Wonder Why Women Don't Feel Welcome?
May 25, 2007 at 10:43 AM
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I was just talking with one of the women on our staff, who showed me a YouTube recording for posterity of an extra special surprise at the recent Rails Conference. I so wish that someone would write in and tell me it was a clever hoax and never really happened. It was a marching band of women (or at least appearing to be women) wearing revealing little shorts, humping their flagpoles, leaning way over and waggling their rear ends, and so forth, as a large crowd of cheering young men stood around leering, or at least eagerly watching. This is a tech conference?
I think the subject of women in the web world is a complex one, not some easy blame-it-on-the-men, blame-it-on-society situation. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I find that the accomplished male web designers and developers have, almost without exception, been warm, generous, welcoming, respectful, and supportive in any of my little endeavors. Any advances I haven’t made in my professional life I blame entirely on myself. I’m not particularly interested in quotas and statistics. So, please don’t assume that my next comment is a simplistic, knee-jerk, anti-male response. What were these organizers thinking? It doesn’t matter a bit if this group is San Francisco’s hottest thing going or whatever, I find its presence at a tech conference repellent, offensive, demeaning, and, as a woman, humiliating. Why would a woman, seeing this, want to attend or speak at a future conference? I’m disgusted. If you don’t get this, You. Just. Don’t. Get. It.
Comments
And for those vicarious folks who aren't quite sure, I've got some links on my blog.
First of all, it was irresponsible of you to not post the link to the video, as no one reading this has the ability to see for themselves. I have seen a number of videos of this "performance" and not only did I not see any women "humping their flagpoles," I also saw a number of men with no shirts, and little shorts on. So while I might tolerated your prudish attitude towards such a display in general, I do take exception with your implication that this was only humiliating to women. This could have been a post about an unusually risqu
I believe the theory goes that the more annoying the ad, the better the viewer retains information. Besides, the promoter may have been using the advertising model set by the SuperBowl Half Time Circus of Advertising. Figure on annoying the responsible attendees for better retention, entertaining the cretins, and bring everyone back next year to see how awful the next presentation gets. I wonder what the promoter would think with a daughter that applies for work at Hooters? Want her to get the job or be turned down? Sometimes it seems there just aren't enough consequences for bad decisions.
Sigh, This is the third such discussion regarding inappropriate words, images or actions at web related conference in the last few weeks, and comes on the back of an ongoing debate about diversity, particularly gender diversity in the web/IT professions and particularly n terms of representation at conferences as speakers and so on. I note that pretty much all the commenters here are men. I note that they all work hard to justify what occurred as ok. But none of you are listening. High profile, successful, and increasingly ANY women in IT are becoming rarer. The number of women entering the profession via tertiary education is plummeting. So when these women speak, I think it behoves us to listen. When smart, successful, far from prudish women say that they don't find something appropriate for the context (no one is saying this kind of behavior is wrong in all places and at all times, but they are definitely saying it is inappropriate in a tech conference, and they are damn right IMO) - listen to them. Don't find reasons to criticize them. These women are telling us they find it makes them uncomfortable, that they feel it is inappropriate. Can't you respect that? If you want to go visit a "Gentlemens Club" (or if women want to visit the equivalent, or whatever) that is absolutely fine afaik. But a conference is a professional place which brings together a wide diversity of people based on shared professional interests. It must be a place where all participants feel comfortable at all times, just like a workplace. What concerns me most about these conversations is those who say how they feel are not only not listened to, but attacked (well, I am sure you think calling Carolyn a feminist is a criticism Damian) rather than listened to and respected. If this sort of thing were an isolated occurrence, then sure, let's ignore it. But when it happens in different guises over and over again, and our colleagues in our profession exress their concern over and over again, it's time to address it. As Carolyn did. Who the hell was responible for that event at RailsConf anyway? What were they thinking? john
@Joshua: I am puzzled by the notion that half-naked men somehow counteract half-naked women. The point is, half-naked *people* and suggestive situations don't really belong at an IT conference, IMHO. The beach? Sure. Not the convention center. @Harry: I posted the links -- follow the link in my first comment, and watch the video until about 45 seconds. Can't really miss the flagpole antics. @Damien: A football game is not a professional conference. Try getting your buttoned-up boss to shell out the cash for this conference next year after s/he sees the performance that this year's reg fees paid for. Finding it appropriate or not appropriate has nothing to do with maturity. I'm sure most sixteen year old boys would love it. And perhaps most of their dads, not so much. As John said, the gender-diversity issue at IT conferences is currently a hot -- and apparently divisive -- topic. This isn't a feminist issue. It's an issue of content and professionalism.
Editors Note: I removed about 3 comments in this thread due to the commenters resorting to name calling and adding no real value to the thread. If you want to comment please make sure you are actually adding value to the discussion.
If women don't feel welcome in IT, they are the wrong firm. My EVP is strongly committed to equality and diversity. Our head of development is a Chinese-American woman. Our head of IT resourcing, who parcels out development assignments and the chief project manager, is a Russian-American woman. Our business strategy manager is an English woman. Our head of Global Professional services is a woman. Our head of commercial operations is a woman. Our global HR head is a woman. Our head of marketing in my business unit is a woman. Whether in IT development, IT project management, IT services, IT business, IT marketing or IT HR, where I work we have strong female mentors and role models. I encourage women in IT to take their valuable talents to a place where they will be recognized and rewarded.
What's funny is, I think many of the people in the crowd where a bit awkward as there wasn't a crazy explosion of applause at the end. And I really wanted to punch the dude with the megaphone. Aside from the outfits, the majority of it was fairly tame - but the flagpole humping was WAY over the top.
A Rails friend of mine went to the UK Rails Conf last year and was somewhat dismayed to see women handing out pizza and posing with geeks. There was a great picture of a couple of female attendees in the background looking rather uncomfortable, but it seems to have been removed. I was honestly shocked when I saw this type of going on, as I'd hoped our industry was slightly more mature and responsible. I guess I was wrong.
That is pretty outrageous, up until now I had this idea that RoR was part of a move forward in web technologies. I didn't realize it also represented a step back in social norms. My company made a similar social gaff when they hired a pair of "burlesque" dancers for their industry outing. Needless to say, the whole thing was in terribly bad taste and was definitely indicative of what bad decision makers they are and continue to be.
I am a woman who attended the conference. In the context of other musical interludes, this band was just the best of several. I wasn't enchanted with the dancing but the band was terrific - as were all the folks I met at the conference, male or female. It is rather unfortunate that out of context video of this entertainment would cast a negative light on a superb conference.
I second Cynthia on this one. I was also one of the women at the conference. The Rails community is very supportive on encouraging and welcoming women to Rails/Ruby. Geoffrey Grosenbach of http://podcast.rubyonrails.org/ even sat with us to discuss the state of women in development.
I'm happy to know that the Rails community is supportive and encouraging to women. I actually assumed that it would be. All the more reason _not_ to have entertainment that any of the women wouldn't be "enchanted" by. I still think it's important call attention to things that are this extreme and to say they shouldn't be happening at tech conferences....and I don't think there's any way to take some of the things the women were doing in the video "out of context." In what context at a tech conference would a woman thrusting her crotch at a...well, never mind. No reason to reiterate. I'm glad, though, that you clarified for this discussion that the community as a whole, as you see it, is very supportive of women. That's been my experience in the web design world, for the most part, too, and I'd like to have all the entertainment at the conferences be congruent with that. You know - conferences where everything that was offered by the conference would be something you'd be proud to have your daughters see at YouTube, or be participating in.
