social networking
Happy Solstice and happy social media
12/21/09 10:14 Filed in: miscellany
Where are the women?
08/11/09 10:42 Filed in: miscellany
From
Fast Company
When you look around the room at a tech or social media conference what do you see? Are the panels filled with a diverse group of tech and social media experts? Chances are they are probably filled with white men. So why is that a bad thing, when after all, the tech sector is comprised of about 75% men and 25% women? It’s a problem because when we design technology and social media platforms we design it for all. Women make up approximately 50% of computer and social media users. By not filling panels with diverse speakers, we tend to give conference attendees only male perspectives on tech and social media, when in reality our consumers and users are men, women, people of color, etc.
The lack of women represented at tech conferences has been discussed and debated for years, though it has not been a hot button issue publically as it has been privately until now (Women Snubbed in Top Ten Speakers List, Diversifying Speakers at Tech and Social Media Conferences, At the Ideas Conference, Women Don't Have Any).
This is a question I have been asking for a long time. I ask it when Wired comes out with its issues of the "top 100 important people." When Time or Newsweek does the same.
Indexers seem to be much more gender-balanced at presentations and conferences, but what do you think the proportions of male to female indexers over all are in our field? My impression is that this is a heavily female field, and that many of the males lean towards the technical end, but that's just my impression.
When you look around the room at a tech or social media conference what do you see? Are the panels filled with a diverse group of tech and social media experts? Chances are they are probably filled with white men. So why is that a bad thing, when after all, the tech sector is comprised of about 75% men and 25% women? It’s a problem because when we design technology and social media platforms we design it for all. Women make up approximately 50% of computer and social media users. By not filling panels with diverse speakers, we tend to give conference attendees only male perspectives on tech and social media, when in reality our consumers and users are men, women, people of color, etc.
The lack of women represented at tech conferences has been discussed and debated for years, though it has not been a hot button issue publically as it has been privately until now (Women Snubbed in Top Ten Speakers List, Diversifying Speakers at Tech and Social Media Conferences, At the Ideas Conference, Women Don't Have Any).
This is a question I have been asking for a long time. I ask it when Wired comes out with its issues of the "top 100 important people." When Time or Newsweek does the same.
Indexers seem to be much more gender-balanced at presentations and conferences, but what do you think the proportions of male to female indexers over all are in our field? My impression is that this is a heavily female field, and that many of the males lean towards the technical end, but that's just my impression.
Wright Information is actively blogging at Indexers Network
02/09/09 17:20 Filed in: miscellany
I'm actively blogging at Indexers Network, but I will try to post duplicate entries here on indexing topics.