Hi! I'm the creator of Leap. Glad to answer questions here.
Aren't you worried that someday women will be expected to do ALL the work? Both have kids, AND write the software that supports the world's economy?
Leap: An Online Community for Women
31–40 of 364 posts
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#32Hi! I'm the creator of Leap. Glad to answer questions here.
I am really conflicted about this. On one hand, I think that it will provide a valuable resource for a large group of people, which is good! On the other hand, an online tech community designed solely for men would be met with hate and massive backlash. If equality is our goal, how will self-segregation help meet that goal?
While I understand this perspective, I also know that being a women in tech can feel incredibly lonely. Growing up, I was always comfortable being the only girl in a big group of guys. In fact, I still consider myself to be quite the tomboy. However, being the only woman in a room of 100 men at a meet-up can feel pretty isolating. (Especially when a dozen of them assume that I'm a recruiter. I'm not. I'm a web developer.) Many of my peers are the only woman on their >10-person engineering team. In my mind, Leap is a valuable resource for a not-large-enough group of people, and will hopefully contribute to growing the numbers of that group.
Ps. There has already been discussion on Leap about inviting men to the community, and I'm sure it'll continue to be discussed! I don't think anyone wants to draw lines in the sand or create a "Us vs. Them" mentality. I do think everyone wants to have at least one person, one ally, in their corner though.
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a really good question actually and shows the problem with sites like this (especially when connected with Facebook)
I'm not using Facebook's definition of sex to include or exclude anyone. The link to Facebook is so I can check that each new member is real. Anyone who identifies as a woman is invited to join.
Do you use the Facebook link to verify that the person is female? I'm trans and out as a woman in a lot of places, including at the tech company where I work, but not on Facebook.
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#34I am a bit triggered. This segregation stuff does not make sense to me, it almost feels like prison rules - keep genders/races away from each other because if they interact it will probably be violent. I wondered what would happen if I created a community where the core culture was set by women, and the software and product decisions were also made by women -> This also seems strange to me and counterproductive. If w…
I’m not trolling.
The whole idea of viewing individuals primarily as members of an arbitrary group is repugnant and has no place in the tech industry.
I hope this project fails.
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#35Hi! I'm the creator of Leap. Glad to answer questions here.
I'm XY and won't be able to contribute to the community, which I have no problem with. However, I do like to read fruitful conversation (via hackernews, reddit, online comment platforms, etc.). I suppose readership would also be private and limited to women? I definitely understand why that'd be the case, but it does seem to make it more difficult for me to get a balanced perspective from platforms that are majority men.
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#36Hi! I'm the creator of Leap. Glad to answer questions here.
Thank you for doing this.
I've definitely noticed a dynamic at play in male-dominated soft eng spaces online that silences women. It has to do with men's behaviour and shitty comments in those spaces. Not all men, of course, but enough men - and almost exclusively men. It's why I'm no longer on r/programming. I'm tired of having to put up with that and I'm glad you created this space.
I look forward to checking it out.
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#37I am a bit triggered. This segregation stuff does not make sense to me, it almost feels like prison rules - keep genders/races away from each other because if they interact it will probably be violent. I wondered what would happen if I created a community where the core culture was set by women, and the software and product decisions were also made by women -> This also seems strange to me and counterproductive. If w…
Are you trying to get at the fact that while this is supposed to be empowering to women, it necessarily implies that there are material differences between men and women in how they interact socially? Following this line do we conclude that it is morally inconsistent (with modern "totally equal" egalitarianism) or that it espouses a less popular "equal worth, but not equal treatment" ethic? Or maybe this is just a way to bootstrap communities with less maleness baked-in but that can eventually accept men once their cultural norms are established?
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#38I am a bit triggered. This segregation stuff does not make sense to me, it almost feels like prison rules - keep genders/races away from each other because if they interact it will probably be violent. I wondered what would happen if I created a community where the core culture was set by women, and the software and product decisions were also made by women -> This also seems strange to me and counterproductive. If w…
>I am a bit triggered.
This is tangential to your point, but I'm pretty sure what you're referring to isn't being "triggered." It's, I don't know, disagreeing? It has a specific and important definition, and it seems to be getting thrown around in other scenarios, to the detriment of those with PTSD.
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#39I am a bit triggered. This segregation stuff does not make sense to me, it almost feels like prison rules - keep genders/races away from each other because if they interact it will probably be violent. I wondered what would happen if I created a community where the core culture was set by women, and the software and product decisions were also made by women -> This also seems strange to me and counterproductive. If w…
I’m not trolling. The whole idea of viewing individuals primarily as members of an arbitrary group is repugnant and has no place in the tech industry. I hope this project fails.
I can't imagine why a group wouldn't want you in their project.
Re: Leap: An Online Community for Women
#40Hi! I'm the creator of Leap. Glad to answer questions here.
I'll go straight to the difficult questions: 1. I thought gender-based discrimination was illegal. How is Leap not illegal? 2. One of the main objections of "gentleman's clubs" was that their (male) members had access to important networking contacts, putting women in unequal foot in an unfair way when it came to businesses. Wouldn't Leap be unfair in the same way?
>Wouldn't Leap be unfair in the same way?
This assumption completely disregards the measurable advantage men have in the tech community. If you have identical programs, one for a historically disenfranchised group, and one for the group that's been in power for decades, only one of those programs is shitty.
edit: "Advantage" was a poor choice of words, but since it's been quoted in replies I'll leave it. I meant something more like "given the gender disparities in the tech community."