On 5/13/12 4:40 AM, Laura Hale wrote:
On Sun, May 13, 2012 at 6:30 PM, Sydney Poore <sydney.poore@gmail.com mailto:sydney.poore@gmail.com> wrote:
I think it is relevant to our understanding of how the gender gap developed on WMF wikis.That was hard to pick up from the e-mail. :( I too was baffled as to how this connected. I still don't see how this connects to the gender gap. What are we supposed to do with it? What can learn from it? Is it a call for chapters to boycott Dell? (If so, nothing was posted to the chapters list, though maybe something posted to Internal.) Was she asking for women to write about it for Wikinews? (Wikinews loves women's contents and I know they like women contributors and wish they had more of them.) Sexism happens all the time at tech conferences and online. "There is something wrong on the Internet!" has practically become an internet meme in its own right. Context free, it is confusing... because it makes this list seem like a general feminist list to air grievance. I can get that any time I want in many other places. : /
Hi Laura! I addressed this in a previous email, actually responding to Sydney. To each their own of course, but, I do think this situation, the Sqoot situation[1], etc. say so much about what we are dealing with in Wikimedia..including how a part of culture just "accepts" this type of joking and so forth. It's been like that since as long I can remember, and I'm just grateful that the web is providing women with a new face and tool for fighting that sexism. I also think learning from Dell's poor decisions can be learning tools for the community (and other communities) when progressing towards change.
If you feel that this list has become "general feminist" in a way that makes you uncomfortable and the majority of this list feels that way too, then perhaps I'm on the wrong mailing list - as I see "solving" the gender gap as part of feminism and general gender discrimination as a whole. I also think we can learn from Dell's mistakes - chapters can make healthy decisions on who participates as speakers at their conferences and events, and of course this stresses the importance of friendly space policies and respectful work environments, which is dictated by leadership leading by example, IMHO. It also solidifies the urgency of all of the things we're doing here - whether it's writing WIkinews and Wikipedia, putting on events like WikiWomensCamp or merely having these conversations on mailing lists in a smart, civil, urgent manner.
On boycotting... I think the idea of an individual, or someone broader boycotting companies that go against their ethical/professional mission is a totally awesome idea if one sees it fit and possible. I just took a look at the Dell products list[2] and I'm happy to say I don't have any "Dell in my life," though I do know folks who do and I'm sure it's not feasible to throw Dell laptops out the window and buy other products. I think one person or organization stepping back before acquiring new products and saying "does this organization match my/our personal/institutional ethics and mission?" is a really important thing. I surely support organizations that meet my ethical and personal beliefs, and do my best to avoid those who do not.
I just think it's really important to share news and experiences that are impactful and meaningful to women's roles within technology, as they often overlap with women's experiences in wiki technology. And of course, if someone wishes to write about this on WikiNews go for it! Right now I'm pretty swamped with moving and wrapping up some projects, hence my slacking in my Wikinews participation right now. I do hope to utilize Wikinews again in the future as a continued outlet for this type of content, but it's not on my personal to-do list right now. If not, perhaps blogs and other tools will make up for the lack of Wikinews about this.
So Sarah, you've got women and men who want to do something in response to Dell's latest behavior. How do you want us to assist and what are going to offer to assist us in that?
I wish I had the answer! Sadly, I don't. I've got some dialog taking place about this on other mailing lists, and on Twitter, and I'm happy to keep this list in the loop of anything that might come from those conversations. I just think it's really important to share this type of news and situations with fellow community members, just like I would if an open source wiki was going through something that overlaps with our mission(s) or strategic plan. I think as the work day starts this upcoming week more coverage will continue to come from this situation.
-Sarah
[1] http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Web_startup_Sqoot_loses_sponsorship_after_failed... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell#Products