Category: Culture

Categories
Diversity

No room at the top

I have been remiss in the past in all my criticisms of Six Apart’s business practices and Movable Type coding gotchas. One thing I did not comment on favorably was the fact that Mena Trott was CEO of the company. In our environment where it’s rare to hear a woman’s name in a list of speakers, or see a woman’s face among a photograph of leaders in any field, Mena stood out as an example to all women that this environment is not completely and totally controlled by men.

Well, that was, until today when Mena wrote a very gracious note about a gentleman by the name of Barak Berkowitz who has taken over as CEO of Six Apart. I’m not sure of what Mena’s position is at this point; I believe she may be continuing on as President.

Six Apart is no longer Ben and Mena Trott, not with all the VC involvement and international growth. It is a very successful company now, and nothing wrong with success in weblogging. I guess an added benefit is that whatever criticism any of us now have of the company or products, I don’t think people will say we’re kicking the baby squirrels because of it.

But it was difficult reading about Mena stepping down as CEO because I have to wonder how much of our criticism of the recent license fees had to do with it. I work hard to see that women are promoted in weblogging, only to be critical of a company headed by one of the few women who has managed to find a position among all those cookie cutter men. Yet, paradoxically, I don’t believe that criticism should be held back just because the recipient is one of the few women that has actually made a difference.

In all my discussions about women in weblogging and technology, I’ve not asked that women get preferential treatment, or to be judged other than on our own merits. If anything I’ve asked that women get the equivalent acknowledgement and recognition, and yes, even criticism, that men get. Still, I wonder–by being critical of these rare women, do we make it easier to get pulled from, or should I say pushed from, positions that are hard for us to get to in the first place?

I hope this is a good move for Mena Trott. I wish her success in whatever role she has in the company. I am happy for her, but sad for us: there’s now one less woman at the top.

Categories
Diversity Political Weblogging

Women blogging the Convention?

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Since I’m on a roll about women’s apparent invisibility in weblogging circles, well except when we’re naked or shoving our titties in front of the faces of the boys, I am curious: which women bloggers have been credentialed by the Democratic party to cover the Convention?

We’ve already heard that a person infamous for indiscriminate and malicious comments about women has been given access. I’d like to think there might be a woman or two among the fifty or so men who will be going, so that the Convention goers don’t think weblogging is a boys only club.

Not that we think it is.

Of course not.

We all be equal here, we be.

update

At least it’s nice to know that we women don’t suffer blogger burnout like the guys.

Categories
Diversity Technology

Yes, where are the women

Eric Meyer had a recent request for CSS gurus for a potential book. I was getting down to the end of the list, thinking to myself, where are the women when I came across Molly Holzschlag asking the same question.

I don’t understand why women in CSS are so overlooked, and when the two of us that have been mentioned – at least in this case – it’s either far less than the guys or, in Holly’s case, always as a duo with Big John, and not on the merit of her own individuality. I want to understand this. Maybe you can help me.

Since this same question has been asked about Linux, PHP, MySQL, RSS, XML, Java, and about every other technology that puts in an appearance in weblogging, I wouldn’t mind hearing the answer to this one myself. I’ve been asking it for three years now – and I’m still waiting. Maybe if Molly asks the question, someone will come up with a good answer.

Now excuse me while I go back to spending a great deal of time documenting code that would most likely be given more respect, or notice, if it came from a guy. But what can you do?

Categories
Connecting Weblogging

Eight million stories in the naked city

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I’m moving on from current discussions, but to what I’m not sure. I don’t regret yesterday’s anger, but I do regret the circumstances behind it because though the anger is gone, the circumstances remain.

So many stories in the naked city. “There are eight million stories in the naked city.” Does anyone remember that? Anyway, this small story in this new naked city is only of interest to a few, and I’m not sure I’m one of them.

Yesterday’s angry outburst sounded too close to another similar outburst that went something like, “If you’re my friend, you’ll support me. Publicly.” While I welcome support from friends, public or private, when I’m down or even when I’m not, much of yesterday’s anger, and yes hurt, was directed at myself as much as anyone else. It’s difficult to come to terms with a realization that people have stopped listening to me because I shout too much.

It’s also difficult to accept the fact that there are some circles where I won’t be heard, even if I whisper: because of my sex, because of my past, because of who I do or do not work for, my age, whether I own the perfect little black dress, or any number of factors I may or may not have control over.

Bother it, their loss.

It’s summer here in this hemisphere and Winter elsewhere and we all have better things to talk about, including the first commercial aircraft into space. I used to want to visit Australia, but to hell with that – I want the moon, now.

Categories
Diversity Weblogging

And the proof is

I am so angry right now. I am so mad at the supposed male-dominated tech community with it’s obvious implications of brotherhood.

I expected one, one of the community to push back at Dave Winer and his outrageous statement about the critics being primarily women bitching about the weblogs.com shutdown, and how it must be because we hate men for some reason. I expected them to be outraged on my behalf because they know me, and know that regardless of my reasons, it would not be because of that.

After all, I have been involved with many discussions on RSS and RDF and Atom and other technologies–they must surely think that I have, at least, some root of technical ability to know that what Winer was saying made no sense from a tech perspective.

I thought of the times when they’ve been wrongly accused of things, usually by Winer, and I’ve spoken out. I’ve been proud of that – perhaps too proud. Perhaps what I should have done is just be silent.

Maybe it’s that I’ve been critical of too many things. Does this make me seem superior? And therefore should I be “taken down” a peg or two for “speaking out”? That’s what a certain anonymous commenter from Amsterdam (who seems to have forgotten how easily it is for a tech person to discover someone’s identity from a specific IP address) said – that I was too superior.

Is that it? Uppity woman not only intruding her butt in tech circles, but also daring to disagree with the alpha males? Women in tech are okay, as long as we write about sex and how much we admire the guys?

I never expected anyone to agree with me when I was critical of Winer and his shut down of weblogs.com. I thought each of us must fight this battle on their own. But when he reduced what some of us have said – what I said – to being nothing more than a woman being cranky at men, what he did was to discredit what I, a fellow technologist, said based on my sex.

Winer was critical of men in comments, and I watched other guys rally around those men–but not the women. Not us women.

I could chalk this up to Dave Winer being Dave Winer but not one of you men disagreed!

And you wonder why women aren’t heard; why more women don’t speak out, or get involved.

My brothers in technology. Ha! Right.

Not one of you said a thing.

Not one.