Sex, Lies and DemoCampFinally managed to get Jenny to go to DemoCamp (a monthly tech gathering happening in Toronto) earlier this week, and this is what she posts:
This post has been a long time coming, and I feel that being at DemoCamp on Monday night really emphasized how important the gender imbalance problem really is. I've resisted talking about this in the past because the majority of responses that I get are negative and assume that I'm overemphasizing the disparity, being a "feminazi" or just plain whining.I concur.
The fact is that there is a problem when 90% of the attendants of an incredible event like this are male, and it shouldn't be ignored.
And what's more, I think comments like the one Bryce left on Jenn's post -- "As far as the whole 'boys club' issue I don't know if that is something that needs to be addressed by 'the Boys'" -- are sadly missing the point. Especially in lieu of guys like Jay Goldman who originally came across Jenn's blog, saw that she was based in Toronto, and invited her to a DemoCamp event. The fact is, I'm certain that most guys attending these events work (or go to school) with women and a little outreach would go a long way, unless we follow Bryce's advice and just say that it's up to the 'girls' to invite other women. Anyway...
One way to make more girls (and guys) show up is to increase the quality of the actual demos and there are no shortage of suggestions that people are willing blog about (read a few examples, if you want to). Personally, there was only one demo (Design Bibliography by Sunir Shah) that didn't make me roll my eyes for the entire duration. And while it was satisfying to watch some presenters fumble (and I'm not even saying who), the other presentations just left me uncomfortable, which is not the feeling that a technology demonstration aught to provoke.
I've talked to some people and event organizers and there are plenty of ideas about how to fix DemoCamp and I'm positive that Jay and company know what needs to be done, so I won't bother posting redundant suggestions and advice. Except for one: Most people don't show up to DemoCamp to look at the demos.
posted by Slava @ 5:55 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I certainly am willing to listen. In fact I guess I made that comment on Jenn's post because I am eager to hear how we can encourage more diversity at ALL of Camp Events. We all had a wake up call a couple of months ago and we saw that as a community we were too male dominated and we were not being inclusive because of some lame lockeroom talk. I did not know that Jay asked Jenn to come out, that is very cool. Is this the type of outreach you are talking about?
I think that all BarCampers reach out to people who would be interested in our events, as you may know, core of our community revolves around the idea participation. Honestly in the past we have used the whole "you must participate" as a way to weed out the tourists who don't add to the conversation or the event. However what I believe you are saying is that we need to actively facilitate participation amongst the women in our industry and in our community. I agree with you, please help us do that.
I would encourage you to bring this up at the next DemoCamp. Let's talk about it we won't even turn on my timer :-)
For a long time there were 2 rules of DemoCamp:
1. Talk about DemoCamp
2. No PowerPoint allowed.
The challenge is to build something meaningful, and encourage others to participate. The "Talk about DemoCamp" was intended to spread the meme. Find others, have an open community and encourage them to participate. Outreach and openness should be part of our DNA.
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