OK I will probably get lynched for even considering to write this particular post and I am not trying to cause controversy at all, however I have been looking around at some of the recent blog conversations that have been popping up on the various blog sites such as here and here. And we had a discussion at BarCamp London on the same subject.
The thing is we can talk about why women aren't going to these events amongst the bloggers but to be honest I see the bloggers at the events, they actually do turn up to the conferences and the talks... It is the non blogger females that are out there who don't necessarily hear about the events or don't have the time to go to them etc that are the ones that I am interested in knowing more about. These are the women that get on with their jobs and spend a lot of their time with (hopefully) a healthy work life balance. They may not be bloggers but they are still females in tech!
I guess what I am wondering is what is it that conference and event organisers aren't catering for at these events. What is it that the women are looking for but don't find at these events. I am pretty sure that the male female ratio isn't the only thing that is putting women off of going to events. And I am also wondering how things can be improved for events and also what the communications channels are that aren't being used that obviously should be!
No doubt I am using the wrong medium to ask the questions so feel free to ask people you know to get the conversation started if you know someone who could open up the conversation! This is about inclusion of more people and it's a learning excercise for everyone.
Robert mentionned that maybe it is the women not putting themselves forward to speak at events. I know that I for one have only been in the industry for 2 years and as such feel as though I am still a baby in comparison to some of those people who have been around for a lot longer. It's not that I don't think I can do it, it is more a case of I will do it if people want me to but only if it is going to be what others want. I do wonder how many others are in the same position in that sense. I.e. they think there are others more qualified with more experience who could provide a deeper input than they could themselves. (Is it time for a site or location for people to nominate the people they would like to see speaking regularly at conferences.... and subject areas ;) )
I also know that it can be daunting talking in front of people who you know to be intelligent, highly proficient and technically ept. I think what Robert needs to be very carful of is that he doesn't go too far looking for his diversity amongst his interviewees. I mean it's fine to want to look for interesting and different content but if the interesting stuff is in a male centric domain then so be it... and have the experts talk on their subject area.
Something that became very clear at BarCamp is that women don't want to be treated like a special case, a bit like I don't like to be treated as a special case for being lactose intollerant when I go out to dinner. This is why I am asking what it is that would make women more interested in the events and conferences. I am sure there is something that we are missing. It may be a culture thing or an environment or even location thing. Who knows... (not I says I)
I am not saying that women aren't experts btw... I am just saying let the people who know their subject domain best to the talking on it... personally I don't care whether they are male or female. I go to events to learn about a subject and if I speak I am there to teach people on a subject... simple as that.
I do have a question that some of the big events organisers may be able to answer... why don't they let the female centric user groups and communities know about their events by sending the details of the events to them? I know that Women in Technology have an area dedicated to up and coming events and it is rarely used by big conference organisers for ordinary tech events just women centric ones... and for London Girl Geek Dinners I let the girls know about events from other organisers from time to time. I am seriously considering putting together an RSS feed for the girls so that they can find out about all up and coming tech events that I am informed of... It just makes sense...
OK I am going to finish this here or I will go on all day. Feedback welcome!
posted @ Friday, September 08, 2006 9:10 AM