On Fri, Jun 28, 2013 at 10:59 AM, Heather Walls <hwalls(a)wikimedia.org>wrote;wrote: Heather, let me take a crack at this, because I think it's a really imporant issue to keep in mind. When this list started (and since), I have reached out to a number of women encouraging them to join. Some have and some haven't, but there's a pretty common view that I believe is greatly under-represented on this list -- some of these people have subscribed, but of those who did, I think it's safe to say that *none* participate in the discussion. Several women (including my longest-standing Wikipedia colleague, with about 100,000 edits to date; two WMF board members, a close work colleague, and my mother) responded to the emergence of this list as follows. (I hope I've reflected this accurately; I've BCC'd these individuals to invite feedback in case I've gotten it wrong.) - While the gender gap on Wikipedia is a significant problem, it is better regarded as a *symptom* of an environment that is not welcoming in general, than as a distinct problem in itself. The gender gap is best addressed by advancing the general health of our community, rather than trying to target gender issues specifically. - Individual responsibility is an important component, and not everything that appears gender-driven is actually gender-driven. In some cases where a woman is having a bad experience, it results in part from her own actions. Being called a victim-blamer is not appealing, so staying away from a forum like this might be the safest bet. I find this perspective compelling, and sometimes find myself concerned at how little we hear from/about it on this list. I think it is a somewhat nuanced position that often gets summarized in ways that are incomplete; "letting my editing stand on its own merit" is, I think, a summary of the second bullet point. Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]]