On Fri, 2005-08-19 at 22:45, Abhijit Menon-Sen wrote: > At 2005-08-19 17:17:31 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > In all my experiences, I haven't encountered any sexism towards > > females in areas related to computing. Not even bad jokes. > > I wonder if that's because you (and other people) misjudge what might > actually make women uncomfortable. I'm sure nobody at the ilugd meets > would claim to be anti-women, but I've often felt that the prevailing > atmosphere is likely to discourage women from ever visiting more than > once. > > -- ams > Hi all,
I was not accessing mail over the weekend- hence the delay. Since there are so many responses to respond to, I think I will just address each one briefly. I haven't seen anything on the list guidelines to say this is not appropriate, but if someone does feel so, they are welcome to make the point. Thanks Kishore, for the invitation to talk. I would have loved to take it up, if i felt there was something concrete for me to talk about- but like I said, I myself am exploring. But I do plan to be there at the event- so hope to put faces to all these names then :-) As for LL's nail-polish mail, I will not comment on-it's part of the problem and an illustration of some men's unwillingness to take the issue seriously... AMS and Raj- point taken. I also agree that the list is not being actively 'woman unfriendly'. Maybe women do need to show up at the ILUG-D meetings and articulate specifically what attitudes/actions they would like to see changes in. (Which means I myself will have to try and make it- as far as my tight schedule allows it! :-)) Thank you AMS for mentioning that the "prevailing atmosphere is likely to discourage women from ever visiting more than once." As far as I can see, if there are some people willing to acknowledge and address the problem, there is hope for discussion and introspection on it- hopefully leading to some attempts at resolution. And Pankaj, this thread repeatedly will raise "its ugly head" because this issue has not been resolved. I am not sorry that it causes discomfort in your complacent world. "that more women aren't using Linux because there is a gender issue relating with technology as a whole. In my experiences males dominate most computer related areas." Welcome to the world- it's not just technology that there is a gender issue to- it is indeed present in every aspect of our lives, and in every corner of the world. A techie will say it's true for technology, a businessman will say it's true for business...media, politics, engineering, medicine- the "gender issue" is ever present. Please look around and notice this. Yes, "males do dominate most computer related areas". And not just computer related areas.It is a fact- but not one to be plainly accepted. The question arises- why is it so? And to take it further, in any field, why is it that the marginalised continue to stay marginalised? Is it because they are genetically predisposed to being marginalised? Or should one ask- What opportunities do they have- are they in any way equal to the opportunities of the more privileged? At this moment, I am talking only about gender, but my concerns extend to all marginalised people, in all areas. It is convenient to say that this is how things are- and be complacent about it. Like you yourself have said- there are men who don't care about alternatives, and similarly, there are women like that. But it DOES NOT mean that its a fact of nature that women are predominantly like that. A baby girl is not born genetically un-inclined towards technology. A baby boy is not born wanting to open up his toy car to see how it works. Socialisation sees to it that women feel underconfident about technology- except when they have gone ahead to specialise in it, and in a few cases, when they have fought against such socialisation. Which is all the more reason for human beings (I am not distinguishing between men and women) who are more priviliged to try to empower those women. And it is possible- I have mentioned my case in brief. The people who have helped me learn what I know, and to do the tasks that I do- are all male. It's just that they were actually interested in my learning. And yet, in the process of my learning, and in my daily work, I continue to face male chauvinism. And this is not a male vs. female debate- I sincerely believe that a healthy balance is good for all human beings- men or women. Whether it's in the world, in the field of technology, or on a mailing list. Regards, Hassath _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
