Following up on this, after my question a week ago to Arbcom candidates, it is now clear that there are *no* women standing for election to Arbcom this year who are prepared to say they are a woman. There is one openly non-heterosexual candidate standing, though the candidate guides make it look unlikely he will get elected. The feedback to my question seems to be that the majority do not understand why a lack of open candidates might be perceived as an issue, in fact in several places this has been interpreted as a threat against anonymity and even been dismissed as trolling.
I corrected my comments at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Arbitration_Committee/Noticeboard#Wikipedia:Arbitration.2FRequests.2FCase.2FInteractions_at_GGTF_closed.
Don't forget, today is the last day you can vote and make a difference to who will be on English Wikipedia's Arbcom next year. :-)
Fae
On 1 December 2014 at 19:24, Fæ faewik@gmail.com wrote:
On 1 Dec 2014 19:15, "Nathan" nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
I'm not sure I love the idea of asking people to identify with a gender or sexuality when they haven't done so already. If they have already done so, then the question is superfluous. Better to ask them their position on the actual issue, and if they think there is anything arbcom or the project as a whole can do better.
I understand that POV, however with only one woman candidate my question was deliberate. The de facto 'don't ask don't tell' policy is a poor excuse for failing properly to address the hostility that some of our contributors who are open about their gender or orientation have experienced.
We should not have to be forced into the closet to edit Wikipedia, and if Arbcom members fear to be open, what hope is there for everyone else?
Fae
On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 11:45 AM, Fæ faewik@gmail.com wrote:
In the light of the contentious Gender Gap Task Force case, I have raised the following question for candidates in the current election: "I'm having difficulty visualizing how Arbcom today represents the diversity of our community. Would you like to identify yourself as a woman or LGBT, and explain what life experience and values you would bring to the committee when these become topics or a locus of dispute?"
I will be voting for women and open LGBT candidates that bring some relevant and diverse life experience to committee, and against everyone else. I am sure they will get enough votes from the majority