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July 6, 2011 02:50 am PDT

Women talk about hackerspaces

John Baichtal interviewed women at several hackerspaces and asked them what it was like to be a woman in a hackspace. The answers are varied, thoughtful and fascinating. JB: What can hackerspaces do to get more women to participate? Astera: I don't know whether I'd list that as a priority at all. The thing really is, as long as kids grow up with parents that treat them just like they've been raised, 20-30 years back, not much might change. And what's the point in changing a concept that totally works for those interested in the materia to something more broad, when the only goal you want to follow is to make it more politically correct? Honestly, I wouldn't want to see the idea of a hackerspace change just in order to equal out gender numbers. Carlyn Maw: This is a hard question to answer as a woman who is already participating. I either have to say I'm somehow weird for already being a participant, or that my community is flawed, or that women as a group are somehow... something... that makes hackerspaces as they are a strange place for them to be. None of these are true. So I'm going to deflect this question and talk about how hackerspaces can get more people to participate in general. Anyone of any gender can feel welcomed by being asked what their interests are or shown how to go about teaching a class or encouraged to share their opinion on the current topic. Also putting one or two session classes on the schedule that have a finished product the student can take away gives otherwise hesitant or busy people an excuse to come check things out. Introductory classes, movie nights, music based events, things that are low pressure and obviously don't require anything other than enthusiasm on the part of the attendee can get people in the door. And once people are in the door, well, we have a pretty good retention rate. What Does it Mean to be a Woman Hackerspace Member?...


Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/_l3kzLVb9b8/women-talk-about-hac.html

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