Archive for November 2007
Posted November 26, 2007 at 10:01 AM | Tagged as: Technology, Women! | Just 1 Comment
I’ve been monitoring the flap at ComputerWorld over a post about the employ of scantily-clad women at a booth at ITXpo, and I have to say that, after plenty of dismissive responses from many male readers, it’s nice to see that some men will acknowledge how difficult it can be for women in IT. Mark Golden, a ComputerWorld reader, writes:
I’m male and heterosexual, and as far as I’m concerned, any man who doesn’t notice the rampant sexism in this industry needs to have his brain replaced. IT workers must be the raunchiest, dirtiest bunch of overgrown adolescents in the nation… The whole IT culture of gender disparity and social inadequacy infects everything… A woman in a technical position in the IT industry needs more than talent and ability; she needs skin like steel.
What’s even better is that Don Tennant, Editorial Director of ComputerWorld and author of the post that kicked off the hoopla, takes the issue a step further:
I have such a high regard for the IT profession and the leading role it takes in improving our lives that I do indeed feel strongly that it should be a leading advocate for the eradication of all forms of social injustice as well. Does that mean I feel the IT profession is “above these things?” Yes, it certainly does. Then again, I think every profession should be above practices that are dismissive of women or any other group within the profession.
Mr. Tennant even posted an e-mail from reader Rita Thissen (who is also a fellow member of Systers), which should be pretty eye-opening for anyone who doesn’t think that women have issues to deal with in the IT industry.
I’ve always felt fortunate to have come up in IT in predominantly female environments — due in part to having attended and worked at a women’s college, and perhaps also due to the fact that I have worked mostly on the East Coast, where there are more women in IT. But still, I have encountered some pretty blatant sexual harassment… fortunately, my “skin of steel” helped me get through those negative situations without me losing any of the passion I have for my career in technology.
Posted November 25, 2007 at 12:09 PM | Tagged as: Just Sayin, Women! | Comments Off
Ah, the b-word: bitch.
It’s a word I don’t use much, if at all. I gave up the noun form completely a few years ago, and the verb form only comes out every once in a while, mostly in reference to myself.
I refuse to use the b-word to describe another person, especially another woman and especially in a leadership context. And I object to hearing others — male or female — use the word, since it’s so often dispensed with the very same properties that the speaker is attributing to the person being described: malice and spite. The b-word is a hateful, hurtful word, and I wish it could be cleansed from our vocabularies.
But since it’s clearly going to stick around, it might as well be redefined. I recently read Andi Zeisler’s definition of the b-word, and if everyone understood it to mean thus, I might just use it:
Bitch is a word we use culturally to describe any woman who is strong, angry, uncompromising and, often, uninterested in pleasing men. We use the term for a woman on the street who doesn’t respond to men’s catcalls or smile when they say, “Cheer up, baby, it can’t be that bad.” We use it for the woman who has a better job than a man and doesn’t apologize for it. We use it for the woman who doesn’t back down from a confrontation.
I know a number of women that fit the above far better than they could ever fit the dictionary definition of the b-word. Still, I’ll refrain from using it since I’m bound to be misunderstood. However, if I catch someone else using it, I’ve now got some great material to quote to help them understand what I hear them saying.
Posted November 16, 2007 at 6:52 PM | Tagged as: Computing, Technology | 4 Comments
Until November 26December 31, you can sponsor One Laptop Per Child by buying an XO laptop for a child in a developing country, and then get another one for yourself. I just got mine… hurry up and get yours!
Posted November 13, 2007 at 10:35 AM | Tagged as: Duran Duran, Music, Photography | Just 1 Comment
The large majority of people were not able to attend the best Duran Duran show ever (as determined by the 1,000 fans in attendance at their Broadway “Red Carpet Massacre” show on Friday, November 9, 2007) but, thanks to my friend Kelly, I got great tickets and, with my new Nikon D80, I got some great shots. Check them out!
Also, be sure to check out the band’s new album, Red Carpet Massacre. It’s got some very funky tunes that are sure to get your feet moving. I’m about to head to the store to pick up a copy right now!
Also check out these great front-row photos by my friend Carsten!
