805 lines
28 KiB
HTML
805 lines
28 KiB
HTML
<HTML
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>Do's and don't's of encouraging women in Linux</TITLE
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>HOWTO Encourage Women in Linux</TH
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect1"
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><H1
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CLASS="sect1"
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><A
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NAME="AEN168">3. Do's and don't's of encouraging women in Linux</H1
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><P
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>Encouraging women in Linux involves both learning what to do,
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and learning what to stop doing. We'll present our ideas in "do" and
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"don't" pairs, since having only a list of things to do or a list of
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things not to do is not as helpful as having both. Some of these
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suggestions may seem insultingly obvious to you personally, but for
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many other people, they aren't obvious. Each of these suggestions is
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based on multiple real-life encounters with people for whom these
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ideas weren't obvious. Try not to dismiss any of the ideas--these are
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real suggestions from real women, the women you presumably want to
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attract to Linux. Also, most of these suggestions are not
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gender-specific, and will help to attract all types of people to
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Linux.</P
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN171">3.1. Don't tell sexist jokes</H2
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><P
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>Sexist jokes are the number one way to drive women out of any
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group, and they are more common than many people realize. I have more
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than once heard a man say that he doesn't make that kind of joke, and
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then hours or minutes later, hear the same person make a joke about
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pregnant women or PMS. Sometime he just doesn't realize that he made
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a sexist joke, for example, "blonde jokes" are actually "dumb women"
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jokes. Sometimes he tells me that it's okay to make a sexist joke if
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it's true, or it's funny (funny to whom?). What some people fail to
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realize is that jokes about gender of any sort almost always make fun
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of women, and will make most women angry, regardless of the context.
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It doesn't help to first make a sexist joke about men and then one
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about women.</P
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><P
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>You can argue that women shouldn't be so sensitive (and I will
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disagree with you) but even then, regardless of should or should not,
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your comments and jokes are driving women away. If that's not what
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you want, then don't make sexist jokes. If you're not sure if your
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joke is sexist, find something else to say.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN175">3.2. Do protest sexist jokes</H2
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><P
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>The next time you see someone joking about women on your local
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mailing list or in person, complain about it. It's difficult to do
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this without making yourself a target for ridicule, but it's even more
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difficult for a woman to do the same thing. Women keep silent when we
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see sexist jokes because if we protest, we will immediately be
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attacked for being over-sensitive, uptight, or a "feminazi." (Note:
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NEVER use the term "feminazi." It discredits all feminists, and
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trivializes the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Consider how
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ridiculous it sounds to call people like Rush Limbaugh "male
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chauvinazis" and you may understand why "feminazi" is so emotionally
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loaded.)</P
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><P
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>The best way to fight back against sexist jokes is with humor.
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If someone replies to a post about the technical achievements of a
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woman with "Is she single?" reply with, "Gee, Jeff, no wonder YOU'RE
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still single." Every time a woman sees a sexist joke or comment, she
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feels angry, left out, and belittled. Every time a woman sees a man
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stand up against this behavior, she feels included and
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valued.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN179">3.3. Don't call people bitches</H2
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><P
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>Using the word "bitch" (and several other words) is derogatory
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to women, no matter whom the word is referring to. I wouldn't have
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bothered to include this except that it's apparently not as obvious as
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I thought, as I have recently heard Linux developers use "bitch" in a
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serious manner with apparent nonchalance.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN182">3.4. Do show some respect</H2
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><P
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>Talk respectfully about all women, not just the women you're
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attracted to, as well as all other kinds of humans of all ages and
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appearances. If you don't do this, women will tend to assume that you
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will treat them as badly as the people you're insulting and avoid
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you. </P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN185">3.5. Don't take the keyboard away</H2
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><P
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>This is a general problem when teaching anyone something new,
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but it happens more often to women. Someone asks a question, and
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instead of telling that person the answer, you take away the keyboard
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and type in the command yourself. Don't do this! It makes it much
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more difficult to learn and it makes the other person feel stupid and
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helpless. In general, give people a chance to learn how to do things
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themselves if they're interested in learning. You may think you're
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doing a friend a favor by fixing her Apache configuration while she's
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gone, but if she's trying to learn how to configure Apache, then
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you're not actually helping her.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN188">3.6. Do give directions and explain them clearly</H2
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><P
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>While it is much harder for you to take the time and patience to
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explain what to do and why, and then spell out the command to type,
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it's worth it in the long run because the other person is learning and
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you're less likely to ever have to answer that question again.
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Specifically, women will feel more confident in their own abilities if
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you allow them to type the command themselves.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN191">3.7. Don't make sexual advances towards women</H2
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><P
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>Imagine a bar or a pub full of sports fans, fans of a game which
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you don't know much about or like. Imagine that they're all taller
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and stronger than you, speak in a language you only halfway
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understand, and belittle anyone who isn't totally focused on their
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sport. Now imagine that you walk into this bar, wearing a shirt that
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says, "I AM NOT A FAN OF ANY SPORT." Just imagine it for a minute.
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How would you feel? Nervous? Afraid? Different? Out of
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place?</P
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><P
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>You begin to have a teeny-tiny idea of what it's like to be the
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only woman in a large group of men.</P
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><P
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>Keep that feeling of nervousness in mind when you read the rest
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of this paragraph. When you immediately make a sexual advance to a
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woman at a LUG or online, you're making her feel like she's not part
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of the community, like she's under attack, and like she is risking
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being ostracized if she turns you down or offends you. Remember, this
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isn't a friendly one-on-one situation where she feels comfortable
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turning you down, she's surrounded by the equivalent of the
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aforementioned huge sports fans. She's trying to fit in and be part
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of the group, and by hitting on her, you're cutting her out of the
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herd and isolating her from the group. Women grow up with the
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constant fear and awareness of being attacked by men, and as silly as
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it may seem, it colors all her interactions, no matter how safe or
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mundane they may seem to men.</P
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><P
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>Like any other human being, a woman wants to have friends and be
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appreciated for who she is. Every time she gets an email asking her
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on a date, she is reminded that she isn't viewed as part of the group,
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but instead as different, an object of desire, and is certainly not
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being judged on her technical merit alone.</P
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><P
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>This may be hard to stomach, but you need to not hit on women
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who show up for Linux events, at least not right away. In all
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likelihood, you are NOT throwing away your only chance at true love by
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not coming on to her immediately, but you are throwing away your
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chance to have a fun new member of the Linux community. And even if
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you still think you're missing a chance at true love, keep in mind
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that many women brave enough to show up at a LUG or your local mailing
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list will frequently make the first move anyway. By hitting on them
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at the first opportunity, you're scaring them away, and you're also
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scaring away all the other women who might have become interested if
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the first woman had stayed.</P
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><P
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>This goes double for women you meet over email or on IRC. You
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may think that your "Are you single?" line is hysterically witty and
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suave, but she's heard it a million times. Even if you're joking,
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even if you already have a girlfriend or are married--don't do
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it.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN199">3.8. Do act friendly</H2
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><P
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>When women aren't being hit on, we're often being completely
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ignored, instead. This isn't any better. Women new to a group often
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want the same things men want - we want to feel welcomed, we want to
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talk about subjects of mutual interest, we want to make friends. When
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a woman says something, listen and respond in a friendly manner.
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Start a conversation and find a topic you're both interested in
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talking about. Don't assume that because she's a woman, she has
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stereotypically female interests or opinions, instead, keep an open
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mind and listen for clues about what she is interested in. Most
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likely, she has interests beyond hair, makeup, and movie stars if
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she's involved in Linux.</P
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><P
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>Several women have complained that all men seem to be able to
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talk about with them is why women stay away from computers. While
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it's an important issue, women would like to talk about something else
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most of the time, and we would especially not like to be reminded of
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how "weird" we are when we first join a group. Wait until she's
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settled in and feels comfortable before bringing up the subject if
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you're curious about it.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN203">3.9. Don't complain about the lack of women in computing</H2
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><P
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>It's useful and constructive to talk about the lack of women in
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computing when you are approaching it from the viewpoint of the women
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who are being left out of an exciting and rewarding field. It's sad
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and pathetic to talk about the lack of women in computing from the
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viewpoint of a man who blames his lackluster love life on the lack of
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women in computing. The best way to annoy and drive away women is to
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talk about the lack of women in computers in this way. Here are some
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of the more common reactions of a woman listening to a man whine about
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the lack of women in his field:</P
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><P
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></P
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><UL
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><LI
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><P
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>"What am I, invisible? Does he know I'm here?" </P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"Good to hear that I exist only to serve lonely men." </P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"Pathetic. You're so pathetic."</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"Then why don't you do something about it instead of complaining?"</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"Once again, everyone assumes that only men are listening." </P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"Maybe I shouldn't be in this field."</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"What's wrong with me that I'm here and other women aren't?" </P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"He's so self-centered." </P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"No wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend." </P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>"Not only am I in a meat market, I'm the chopped liver." </P
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></LI
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></UL
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><P
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>As you can see, not only does whining about the lack of women
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make you annoying to women, it also makes the women who are here more
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likely to leave. In no case does it result in a woman being more
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likely to date you.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN228">3.10. Do encourage women in computing</H2
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><P
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>Instead of complaining about the lack of women, start doing
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something about it. Take women's complaints seriously (starting with
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this HOWTO), read the studies on why women avoid computers, math, and
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science in general, and find ways that you can help encourage women.
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Be encouraging and supportive when other people discuss the reasons
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why women are being driven out of computing. If you have the
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opportunity, try to mentor women. Mentoring means guiding,
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encouraging, and counseling someone in their education and career.
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Not everyone is capable of mentoring, and it's difficult to find
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compatible mentors and mentees, but when it does work out, the results
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can be spectacular. Don't, however, think of mentoring as a way to
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find a girlfriend - all a mentor gets out of the relationship is
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reflected glory from your student and the joy of watching another
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person grow.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN231">3.11. Don't stare and point when women arrive</H2
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><P
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>Nobody likes being stared or pointed at. Why would a
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woman like it either? Many women complain that when they walk into a
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room of Linux enthusiasts, suddenly, the conversation stops, everyone
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turns around and looks, and few people even point to make sure their
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buddies can see what everyone is staring at. This is intimidating and
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unpleasant, and more than enough to make a woman swear never to
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return.</P
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><P
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>A good quote from Mia, a women in Linux: <A
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NAME="AEN235"><BLOCKQUOTE
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CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
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><P
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> "I've never bothered going to a LUG but I've been to other geek events
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where everyone has turned around and stared when I walked in... it
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felt more like the 'stranger walks into a bar scene' in a western than
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anything else."</P
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></BLOCKQUOTE
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></P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN237">3.12. Do treat new arrivals politely</H2
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><P
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>When a woman walks into a LUG meeting or posts on a mailing
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list, act nonchalant. Try as much as possible to treat her like any
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other person you would like to have as part of your group. Remember,
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it's not flattering to remind her that she's one of a kind, special,
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rare, or weird. Start pretending that women are a normal part of the
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Linux community and you'll go a long way towards making that a
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reality.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN240">3.13. Don't treat women stereotypically</H2
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><P
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>Don't assume that all women like cooking, sewing, and babies,
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and are at the LUG or on the mailing list only because their
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boyfriend, son, or husband are interested in Linux. One woman says
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that every time someone in her LUG explained something to her, they
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would use an analogy to cooking or babies, assuming that those were
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the subjects she was most familiar with. Don't assume we aren't
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interested in cars, math, fighter jets, or robotics. Don't assume
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that we don't know how to compile a kernel--I personally know at least
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fifteen women who can compile their own kernels and several of those
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also write kernel code. If you're lucky, one of them will show up to
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your LUG or mailing list, and you wouldn't want to insult her by
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assuming she couldn't even install her own machine. Don't assume that
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she got interested in computers because she liked to chat or send
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instant messages. Women are about as likely to cuss as men--don't do
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a double-take if you cuss in front of a woman. If she's read any of
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the kernel code (notably arch/sparc/), she's heard of the word "fuck"
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before.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN243">3.14. Do treat women as normal people</H2
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><P
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>As much as you can, act like the women in your group are just
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normal people, because we are just normal people. Some people
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complain, "Women want to be treated just like normal people, but then
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they tell me not to make sexist jokes around them! That's a paradox!"
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Well, if you define "normal people" as "the men I usually hang out
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with," then it is a paradox. If you include women in your definition
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of "normal people," and then treat normal people in a fair and
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respectful way, then women don't require any special treatment.
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</P
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><P
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>If you're still unsure of how to treat women, try the following:
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Be friendly but not overbearing, be casual, start conversations the
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way you normally do, move on when the conversation is over. If you
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spend most of your time around a very specific subset of the male
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population, you will have to change your behavior to some degree, but
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this is just as true as if you were talking to a man from a totally
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different background. If you find that you have to heavily modify
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your behavior in order to not offend women, you should consider
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changing your behavior in all circumstances. No one is fooled if you
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simply stop making sexist jokes when women are around but continue to
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make them when (you think) women aren't around.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN247">3.15. Don't criticize too much</H2
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><P
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>Women are socialized to be far more sensitive to criticism than
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men, as well as more critical of themselves. As a result, women are
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far more likely to be driven off by heavy or unfair criticism than
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men. When you're tempted to criticize, try to remember that
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absolutely no one was born knowing how to compile a kernel and that at
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one point, you didn't know anything about Linux, either. People will
|
|
lose interest in something if they perceive themselves as being bad at
|
|
it, so if you want someone to continue being interested in Linux,
|
|
don't criticize her so much that she believes she isn't any good at
|
|
it.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN250">3.16. Do compliment</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Women have much lower self-confidence than men on average, and will
|
|
generally judge themselves far more harshly than any outsider.
|
|
Compliments help improve her self-confidence, which in turn keeps her
|
|
interested in the subject. If she believes that she's not good at
|
|
Linux, she'll probably stop working on Linux.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>The following are some guidelines for complimenting anyone:
|
|
|
|
<P
|
|
></P
|
|
><UL
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Be sincere and truthful. If you really think her program is
|
|
an ugly piece of garbage, don't tell her that you admire its syntactic
|
|
beauty. Find something you can honestly admire and compliment
|
|
that.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Be specific. "You're good at Linux," is meaningless, "You
|
|
always know which distribution to recommend," is specific and
|
|
therefore meaningful.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Be appropriate. Don't compliment a kernel developer on
|
|
installing Linux. Don't compliment a gimp developer on her use of
|
|
layers. Be sure that your compliment actually reflects a significant
|
|
accomplishment rather than demonstrating your ignorance of her level
|
|
of expertise.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Compare to yourself. If she learned bash scripting more
|
|
quickly than you did, tell her so. Say, "Wow, you learned bash
|
|
scripting after X months. It took me 2*X months to learn that." Or
|
|
if she made a silly compilation mistake, tell her about your worst
|
|
compilation mistake. When she learns that her mistakes are not
|
|
unusual, she'll feel better.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Compliment before you criticize. If you do have a
|
|
constructive piece of criticism, it's a good idea to start out by
|
|
telling her what she did right.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Compliment and don't criticize. Don't always follow a
|
|
compliment with a criticism. More often, compliment her and be done
|
|
with it.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Don't brag. Saying, out of the blue, "She can compile her own
|
|
kernel!" and beaming fondly upon her is not complimentary, it's
|
|
bragging about her abilities as if you are responsible in some way for
|
|
her success. Parents are especially prone to bragging. Pointing out
|
|
her expertise in an unobtrusive and subtle manner is much better -
|
|
"Oh, well, if you have a question about kernel compilation, she might
|
|
be able to help you better than I can." When someone points out my
|
|
capabilities in this manner, it's indescribably wonderful.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
></UL
|
|
>
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>You almost certainly shouldn't compliment her on her hair, her
|
|
face, her body, or her sweet temperament. If she's interested in
|
|
Linux, she is, by definition, a geek, and probably wants to be
|
|
complimented on her intelligence, abilities, and hard work.
|
|
Compliment her on installing Linux for the first time, on her
|
|
customized desktop, on her intelligent and interesting questions
|
|
during the last meeting. A compliment on anything else is
|
|
inappropriate and will be seen as a sexual advance (because it almost
|
|
always is), and will make her feel more uncomfortable and less
|
|
confident.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN270">3.17. Don't invite only male speakers</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>If all your speakers are always men, women will notice and not
|
|
feel welcome. Role models people can identify with are important to
|
|
staying interested in a field.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN273">3.18. Do ask women to speak</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>It's surprisingly easy to find technically brilliant female
|
|
computer scientists willing to come speak to your group. If you
|
|
explain that you are trying to encourage women in computers, many
|
|
women will be even more likely to speak at your event. Women speakers
|
|
are probably the number one way to get women to come to your event.
|
|
They will be able to see a role model, ask her questions about her
|
|
experiences, and for a few hours at least, not feel like the only
|
|
woman who's interested in computers. Be sure that when you do invite
|
|
a woman speaker that you advertise the event well, especially to
|
|
women.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>One woman says that she noticed her LUG paid less attention to
|
|
and was ruder to women speakers. She thought it might be because the
|
|
members dismissed the possibility of her knowing anything they didn't
|
|
already know. Be sure not to let this happen to your women
|
|
speakers.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN277">3.19. Don't micro-specialize</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Maybe you and your friends are perfectly happy to show up to
|
|
your local LUG and talk about the same topics (the latest video card,
|
|
first-person shooters, robots) every week, but for whatever reason,
|
|
few women have the endless interest in minutiae that men often
|
|
display. Try not to have all your speakers talk about
|
|
micro-specialties, or always discuss the same areas of
|
|
robotics.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN280">3.20. Do discuss broader topics</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Arrange for speakers on a wider range of issues than just
|
|
technical specialties. Women tend to be more interested in political
|
|
and social issues surrounding computing, and women also tend to have a
|
|
broader range of technical interests within computer science. Try
|
|
scheduling a discussion on compilers if you always end up talking
|
|
about USB, or a review of the open source licenses instead of
|
|
endlessly rehashing the discussion about binary-only Nvidia
|
|
modules.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN283">3.21. Don't make your meetings hard to attend</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>About the worst LUG meeting possible: 10pm on Monday night, in a
|
|
warehouse in downtown, the unmarked entrance is in a deserted and
|
|
poorly lit alleyway, and no public transport is nearby. Oh, and we're
|
|
serving pizza (choices: meat, double meat, and extra spicy meat) and
|
|
cheap beer. Did I mention we're going out to a sports bar
|
|
afterward?</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN286">3.22. Do make meetings easy to attend</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>As usual, following these suggestions will make your meetings
|
|
more attractive to everyone. Try to schedule your meetings at family
|
|
and school friendly times - not too late in the evening. Make sure
|
|
your meeting is in a safe, well lit place with easy access to public
|
|
transportation, if your city has any. If you want new people to
|
|
attend, the meeting place should be clearly marked and easy to find.
|
|
If you serve food or drink, try to vary the menu a bit. After an
|
|
informal survey, we discovered that women tend to prefer sandwiches,
|
|
fruit, and vegetables instead of pizza. Chinese takeout is one way to
|
|
easily provide a variety of different food. Consider having a
|
|
vegetarian menu option. If members of the LUG socialize outside
|
|
meetings, try to do things which are welcoming to people of different
|
|
backgrounds.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN289">3.23. Don't make new people feel unwelcome</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>If a new person shows up and all the established people refuse
|
|
to talk to or acknowledge the new person, the new person is unlikely
|
|
to come back. Most likely, everyone is just too shy to say hello, but
|
|
that doesn't make any difference. Additionally, if other members
|
|
immediately attack or challenge or just ignore everything the newcomer
|
|
has to say, she won't be interested in returning.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN292">3.24. Do help new people get involved</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Ask new people to introduce themselves and talk about their own
|
|
projects and interests for a bit. Try more informal meeting styles -
|
|
instead of a speaker and a silent audience, have a panel question and
|
|
answer session or a round table discussion. Let members speak for a
|
|
few minutes on their own projects, so new people who share their
|
|
interests know who to talk to. If you have someone who doesn't mind
|
|
speaking to strange people, ask them to serve as host and welcome new
|
|
people to the group or mailing list.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN295">3.25. Don't underestimate girlfriends or wives</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Many women involved in Linux or computing are also dating or
|
|
married to men with similar interests. Many people then assume that
|
|
the woman is only interested in Linux because her boyfriend or husband
|
|
is. Women are sometimes introduced to Linux through a boyfriend
|
|
(which shouldn't make their interest less valid or less important).
|
|
More often, women become interested in Linux or computing, start
|
|
making friends and meeting people in the field, and because there are
|
|
so few women in the field, we unsurprisingly often have little
|
|
difficulty finding a person to date in the same field. Don't conclude
|
|
that because most women in Linux are dating or married to someone also
|
|
involved in Linux, that women are only interested in Linux because of
|
|
that relationship. For many women, interest in Linux predates her
|
|
current relationship. I personally became interested in Linux while I
|
|
was dating an English major who wouldn't know an operating system if
|
|
it walked up and bit him.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>One of the LinuxChix reports that her first invitation to speak
|
|
at a conference was as a member of a panel entitled "Wives of
|
|
Hackers." The prominent open source celebrity who suggested the panel
|
|
didn't understand why she was insulted. After all, her own work in
|
|
open source was apparently insignificant compared to being the wife of
|
|
a famous kernel hacker.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN299">3.26. Do treat girlfriends and wives as independent people</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Girlfriends or wives of people interested in Linux also have
|
|
their own lives and accomplishments, and frequently those are also in
|
|
the area of Linux or open source or computing. Instead of treating
|
|
her as an adjunct to her boyfriend or husband, recognize that she has
|
|
her own interests and areas of expertise, and talk to her about
|
|
them.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
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HREF="x106.html"
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