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Django Girls one year later

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Re: Django Girls one year later

#21
post #11

[deleted]

Well, if you Google 'women only training' from google.co.uk you get a fair selection of workshops, many provided by registered charities so I imagine the legal aspects are well sorted out.

Nothing stopping us using the materials according to the licence [1] to organise open events.

[1] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Re: Django Girls one year later

#22
post #14

The room is decorated with flowers and balloons, rather than being a "boring classroom" and they do fun things like cupcake tasting or yoga during the day. I suppose that could attract a certain audience but I think a number of girls could feel a bit uncomfortable being pigeon-holed as liking all things "girly". When I was in High School I would have been aghast if someone held a "guy's programming workshop" with wei…

In the industry today, we pigeon-hole as liking all things Star Wars and Star Trekkie. This is expanding the circle.

I have never been to any kind of conference or workshop that assumed I was into Star Wars or Star Trek and obligated me to participate in activities themed on those lines. The real argument is because they like doing that, not because "the industry" is already doing it with something else like Star Trek.

Re: Django Girls one year later

#24
post #9

In every work environment which has an clear gender imbalance we see the same stories of the minority group being pushed out by the majority group. The minority group feel pressured to be more majority-like to fit in, receive comments like "you are good for a minority person", and feel a social expectancy to be more like the majority group. Those who don't behave correctly report of being silenced and treated in a ve…

There is also the problem that we are talking about certain subsets of badgers and squirrels. Consider that many of the badgers that originally grew the forest that they now enjoy only did so because they were shunned not just by the squirrels, but by many other badgers. Look closely and you'll notice that some of these badgers, or those of the same subgroup, are resistant to both squirrels and other badgers coming into the forest. It isn't due to some sense of greed or superiority, but from a trained desire of self preservation.

And then you have the issue that in this forest, the job of maintaining the forest and the hobby of playing in the forest merge together, so groups that formed by badgers who play together carry over their group behaviors, including the exclusion of outsiders, into their work of maintaining and growing the forest. They likely don't even mean to do this most of the time.

Re: Django Girls one year later

#25

The room is decorated with flowers and balloons, rather than being a "boring classroom" and they do fun things like cupcake tasting or yoga during the day. I suppose that could attract a certain audience but I think a number of girls could feel a bit uncomfortable being pigeon-holed as liking all things "girly". When I was in High School I would have been aghast if someone held a "guy's programming workshop" with wei…

You're overthinking it. They're doing those things because they're fun things to do. If someone gave a programming workshop and had a games room where you could play arcade games, air hockey, shoot pool and play pinball on your breaks, I certainly wouldn't complain. I'd even like trying yoga and cupcakes!

They're doing those things because they're fun things to do

There are games and activities that don't gender stamped all over them, yes. But cupcakes and yoga are pretty close to the activities which have some gender-attachments.

Re: Django Girls one year later

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're overthinking it. They're doing those things because they're fun things to do. If someone gave a programming workshop and had a games room where you could play arcade games, air hockey, shoot pool and play pinball on your breaks, I certainly wouldn't complain. I'd even like trying yoga and cupcakes!

They're doing those things because they're fun things to do There are games and activities that don't gender stamped all over them, yes. But cupcakes and yoga are pretty close to the activities which have some gender-attachments.

You shall not pry cupcakes from my masculine paws.

Male hackers rise up against those who would steal thy cupcake-loving birthright!

Re: Django Girls one year later

#28
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're overthinking it. They're doing those things because they're fun things to do. If someone gave a programming workshop and had a games room where you could play arcade games, air hockey, shoot pool and play pinball on your breaks, I certainly wouldn't complain. I'd even like trying yoga and cupcakes!

I agree that Joe is probably overthinking it, but at the same time, I would be turned off to find myself at a programming event that plays up my "maleness" by stuffing in lots of sports things ;) On the other hand, I find flowers infinitely less annoying than football, so... One of the deeper issues that will probably never go away for many people in tech (no matter their gender) is the realization that completely fi…

> "I agree that Joe is probably overthinking it, but at the same time, I would be turned off to find myself at a programming event that plays up my "maleness" by stuffing in lots of sports things ;) On the other hand, I find flowers infinitely less annoying than football, so..."

The issue isn't really the things, but in feigning interest in the things that don't interest you. You don't have to pretend to like something, but at the same time you can still find ways to share time with those that do. You cannot design an event which is all things to all people, the answer to being inclusionary is not to be dull, instead it's about inspiring people, and you might as well have some fun trying to do it.

Re: Django Girls one year later

#29
post #9

In every work environment which has an clear gender imbalance we see the same stories of the minority group being pushed out by the majority group. The minority group feel pressured to be more majority-like to fit in, receive comments like "you are good for a minority person", and feel a social expectancy to be more like the majority group. Those who don't behave correctly report of being silenced and treated in a ve…

If you get a chance to watch the presentation, do. It's pretty clear from the tone of the presentation that hostility towards badgers is not the aim, they are clearly grateful for those that supported them, badgers and squirrels alike, and even make fun of the hostile turnips among us!

Re: Django Girls one year later

#30
post #9

In every work environment which has an clear gender imbalance we see the same stories of the minority group being pushed out by the majority group. The minority group feel pressured to be more majority-like to fit in, receive comments like "you are good for a minority person", and feel a social expectancy to be more like the majority group. Those who don't behave correctly report of being silenced and treated in a ve…

> 87% of squirrels work in a profession hostile to badgers, and 88% of badgers work in a profession hostile to squirrels.

This is a good point, and I think this mindset could go a long way towards avoiding the sort of demonizing that often undermines conversations on this topic. Surely a large part of the dynamic is that the statistical majority can naturally come to regard itself as "normal" (in the normative as well as statistical sense).

I do think we miss something, though, if we overlook the fact that, taking a step back, the vast majority of professions (especially lucrative ones and those that come with a substantial amount of social power) are badger-dominated. This is probably not an accident and, whatever the cause, there are good reasons to think this situation is systematically unfair to squirrels. And while it doesn't doesn't come about because badgers are all jerks, we also need to remember that personally exonerating all the badgers is not really the point, and will not solve our problems.

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