A l l i e s wo r k s h o p Men learning to support women - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

A l l i e s wo r k s h o p Men learning to support women in open technology and culture - in real-time Full CC-BY-SA curriculum online at: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/Allies_workshop Valerie Aurora The Ada Initiative http://adainitiative.org contact@adainitiative.org Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

T h e A d a I n i t i a t i v e Valerie Aurora Mary Gardiner Increasing the participation and status of women in open technology and culture http://supportada.org/what-we-do/ Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

Wh y s h o u l d me n f i g h t s e x i s m i n o p e n t e c h / c u l t u r e ? Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

Wh y s h o u l d me n f i g h t s e x i s m i n o p e n t e c h / c u l t u r e ? Women 1.5% Trans 1% Women 9% Men 90% Men 98.5% Wikipedia editors Open source community Source: FLOSSPOLS report Source: Nov. 2011 Editor Survey Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

A n o t e a b o u t g e n d e r b i n a r y l a n g u a g e ( “ me n a n d wo me n ” ) ● “Men” refers to people given the societal advantages accorded to cis males ● Gender binary language often intentional ● Focus of this workshop: improve treatment of women ● Practical goal for this workshop: don't make things worse for trans and genderqueer folks Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

Wh y s h o u l d me n f i g h t s e x i s m i s o p e n t e c h / c u l t u r e ? ● Because you are a decent person, and... ● Men have built-in advantage: ● Woman complains, is whiny, weak ● Man complains, is brave, progressive ● Men: expect positive reactions! You have power, use it Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

O f f - t o p i c f o r t h i s wo r k s h o p ● Are women treated worse than men in open tech/culture? ● Is it a problem? Is it worth fixing? ● Learn more: http://geekfeminism.org http://geekfeminism.wikia.com Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

F o r ma t o f t h e wo r k s h o p ● Present real-world scenarios and discuss potential responses ● Form groups of 4-6 people to discuss and come up with responses ● Alternate small group and whole room discussion Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

S a f e l e a r n i n g s p a c e ● Workshop is recorded but you are not ● This is a learning experience ● You are supposed to make mistakes ● Don't repeat what people said in this room if it is unflattering Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

A a a a a wk wa r d . . . Talking about sexism, sex, gender, discrimination is uncomfortable Let's all take a minute to laugh uncomfortably together now! Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

G I G G L E N O W , CC BY by David Goehring ● S h o c k - e d Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

B a s i c p r i n c i p l e s o f r e s p o n s e t o s e x i s t i n c i d e n t s ● Short, simple, firm ● Humor usually backfires ● Pick your battles ● Play for the audience ● Don't be homophobic, transphobic, or make fun of people for being sexually undesirable, unattractive, etc. Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

D R E A D E D G R O U P C H O O S I N G T I ME ● Form groups of 4 - 6 now ● Or move up front and listen ● Probably everyone is nice and cool! Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

C r e a t i n g a f r i e n d l y e n v i r o n me n t ● A woman you don't know stands near your group at a geek event ● You are deciding where to hold an event Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

S p e a k i n g u p a b o u t c a s u a l s e x i s m ● Mailing list post asks “How would you explain this to your girlfriend?” ● Someone makes a sexist joke, everyone looks at the one woman in the office who speaks up about these things Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

S p e a k i n g u p a g a i n s t a d v o c a c y o f s e x i s m ● Wikipedia Talk page: “She only has a Wikipedia page because she's hot.” ● On identi.ca: “Women should just shut up and write code if they want respect.” Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

Wi t n e s s i n g h a r a s s me n t o f wo me n ● IRC/chat: “I don't believe you're a woman unless you send me pics” ● Someone leaves a sexist comment on your blog Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

N o t s u p p o r t i n g s e x i s t o r g a n i z a t i o n s ● A company's booth staff is wearing only underwear and body paint ● You receive an invitation to all-male panel Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

E d u c a t i n g y o u r s e l f ● You read a blog post about harassment and think “Why didn't she just knee him in the groin?” ● You are angry because someone just accused you of being sexist Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

A d v a n c e d a l l y t i p s ● Don't expect praise and credit for not being sexist or fighting sexism ● Follow and support women leaders ● Assume women have more knowledge and wait for invitation to explain ● “It's hard to be told to shut up and listen, but sometimes you need to shut up and listen.” - Mary Gardiner, Wikimania 2012 Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative

T h a n k y o u ! Full CC-BY-SA curriculum online at: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/Allies_workshop The Ada Initiative http://adainitiative.org contact@adainitiative.org Allies Workshop - The Ada Initiative