Women's collective action in the free software world

P2P Workshop, 15 November 2007, Nottingham

Women’s collective action in the free software world

● Yuwei Lin● ESRC National Centre for eSocial Science

● University of Manchester


Voluntary work = Unpaid labour?


Motivations of Participating● Just for fun● Gratification● Reputation● Mutuality● For work (protestant work ethics)● Self help: To fix a problem at hand● God told me so


What is visible?

mencodinghacking

taking control

6P2P Workshop, 15 November 2007, Nottingham

Invisible Values of Free Software● Freedom

● Openness● Networking

● Collaboration


Invisible Values of Free Software● Freedom

● Openness● Networking

● Collaboration

● Diversity● Democracy● Equity● Mutuality


Problems● overemphasis on coding and hacking● visibility of women in free software● current societal inequality and knowledge gap


Barriers of Including Women● Cyberbulling & trolling, sexist & discriminative languages● Unfriendly and inhumane online environment (e.g. RTFM)● gendered role in FLOSS development inequality of different types of knowledge & women's reduced role● Housework (childrearing) – lack of time● Lack of role models, mentors and support● Education● A maledominated competitive worldview (reputation, flaming)● Any other reasons that differ from culture to culture, nation to nation, region to region?


Women's Voices and Networks


ContexualisationEmbodiment

Beyond numbers and the binary gender codes and biological differences


Methods & Data Sources● virtual ethnography (reflexive & participatory) +

content analysis (webpages, mailing list) & informal conversations

● Text Mining + Corpus Analysis of messages on the mailing lists

● DebianWomen (mixed sex) & GenderChanger (single sex)

● who (memberships), said what (topics), done what (actions)

● limits: neither real life nor real time


IMCWomen


GenderChanger Academy


Belonging to a group


Helping


Participating


Bodies and Technologies● ICTs used: mailing lists, irc, cvs, wiki, webpages● common participants: names● issues: events, problems, sharing information

(forwarding messages)● (technologicaloriented) experiences embedded

in the conversation about fixing problems or bugs● emotions


DebianWomen● training and providing support

for women interested in Debian and FLOSS sector

● organising online tutorials, bugsquashing parties, mentoring

● 6 female Debian Developers● http://women.debian.org/


<http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/jointhedots/2005/03/30/friendlierdebian/>

I’m one of these males on #debianwoman and mailling list. I found your “debianfriendly” project idea extremely interesting. I’d like a more collaborative and less competitive Debian world and I think that’s exactly why DW has been so successful.—Carlos (comment)March 31, 2005 @ 8:51 am

I’m not a developer and have never been on debianwomen or any other developer site/group/list but I use debianuser a lot and do think there’s something gettting very struck about the culture: a focus on programming and fixing compatibility problems but in a rather macho way. The result is that we don’t have a good hardware compatibility list for Debian, we don’t have good documentation, we don’t have good ways the expertise on, say, the user list, creates FAQs etc. I’m not sure what the answer is but I think it is linked with a stereotypically Western male gendered component to the problem. If there’s a way I can help I’ll try but time is very limited sadly.

Chris (male, end user of Debian for years now)—Chris (comment)April 10, 2005 @ 3:30 pm


<http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~hmw26/jointhedots/2005/03/30/friendlierdebian/>(continued)

The DW project got my attention because it promoted a “positive, welcoming and friendly atmosphere” still I did not try to participate because I’m, well… male.

I would very much like to see a “positive, welcoming and friendly atmosphere” Debian project for all people.

I will be using Ubuntu for the time being as it has this “much love” way about it. :)(And it “just works” most of the time)—Tim (comment)April 06, 2005 @ 4:07 pm

thanks for your article!! Sometimes I get worry about the idea of the “invasion” by men in womengroups… but is interesting to see this places like “friendly places” where everybody can have access to (without gender specific).—gaba (comment)April 09, 2005 @ 2:19 am


Where the joy lies?

●SELFREFLECTION● (Emotion + Body + Technology)


But we have achieved *a lot*. I don't feel anymore it is a taboo to talk about females within Debian (be it Developers, Translators, Users or whatever form of involvement), and are no longer stuck with XXL night-gown sized tshirts in Debconf (LOL). To me it has made a great difference and my involvement in the project feels more "normalized" to me.

Also, in RL meetings, the default assumption that the attending females were $girlfriends of some male "actually" interested in the meeting has decreassed significantly.

I don't know whether it is related, but since Debian Women exists the feeling of a "social" community on top of the "technical" community has been much reinforced. This might be my subjective perception of "belonging" to this community, improved by the existance of other females in it, and other members of the project being welcoming and inclusive about us.

(DWZL220106)


% M W U200506 61,88 36,78 1,34200507 56,01 40,72 3,27200508 60,02 37,49 2,49200509 52,66 42,66 4,68200510 50,3 42,37 7,33200511 58,05 36,57 5,38200512 65,14 30,58 4,28200601 59,69 37,89 2,42200602 70,8 26,96 2,24200603 70,72 28,4 0,88200604 73,54 25,58 0,88

As one can see, even if I can't "identify" one third of the people, I have identified the most contributing people.

I see an interesting tendency for men participation to increase while women participation decreases. I already have this feeling for quite a long time but it seems that numbers are proving me correct. Is it good or bad: I leave this up to you, people...:)

(CPDW250406)

Statistics about the IRC channel


I'm not sure if it's inherent aggression in male communication style as much as it's simply how communication on a "realtime" textbased medium goes. A situation where are several people in one "area" holding several different conversations is much different than say Jabber or AIM where you are speaking directly to one person, and you wait for their response before you type again. Sometimes comments get lost in the shuffle because people are trying to follow multiple conversations, other times that conversation thread simply dies out. I don't attribute this to inherent aggression of males, but rather the way conversations flow on IRC.

I tried to introduce family members to IRClike gathering areas, thinking it would be worthwhile to actually be able to hold conversations with more than one person at a time. It very much didn't work. They felt the same way that people were "talking over" them, ignoring them that they couldn't keep up with everything going on because one group of people was talking about one thing, another about a completely different topic and yet another group of people poking fun at each other. They gave up because they just couldn't catch up and keep up with the conversation flows.

(PLDW260406)Practice + Experience + Body + Technology


GenderChangers Academy● since Nov. 1999● ladies only (on the etcint list)● /etc eclectic tech carnival● DIY or DIO (handson training)● exchanging computer related skills● grass root and local● The /etc is named for the /etc directory in which

Linux stores system configuration files.


The Eclectic Tech Carnival


Subject: [etcint] edit drupal

hi

I am trying to edit a post on the page http://eclectictechcarnival.org/drupal/ but cant seem to find where I can log in to edit it..? does someone knows how can I do that?

many thankxt

the site in http://drupal.eclectictechcarnival.org is working as that one was working before... in the same version. We are gonna do something with drupal soon...

g

http://eclectictechcarnival.org/drupal/


thank you so much gaba! I was completely lost.. hehe..

xt

hey gaba,

if you need any help while working with drupal let me know.

dri


How Girls Make Knowledge● coding knowledge is still considered as more

advanced (reproduction of hegemonic hacker culture)

● layered & networked & embodied epistemic culture● sense & sensibility● hybrid: femininity (complex, layered, strategic,

adaptive) + masculinity (disconnected, emotionally avoidant, simplistic, onedimensional)


Achievements● visibility & awareness raising● identity building (exploring & experimenting)● knowledge sharing, mutual learning and

support (“a lowRTFM environment)● creating a more intimate collaborative space● beyond the simplistic and superficial categories

of different talks, it's women's play embodied in these online narratives; a women's version of 'just for fun'


Women's Play on GNU/Linux● strengthens the importance of sharing everyday

experiences and problemsolving tips, of socialising and social capitals in FLOSS dev.

● creating a more harmonised & reflexive space● In Janice Raymond's words: 'The empowering

of female friendship can create the conditions for a new feminist politics in which the personal is most passionately political'.

● resistance & change


Whose Wonder Woman?Whose Female Hacker?

Global or Local?

Women's collective action in the free software world

Technology

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