[OPEN-ILS-DEV] Gender Question

[Scott McKellar]

Yes, I daresay there is a gender gap in OSS development.

On the job, as an in-house developer, I have always worked with a
fair number of women developers.  They're in the minority, but a 
substantial minority -- maybe 30%.

However in the OSS projects that I've paid any attention to, females
are very rare, so far as I can judge from the names.

My own theory is that OSS projects tend to attract people who are
keen on polishing and showing off their technical prowess at 
mastering the machine.  For whatever reason, people like that tend
to be male.  

In my experience, the women developers I have known generally seem to 
view computers and computer programs as tools to do a job.  It is the
men, and only some of the men, that become fascinated with the 
means rather than the end.  Those are the people who are most likely 
to work on software projects on their own time, either because they
enjoy it or because they like to compete for bragging rights.

Here are some other theories, in cartoonish and overly simplistic
terms:

1. Women like dealing with people, and men like dealing with things.

2. Women home in on body language and other social cues to which
men are largely oblivious.  As a result they feel disoriented in
message boards and mailing lists, where those social cues aren't
available.

3. Many Internet forums are dominated by people who are highly
competitive and aggressive.  They aren't always very nice to you.
Men are used to this kind of jockeying and sparring and can usually
avoid taking it personally.  Women find it intimidating.  They are
more comfortable with a collaborative, cooperative style. 

4. As an extension of the previous theory: at least a few men in
Internet forums, at least some of the time, are crude, boorish, 
profane, and blatantly sexist.  They may purport to welcome women 
but actually drive them away.  See, for example:

    http://www.xkcd.com/322/

5. When a woman gets home from work, she still has to cook dinner,
wash the dishes, and fold the laundry, while her husband writes code
in the basement.

I know that I'm trafficking in gender stereotypes here.  It's hard
not to if one is to address the subject at all.  One sometimes has
to overstate a point in order to make the point.

I suspect that women will come to contribute more in the OSS world
as more companies pay people to do OSS, and projects are less 
dependent on unpaid volunteers.

I can't say whether it makes sense for women developers to segregate
themselves into all-female ghettos.  I will say that if a woman 
wants to contribute outside of such a ghetto, she'd better develop
a pretty thick skin.  That's not fair, but the fact is that we men
are not likely to change our behavior any time soon.

The Evergreen project doesn't seem to be particularly charged with
testosterone, maybe because librarianship has long been a stronghold
for women.  Or maybe I'm too testosterone-crazed myself to notice.

Scott McKellar
http://home.swbell.net/mck9/ct/

--- Deb Bergeron <bergeron at macalester.edu> wrote:

> I ran across a posting the other day suggesting that women interested
> in 
> open-source solutions use OSS solutions developed by women.
> 
> Ok, I admit I'm naive here--is there a gender gap in OSS development?
>  
> Can someone chime in on why this would be a suggestion or even a
> serious 
> consideration? Perhaps the suggestion is sarcasm?  Why not just work 
> with existing OSS developers, be they men or women?
> 
> Thanks for any insight.
> 
> Deb
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Deb Bergeron <mailto:bergeron at macalester.edu> System Admin: User
> Support
> CLIC Consortium <http://clic.edu>
> 1619 Dayton Avenue, Suite 204A
> Saint Paul, MN 55104
> O:*651.644.3878* C:*651.487.7609* F:651.644.6258
> 
>