Sad MCPs in Free Software circles [was Re: [Sderby] Helen, please come]

[Richard Smedley]

On Friday 08 December 2006 20:20, Steve Tickle wrote:
> > it is my first time there an i would like another female to chat to
> > hope you do come if not i should be at next weeks too
>
> I can see it now. The blokes will be droning on about kernel compilation
> switches and the girls will be swapping knitting patterns. ;-)

I have no idea how well you know the two women to whom you
are referring, nor whether they'd find your comments funny -
I will assume that that is how you meant them to be - but I will
say that if my daughters, or any of their friends, had read them while
considering coming to a LUG meeting they would most certainly
have been put off wasting their time with it. As would most of the
female hackers with whom I have worked in the past decade.

I suggest that you take a look at:
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Encourage-Women-Linux-HOWTO/index.html

In particular:
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Encourage-Women-Linux-HOWTO/x168.html

> <dives for cover>

When you feel like putting your head above the parapet again, take
a look, too, at:
http://www.linuxchix.org/content/docs/faqs/issues.html#id2800785
and other pages on that site.

And consider too why there are so few women in this LUG - even
in comparison to the low percentages in other groups.

 - Richard
[/Fed up with the incessant low-level put downs he sees people
giving every girl or woman interested in anything scientific]

-- 
Richard Smedley,                                    richard at sc.lug.org.uk
Sustainable IT Consultant
http://m6-it.org/           ``Software Freedom for the Voluntary Sector''