I would like to starts a discussion on women only events. How are they perceived and do they generate antagonism? I have always organized mixed events, until the first of march 2017, where an Art+feminism editathon was hosted by an LGBT lesbian association in Geneva, and I announced it on the
French Bistrot here (among other Art+Feminism events that were all inclusive)
I did not want to impose other rules than theirs on their surroundings,so I announced a woman only event for one of the 4 events organized. Some members of the community disagreed and reacted strongly (although I can’t say all were extremely respectful this is just normal bread when dealing with the gender gap) but one was so stunning and persistant (he was blocked in the end and now has a topic ban) that this generated the thought that we might need to reflect more on safe spaces and organize such events more systematically, in each conference and each Wikimania, until this is no issue any more. I remember attending the women only picnic at Wikimania in Esino Lario and being confronted with a different attitude: there it only seemed normal.
What do you think and what is your experience on this issue? I am interested to know all points of vue provided they are formulated with respect.