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Women and Tech

105 points by heatherpayne 14y ago

heatherpayne 14y ago
Seeing projects like this come to the surface makes me love living in Toronto.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Thanks Heather! We love Toronto too! We're mutually inspired by everything that comes out of the place.
gilrain 14y ago
I'd prefer a slightly different slogan. I like "We're not endorsing the obvious," but I feel like "We're really not complaining" is a bit insulting to those who really are highlighting the problems with sexism in technology fields. That's valuable work too, and I don't think it's a positive step to position yourself as, "We're not complainers, like those other women, gosh, am I right?" I love the idea, and I'll be keeping an eye on the site. I just wish the slogan was more like, "We're not endorsing the obvious. We're celebrating the hidden." Or something like that. You can resolve not to focus on (often well deserved and important) "complaining", and I think that's a valuable focus for someone to take, but please don't cast aspersions by implication on those that do speak up about active issues.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Fair point and we agree – it was more that we wanted to focus on the positive, not the negative. It's an iterative project though (including the copy) and this is our first go so we may take another look at it. Thanks for your thoughts!
  - gilrain 14y ago
    Absolutely. I love and agree with the goal of focusing on the positives, celebrating the actual successes happening today. I think that small part of the slogan actually introduces a negative to the site, if anything. I'm really glad to see this being done at all, however, and the site looks great! I hope you get a lot of traction!
    - cassiemc 14y ago
      Thanks! We think you're right and we're already looking at changing that bit.
      - juridatenshi 14y ago
        This project sounds like an awesome idea if executed properly. The fact that you're already taking constructive feedback into account in a positive way makes that proper execution sound pretty likely. :) On the note of constructive feedback, the "hounding women in tech until they meet with you" bit could definitely be misread. I know it isn't meant that way, but it sounds a little bit like you're going to harass women who may not be interested until they agree to be involved.
        cassiemc 14y ago
        Hah! Indeed it does sound funny in retrospect. We knew we'd be dealing with busy women, and that's all we meant to imply, so thank you for giving us the benefit of the doubt. But yes, we're going to go over all the copy with a fine-toothed comb and make sure we intend what we're saying.
  - SkyMarshal 14y ago
    It occurs to me it might be nice to not just recognize women in tech, but thank them for sticking with it, despite any sexism and discouragement they may have encountered along the way. I've seen the case made both anecdotally and empirically that women, or maybe more generally, mixed gender teams, boards of directors, etc., have broader perspectives, make better decisions, take less bad risks, and are more generally enriching than all-male. So, perhaps a simple 'thanks for sticking with it and bringing that' would be a nice addition.
    - papsosouid 14y ago
      I'd argue the opposite. I think "thanks for sticking with it" is patronizing. Contrary to popular belief, women are not feeble and weak and incapable of living in the real world. And they don't all feel victimized by some oppressive system of sexism.
      - MartinCron 14y ago
        And they don't all feel victimized by some oppressive system of sexism I wonder, is there a non-patronizing way to be positive and supportive of the women who DO feel, if not victimized, at least frustrated by "some oppressive system of sexism"?
      - ClHans 14y ago
        Have you asked the women involved if they think it's patronizing? Or is it just something you think?
        papsosouid 14y ago
        The women involved in what? I'm not sure what you are trying to convey here, you think there is a singular mind shared by all women involved in something, and they all disagree that it is patronizing?
  - jmcqk6 14y ago
    This seems similar to another site that's pretty great, though it's focus is a little different. http://www.steminist.com/ http://www.steminist.com/
- brianfryer 14y ago
  Totally agree. When I read "not complaining", it conjures images of complaining. Rather, a stronger focus on "commending" "applauding" would be apropos.
  - cassiemc 14y ago
    Definitely. Good word recommendations, thanks!
    - brianfryer 14y ago
      Thesaurus.com is one of best friends. I use it all the time to discover better ways to articulate my thoughts & feelings.
timc3 14y ago
Peopleandtech.com? If they are celebrating awesomeness?
- gilrain 14y ago
  That'd be cool too, but this site is probably trying, at least partially, to encourage women and girls who may aspire to enter a tech field but are discouraged by being unaware of the many admirable women who have succeeded against the odds before them. In a perfect world, peopleandtech.com would be all that's required, but unfortunately we're not quite there yet.
  - mibbitier 14y ago
    > In a perfect world, peopleandtech.com would be all that's required, but unfortunately we're not quite there yet. At the risk of being controversial, we will never be there, and nor should we desire to be. Women like different things to men. We're hard wired to have different tastes, desires, strengths and weaknesses.
    - gilrain 14y ago
      Even with that viewpoint, you could see this site as a positive and necessary thing. There really are girls who are deeply interested in STEM fields, but are discouraged by the apparent lack of female role models. In your view, they are biological outliers, I suppose... but surely they still deserve to have potential heroes highlighted for them? After all, I assume you don't believe that the women who are successful and passionate about STEM fields are fighting their every instinct, right? So, even if you think they are biologically less likely interests for a woman, it'd be good to encourage the ones who are interested that they can be successes.
      - mibbitier 14y ago
        I'm not convinced. If you need a role model (Of the same sex) to do something, you probably don't 'love' it enough or find it intellectually stimulating enough to do it for yourself. Personally, I think this just throws up an issue where there is none. Any woman can get into tech, learn technology, setup websites, make apps, do a startup etc etc. I'm not really sure what barriers there are for anyone, apart from the barriers they impose on themselves. Also I'm not a fan of sexism even when it's "reverse" - this website is "women only". It'd be much better to just share stories from everyone... Just my 2c.
debacle 14y ago
I think "We're really not complaining" is taking it a bit far. Sometimes the best way to handle an issue is to ignore the issue - why can't this site just be about the accomplishments of women in STEM? The allusions are a detractor.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  If you go back now you'll see we've changed the copy.
astridrosemarin 14y ago
This'll be good for all the event/ conference organisers in Toronto as well. It's always tough getting women to speak at those sorts of things!
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Yes this is something we talk about a lot and is one of the main issues we hope to help address.
- britburger 14y ago
  Nail on the head! Absolutely! This was actually a driving force behind the project's genesis. To address the unbalance in conference speaker lineups by raising the public profile of incredible women working in the community.
iuguy 14y ago
I like this. I'm not too sure about the slogan as others have mentioned, but something that focuses on the positive achievements of women in industry to me is far better than focusing on the negative like the terrible link from last week. The only disappointing thing was the link to Toronto, I have two women in the UK that I'd nominate straight from the get go and a possible third (although I'd need to clear it with her first).
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Yes there are clearly awesome women all over the world doing amazing things in Tech. But since we are a small team we needed a reasonable focus area. We definitely encourage you to do something similar wherever you are, though!
mibbitier 14y ago
> "Let's make the issue of women in tech a thing of the past" Really? By creating a whole website around it? I think it'd be really good to sum up what issue you consider there to be with women in tech... * Are there specific instances of sexism that occur? * Are there "not enough" women in tech? * Is tech uninteresting to most women? You're suggesting there's an "issue" that needs solving, but I can't find any description on the website of what you consider that issue to be. Sharing stories from startup women is great, although I'm not a fan of the reverse sexism.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  We're trying to nail down some of the issues ourselves. The issues our team has discussed so far are often amorphous or interpreted differently depending on context and person, so you can imagine they are difficult to pin down. Exposure and networking were a couple of the harmless problems we thought could help address immediately. We do have several men on our team (more men than women, in fact), and don't at all intend "reverse sexism". Also, just to clarify, this isn't just for startup women but for any lady working in tech fields – including those coders who sit behind big monitors all day and are reluctant to put themselves in the limelight or to serve as mentors/role models.
  - japhyr 14y ago
    I think you might be fine not mentioning specific issues yourselves. If you let women tell their stories in an open and honest way, the issues will come out in their stories. If you craft some well-thought-out questions people will be likely to talk about the specific issues they have faced, how they dealt with those issues, and what kinds of supports they would like to see in their profession. Focusing on people's stories is a great way to bring out these issues from the very people who have experienced them.
- mediacrisis 14y ago
  "Reverse sexism"? Check your privilege.
  - 14y ago
sophacles 14y ago
Neat project. I like the focus on the positive. IMO this will be a good resource. I really hope this succeeds and takes off in a big way. I like to encourage the women I know in tech to participate in stuff like this, but many times they don't want to because a lot of times "women in tech" issues focus too much on the negative, or the sexism issue rather than the positive or even just the tech. I don't know anyone in Toronto, but I have several nominations around the US, should your scope expansion work out :) (Completely aside: is there any good advice for men who want to further the role of women in tech -- because balance is always a good idea -- to help and encourage without being overbearing or accidentally patronizing? I worry about furthering the problem accidentally so I very rarely bring up this topic, even though I feel strongly about it).
- ericabiz 14y ago
  "Completely aside: is there any good advice for men who want to further the role of women in tech..." As a successful woman in tech, I would say the following: --Note that women tend to underplay their accomplishments and judge themselves more harshly (I've also seen men who fit into this pattern, but it's more common with women.) So when a woman who fits this pattern says "I'm decent at x", it may be the same as a man saying "I'm great at x." --Become a champion for the women in your life who deserve more recognition. Encourage them to take more leadership roles, jump at more speaking gigs when presented with the opportunity, etc. Women will often tend to think "I'm not ready for that yet" while a man with similar experience will say "Yeah, let's go for it!" --Help the youngest girls in your life develop more self-confidence. My cousin, a brilliantly smart teenager, kept telling me, "I'm terrible at math." I encouraged her to focus on the positive (she was getting great grades in her math classes, and understood the problem set) and to think more positively about her abilities. This lack of self-confidence is ingrained from an early age in many women and affects us throughout life in many cases. Encouraging girls to think more empowering thoughts and to have more confidence may be the best thing you can do to give them a better chance for success.
  - sophacles 14y ago
    Thanks for the advice!
spindritf 14y ago
That's a neat idea. You can post stories, work samples, a podcast, but... If you already know whom you want to interview, the site would benefit from having a story or two already there, on launch. If you're targeting the tech crowd, add an rss feed in addition to the e-mail newsletter. And lose this bar at the top, it's completely unnecessarily wasting vertical space.
nvk 14y ago
We are looking for fullstack Rails devs, would love to even out the gender ratio :)
japhyr 14y ago
I love it. I think projects like this can play a strong role in addressing the issue of sexism in technology. I also think that conditions can change radically for the better, once there is a critical mass of projects focused on supporting women in tech, and people who really understand the issue. It doesn't have to be a gradual change over 20 years. The focus of the project sounds quite meaningful, and it is well said in the first couple lines: "We're going to share stories about smart women doing important things." That is perfect; I want to read those stories! The copy gets off track a bit after that, like others here are already saying. "We're simply going to hound some clever women in tech..." does not sound good. Part of the problem is women in tech getting hounded. I know the intention here is good, but there is language that doesn't bring to mind the problems. This project is strong enough that you can just say, "We're going to invite clever women in tech..." People will understand the project, and want to be part of it. Others are talking about the "We're really not complaining" slogan, but I have no idea what "We're not endorsing the obvious" means. What's obvious to me is that telling smart women's stories is a good thing. I'm not sure what you are referring to here. A small design note: the top banner is huge, and takes up a lot of screen real estate, which distracts from your message. Again, I love it. I teach high school math and science, and I can say anecdotally that when I show this kind of project to the young women in my classes, I can see a change in them immediately. Most young women I see in school have no idea that people care to support them specifically. When they learn about projects like this, they become more confident that they could be successful in tech-related fields. Thank you for what you are doing.
deleted 14y ago
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wccrawford 14y ago
Where's the RSS feed? I don't know you well enough to give you my email, but I'd put you in my feed reader and enjoy articles as they come out.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Don't have one yet but you could follow us on Twitter and we'll let you know when we do. @womenandtech
cjbprime 14y ago
Kudos for doing this! Raising the visibility of role models for women in tech is noble work. I hope you find an easy way to make the site grow past Toronto, perhaps with submitted stories from people in other cities that follow your standard style. Have you thought about sometimes making (edited?) video recordings of the interviews? I can see how this would make many interviewees nervous, but I think it would also increase the effectiveness of the interviews for people who are comfortable with it. It would help make it easier to "put a face" to women in tech. Hm, photos could work pretty well for that, too. Have you thought about getting a good photographer to take photos of the women whose stories are being told, perhaps with photos of them both "at work" and at your interview?
- cassiemc 14y ago
  All good ideas! We hope our final presentation doesn't disappoint, because we think we have some pretty good ideas ourselves. =) Highlighting women in other cities as guest posts is something we hadn't thought of and I'll be sure to bring that up with the group as something we can potentially add to our long-term plans. Thanks!
vishaldpatel 14y ago
So, who is the intended audience?
uncomfytruths 14y ago
It's discouraging when women look up in the tech world and see mostly men. It's discouraging when blacks look up in the entreprenuer world and see mostly whites. It's discouraging when gentiles look up in the entertainment industry and see mostly jews (All Major Hollywood studios founded by jews or men of jewish descent). It's discouraging and painful because everyone wants to know that they can succeed. They want to know that "someone like me can make it in this industry". So it's important for people who are minorities in industries to support each other and encourage themselves. Get mad if you want, my problem with "Women in Tech" is that many times (not all) women don't add to the tech conversation and instead focus on showing themselves as victims. When men speak about tech it's about TECH, when women speak about tech it's about "The Lack of Women in Tech". So a site like this is a step in the right direction.
- MartinCron 14y ago
  Both "just talking about tech" and "talking about the lack of women in tech" are perfectly valid and necessary types of conversations.
mtalantikite 14y ago
"We highlight them not for their gender, but because they are awesome by any kind of measure." Just curious if you really mean gender, or if you actually mean sex.
- nemo1618 14y ago
  Okay, this whole Trans thing has gotten a little out of hand. Nobody is being oppressed because someone used the word "gender" instead of "sex." If you feel offended by that word choice, you're probably a little over-sensitive.
  - juridatenshi 14y ago
    It doesn't sound like the commenter is offended. I think they're asking for clarification. If the OP means gender, then they would hopefully be welcoming of trans women. If they mean sex, they may only be looking for cis-women.
    - mtalantikite 14y ago
      Yup, not offended at all, just looking for clarification. Gender and sex are not equivalent -- OED even makes the distinction -- and I merely was curious as to the intentions of the organization.
    - jquery 14y ago
      Every time I read the word "cis-woman" I involuntarily reel from the blast of political correctness coming out of my monitor.
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
      - saraid216 14y ago
        Every time I read the word "blue" I involuntarily reel from the blast of political correctness coming out of my monitor. Don't people know it's the same thing as green? What's the point of slicing such fine distinctions?
jonathanjaeger 14y ago
Great concept, LOVE the website design and typography.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Thank you! The web design is by Mark Staplehurst (who shared the build with Brett Bergmann). The logotype is Blanche by Atipus via LostType.com and headlines are in Arvo by Anton Koovit via Google web fonts.
Mz 14y ago
Years ago, I belonged to a gifted homeschoolers list. It turns out a lot of gifted kids who get homeschooled are "problem kids". Very often, they are twice exceptional: both gifted and disabled in some way. It meant that this gifted homeschoolers list was one of the most positive, pro-active environments for getting effective help for a child with a serious disability. Lists aimed at providing support for a particular disability are often fairly negative environments where assumptions about how much you must suffer subtly keep real solutions from being discussed. Folks pursuing real solutions get a lot of flack if they dare speak up and many of them just quietly go away after a while. I don't know what would create the same thing for women in tech, but I think if someone could find that, it would be a more effective and resilient means to get support to women in tech. It would need to be a project which just so happened to attract a high percentage of women without the name or stated goal having anything to do with gender and which also in no way excluded men.
- mamacorin 14y ago
  http://giftedhomeschoolers.org http://giftedhomeschoolers.org - still going strong! :-)
  - Mz 14y ago
    That is not the list I was talking about.
groby_b 14y ago
I'd love to see this expand outside Toronto. If I can offer any help/contacts in SoCal, feel free to ping me.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Appreciate the offer, thanks. Be sure to keep in touch with us and we'll put a call out if this becomes a part of our plans.
JackpotDen 14y ago
You missed the crucial step 4 : Get these published in teen girl and cosmo magazines, because the women who read it on the internet are probably already in tech.

Women and Tech

105 points by heatherpayne 14y ago

heatherpayne 14y ago

Seeing projects like this come to the surface makes me love living in Toronto.

cassiemc 14y ago
Thanks Heather! We love Toronto too! We're mutually inspired by everything that comes out of the place.

gilrain 14y ago

I'd prefer a slightly different slogan. I like "We're not endorsing the obvious," but I feel like "We're really not complaining" is a bit insulting to those who really are highlighting the problems with sexism in technology fields. That's valuable work too, and I don't think it's a positive step to position yourself as, "We're not complainers, like those other women, gosh, am I right?" I love the idea, and I'll be keeping an eye on the site. I just wish the slogan was more like, "We're not endorsing the obvious. We're celebrating the hidden." Or something like that. You can resolve not to focus on (often well deserved and important) "complaining", and I think that's a valuable focus for someone to take, but please don't cast aspersions by implication on those that do speak up about active issues.

cassiemc 14y ago
Fair point and we agree – it was more that we wanted to focus on the positive, not the negative. It's an iterative project though (including the copy) and this is our first go so we may take another look at it. Thanks for your thoughts!
- gilrain 14y ago
  Absolutely. I love and agree with the goal of focusing on the positives, celebrating the actual successes happening today. I think that small part of the slogan actually introduces a negative to the site, if anything. I'm really glad to see this being done at all, however, and the site looks great! I hope you get a lot of traction!
  - cassiemc 14y ago
    Thanks! We think you're right and we're already looking at changing that bit.
    - juridatenshi 14y ago
      This project sounds like an awesome idea if executed properly. The fact that you're already taking constructive feedback into account in a positive way makes that proper execution sound pretty likely. :) On the note of constructive feedback, the "hounding women in tech until they meet with you" bit could definitely be misread. I know it isn't meant that way, but it sounds a little bit like you're going to harass women who may not be interested until they agree to be involved.
      - cassiemc 14y ago
        Hah! Indeed it does sound funny in retrospect. We knew we'd be dealing with busy women, and that's all we meant to imply, so thank you for giving us the benefit of the doubt. But yes, we're going to go over all the copy with a fine-toothed comb and make sure we intend what we're saying.
- SkyMarshal 14y ago
  It occurs to me it might be nice to not just recognize women in tech, but thank them for sticking with it, despite any sexism and discouragement they may have encountered along the way. I've seen the case made both anecdotally and empirically that women, or maybe more generally, mixed gender teams, boards of directors, etc., have broader perspectives, make better decisions, take less bad risks, and are more generally enriching than all-male. So, perhaps a simple 'thanks for sticking with it and bringing that' would be a nice addition.
  - papsosouid 14y ago
    I'd argue the opposite. I think "thanks for sticking with it" is patronizing. Contrary to popular belief, women are not feeble and weak and incapable of living in the real world. And they don't all feel victimized by some oppressive system of sexism.
    - MartinCron 14y ago
      And they don't all feel victimized by some oppressive system of sexism I wonder, is there a non-patronizing way to be positive and supportive of the women who DO feel, if not victimized, at least frustrated by "some oppressive system of sexism"?
    - ClHans 14y ago
      Have you asked the women involved if they think it's patronizing? Or is it just something you think?
      - papsosouid 14y ago
        The women involved in what? I'm not sure what you are trying to convey here, you think there is a singular mind shared by all women involved in something, and they all disagree that it is patronizing?
- jmcqk6 14y ago
  This seems similar to another site that's pretty great, though it's focus is a little different. http://www.steminist.com/ http://www.steminist.com/
brianfryer 14y ago
Totally agree. When I read "not complaining", it conjures images of complaining. Rather, a stronger focus on "commending" "applauding" would be apropos.
- cassiemc 14y ago
  Definitely. Good word recommendations, thanks!
  - brianfryer 14y ago
    Thesaurus.com is one of best friends. I use it all the time to discover better ways to articulate my thoughts & feelings.

timc3 14y ago

Peopleandtech.com? If they are celebrating awesomeness?

gilrain 14y ago
That'd be cool too, but this site is probably trying, at least partially, to encourage women and girls who may aspire to enter a tech field but are discouraged by being unaware of the many admirable women who have succeeded against the odds before them. In a perfect world, peopleandtech.com would be all that's required, but unfortunately we're not quite there yet.
- mibbitier 14y ago
  > In a perfect world, peopleandtech.com would be all that's required, but unfortunately we're not quite there yet. At the risk of being controversial, we will never be there, and nor should we desire to be. Women like different things to men. We're hard wired to have different tastes, desires, strengths and weaknesses.
  - gilrain 14y ago
    Even with that viewpoint, you could see this site as a positive and necessary thing. There really are girls who are deeply interested in STEM fields, but are discouraged by the apparent lack of female role models. In your view, they are biological outliers, I suppose... but surely they still deserve to have potential heroes highlighted for them? After all, I assume you don't believe that the women who are successful and passionate about STEM fields are fighting their every instinct, right? So, even if you think they are biologically less likely interests for a woman, it'd be good to encourage the ones who are interested that they can be successes.
    - mibbitier 14y ago
      I'm not convinced. If you need a role model (Of the same sex) to do something, you probably don't 'love' it enough or find it intellectually stimulating enough to do it for yourself. Personally, I think this just throws up an issue where there is none. Any woman can get into tech, learn technology, setup websites, make apps, do a startup etc etc. I'm not really sure what barriers there are for anyone, apart from the barriers they impose on themselves. Also I'm not a fan of sexism even when it's "reverse" - this website is "women only". It'd be much better to just share stories from everyone... Just my 2c.

debacle 14y ago

I think "We're really not complaining" is taking it a bit far. Sometimes the best way to handle an issue is to ignore the issue - why can't this site just be about the accomplishments of women in STEM? The allusions are a detractor.

cassiemc 14y ago
If you go back now you'll see we've changed the copy.

astridrosemarin 14y ago

This'll be good for all the event/ conference organisers in Toronto as well. It's always tough getting women to speak at those sorts of things!

cassiemc 14y ago
Yes this is something we talk about a lot and is one of the main issues we hope to help address.
britburger 14y ago
Nail on the head! Absolutely! This was actually a driving force behind the project's genesis. To address the unbalance in conference speaker lineups by raising the public profile of incredible women working in the community.

iuguy 14y ago

I like this. I'm not too sure about the slogan as others have mentioned, but something that focuses on the positive achievements of women in industry to me is far better than focusing on the negative like the terrible link from last week. The only disappointing thing was the link to Toronto, I have two women in the UK that I'd nominate straight from the get go and a possible third (although I'd need to clear it with her first).

cassiemc 14y ago
Yes there are clearly awesome women all over the world doing amazing things in Tech. But since we are a small team we needed a reasonable focus area. We definitely encourage you to do something similar wherever you are, though!

mibbitier 14y ago

> "Let's make the issue of women in tech a thing of the past" Really? By creating a whole website around it? I think it'd be really good to sum up what issue you consider there to be with women in tech... * Are there specific instances of sexism that occur? * Are there "not enough" women in tech? * Is tech uninteresting to most women? You're suggesting there's an "issue" that needs solving, but I can't find any description on the website of what you consider that issue to be. Sharing stories from startup women is great, although I'm not a fan of the reverse sexism.

cassiemc 14y ago
We're trying to nail down some of the issues ourselves. The issues our team has discussed so far are often amorphous or interpreted differently depending on context and person, so you can imagine they are difficult to pin down. Exposure and networking were a couple of the harmless problems we thought could help address immediately. We do have several men on our team (more men than women, in fact), and don't at all intend "reverse sexism". Also, just to clarify, this isn't just for startup women but for any lady working in tech fields – including those coders who sit behind big monitors all day and are reluctant to put themselves in the limelight or to serve as mentors/role models.
- japhyr 14y ago
  I think you might be fine not mentioning specific issues yourselves. If you let women tell their stories in an open and honest way, the issues will come out in their stories. If you craft some well-thought-out questions people will be likely to talk about the specific issues they have faced, how they dealt with those issues, and what kinds of supports they would like to see in their profession. Focusing on people's stories is a great way to bring out these issues from the very people who have experienced them.
mediacrisis 14y ago
"Reverse sexism"? Check your privilege.
- 14y ago

sophacles 14y ago

Neat project. I like the focus on the positive. IMO this will be a good resource. I really hope this succeeds and takes off in a big way. I like to encourage the women I know in tech to participate in stuff like this, but many times they don't want to because a lot of times "women in tech" issues focus too much on the negative, or the sexism issue rather than the positive or even just the tech. I don't know anyone in Toronto, but I have several nominations around the US, should your scope expansion work out :) (Completely aside: is there any good advice for men who want to further the role of women in tech -- because balance is always a good idea -- to help and encourage without being overbearing or accidentally patronizing? I worry about furthering the problem accidentally so I very rarely bring up this topic, even though I feel strongly about it).

ericabiz 14y ago
"Completely aside: is there any good advice for men who want to further the role of women in tech..." As a successful woman in tech, I would say the following: --Note that women tend to underplay their accomplishments and judge themselves more harshly (I've also seen men who fit into this pattern, but it's more common with women.) So when a woman who fits this pattern says "I'm decent at x", it may be the same as a man saying "I'm great at x." --Become a champion for the women in your life who deserve more recognition. Encourage them to take more leadership roles, jump at more speaking gigs when presented with the opportunity, etc. Women will often tend to think "I'm not ready for that yet" while a man with similar experience will say "Yeah, let's go for it!" --Help the youngest girls in your life develop more self-confidence. My cousin, a brilliantly smart teenager, kept telling me, "I'm terrible at math." I encouraged her to focus on the positive (she was getting great grades in her math classes, and understood the problem set) and to think more positively about her abilities. This lack of self-confidence is ingrained from an early age in many women and affects us throughout life in many cases. Encouraging girls to think more empowering thoughts and to have more confidence may be the best thing you can do to give them a better chance for success.
- sophacles 14y ago
  Thanks for the advice!

spindritf 14y ago

That's a neat idea. You can post stories, work samples, a podcast, but... If you already know whom you want to interview, the site would benefit from having a story or two already there, on launch. If you're targeting the tech crowd, add an rss feed in addition to the e-mail newsletter. And lose this bar at the top, it's completely unnecessarily wasting vertical space.

nvk 14y ago

We are looking for fullstack Rails devs, would love to even out the gender ratio :)

japhyr 14y ago

I love it. I think projects like this can play a strong role in addressing the issue of sexism in technology. I also think that conditions can change radically for the better, once there is a critical mass of projects focused on supporting women in tech, and people who really understand the issue. It doesn't have to be a gradual change over 20 years. The focus of the project sounds quite meaningful, and it is well said in the first couple lines: "We're going to share stories about smart women doing important things." That is perfect; I want to read those stories! The copy gets off track a bit after that, like others here are already saying. "We're simply going to hound some clever women in tech..." does not sound good. Part of the problem is women in tech getting hounded. I know the intention here is good, but there is language that doesn't bring to mind the problems. This project is strong enough that you can just say, "We're going to invite clever women in tech..." People will understand the project, and want to be part of it. Others are talking about the "We're really not complaining" slogan, but I have no idea what "We're not endorsing the obvious" means. What's obvious to me is that telling smart women's stories is a good thing. I'm not sure what you are referring to here. A small design note: the top banner is huge, and takes up a lot of screen real estate, which distracts from your message. Again, I love it. I teach high school math and science, and I can say anecdotally that when I show this kind of project to the young women in my classes, I can see a change in them immediately. Most young women I see in school have no idea that people care to support them specifically. When they learn about projects like this, they become more confident that they could be successful in tech-related fields. Thank you for what you are doing.

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wccrawford 14y ago

Where's the RSS feed? I don't know you well enough to give you my email, but I'd put you in my feed reader and enjoy articles as they come out.

cassiemc 14y ago
Don't have one yet but you could follow us on Twitter and we'll let you know when we do. @womenandtech

cjbprime 14y ago

Kudos for doing this! Raising the visibility of role models for women in tech is noble work. I hope you find an easy way to make the site grow past Toronto, perhaps with submitted stories from people in other cities that follow your standard style. Have you thought about sometimes making (edited?) video recordings of the interviews? I can see how this would make many interviewees nervous, but I think it would also increase the effectiveness of the interviews for people who are comfortable with it. It would help make it easier to "put a face" to women in tech. Hm, photos could work pretty well for that, too. Have you thought about getting a good photographer to take photos of the women whose stories are being told, perhaps with photos of them both "at work" and at your interview?

cassiemc 14y ago
All good ideas! We hope our final presentation doesn't disappoint, because we think we have some pretty good ideas ourselves. =) Highlighting women in other cities as guest posts is something we hadn't thought of and I'll be sure to bring that up with the group as something we can potentially add to our long-term plans. Thanks!

vishaldpatel 14y ago

So, who is the intended audience?

uncomfytruths 14y ago

It's discouraging when women look up in the tech world and see mostly men. It's discouraging when blacks look up in the entreprenuer world and see mostly whites. It's discouraging when gentiles look up in the entertainment industry and see mostly jews (All Major Hollywood studios founded by jews or men of jewish descent). It's discouraging and painful because everyone wants to know that they can succeed. They want to know that "someone like me can make it in this industry". So it's important for people who are minorities in industries to support each other and encourage themselves. Get mad if you want, my problem with "Women in Tech" is that many times (not all) women don't add to the tech conversation and instead focus on showing themselves as victims. When men speak about tech it's about TECH, when women speak about tech it's about "The Lack of Women in Tech". So a site like this is a step in the right direction.

MartinCron 14y ago
Both "just talking about tech" and "talking about the lack of women in tech" are perfectly valid and necessary types of conversations.

mtalantikite 14y ago

"We highlight them not for their gender, but because they are awesome by any kind of measure." Just curious if you really mean gender, or if you actually mean sex.

nemo1618 14y ago
Okay, this whole Trans thing has gotten a little out of hand. Nobody is being oppressed because someone used the word "gender" instead of "sex." If you feel offended by that word choice, you're probably a little over-sensitive.
- juridatenshi 14y ago
  It doesn't sound like the commenter is offended. I think they're asking for clarification. If the OP means gender, then they would hopefully be welcoming of trans women. If they mean sex, they may only be looking for cis-women.
  - mtalantikite 14y ago
    Yup, not offended at all, just looking for clarification. Gender and sex are not equivalent -- OED even makes the distinction -- and I merely was curious as to the intentions of the organization.
  - jquery 14y ago
    Every time I read the word "cis-woman" I involuntarily reel from the blast of political correctness coming out of my monitor.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - saraid216 14y ago
      Every time I read the word "blue" I involuntarily reel from the blast of political correctness coming out of my monitor. Don't people know it's the same thing as green? What's the point of slicing such fine distinctions?

jonathanjaeger 14y ago

Great concept, LOVE the website design and typography.

cassiemc 14y ago
Thank you! The web design is by Mark Staplehurst (who shared the build with Brett Bergmann). The logotype is Blanche by Atipus via LostType.com and headlines are in Arvo by Anton Koovit via Google web fonts.

Mz 14y ago

Years ago, I belonged to a gifted homeschoolers list. It turns out a lot of gifted kids who get homeschooled are "problem kids". Very often, they are twice exceptional: both gifted and disabled in some way. It meant that this gifted homeschoolers list was one of the most positive, pro-active environments for getting effective help for a child with a serious disability. Lists aimed at providing support for a particular disability are often fairly negative environments where assumptions about how much you must suffer subtly keep real solutions from being discussed. Folks pursuing real solutions get a lot of flack if they dare speak up and many of them just quietly go away after a while. I don't know what would create the same thing for women in tech, but I think if someone could find that, it would be a more effective and resilient means to get support to women in tech. It would need to be a project which just so happened to attract a high percentage of women without the name or stated goal having anything to do with gender and which also in no way excluded men.

mamacorin 14y ago
http://giftedhomeschoolers.org http://giftedhomeschoolers.org - still going strong! :-)
- Mz 14y ago
  That is not the list I was talking about.

groby_b 14y ago

I'd love to see this expand outside Toronto. If I can offer any help/contacts in SoCal, feel free to ping me.

cassiemc 14y ago
Appreciate the offer, thanks. Be sure to keep in touch with us and we'll put a call out if this becomes a part of our plans.

JackpotDen 14y ago

You missed the crucial step 4 : Get these published in teen girl and cosmo magazines, because the women who read it on the internet are probably already in tech.