and I heard a neckbeard, seeing a woman warming up for the presentation we just sat down for, say something dismissive about another diversity talk. He actually left without sitting down. His loss. The talk was pure tech gold.
As the OP says, the diversity presentations should be left to the diversity professionals.
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#8A better title would be "I won't give talks about being a woman in tech". She's not against talking about it in general.
I think the (and neither should you) kinda negates that last part of your point though.
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#9Reminds me of a response once given by Richard Feynman (I can't find the source so I apologize if I misremember it). Essentially he was to be included in a book of successful Jewish people. He declined because he considered his ethnoreligious background to be irrelevant to his accomplishments as a physicist.
To stave off the inevitable response that the experience of a white american man is irrelevant, let me leave this quote from the head of the princeton physics department: "Is Feynman Jewish? We have no definite rule against Jews but like to keep their proportion in our department reasonably small". So even in the face of systematic discrimination Feynman wanted to be known not as a Jewish scientist, but as a scientist.
Re: Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
#10A better title would be "I won't give talks about being a woman in tech". She's not against talking about it in general.
I think the (and neither should you) kinda negates that last part of your point though.
Her last paragraph makes it clear that she does talk about it, she just wishes she didn't have to.