An Open Letter To Women In Technology

https://medium.com/about-work/405b2d12d213

by argvzero • 13 years ago

10 5 13 years ago

claudius• 13 years ago

‘Women’ are not a class. Sex is neither hereditary, nor locally confined, nor necessarily bound to little property. Nor are ‘men’ a class, and trying to construct a ‘class warfare’ is as much bullshit as trying to construct a ‘class warfare’ of left-handed versus right-handed people. Stop it.

Also, your notion of distinguishing between people based on their gender is highly sexist.

what_the_frell2• 13 years ago

Anyone else think the author has gone off her meds for that post?

Are women a minority in the tech industry? I'd be willing to bet yes. Does that mean they're less capable? Obviously not. It just means there are fewer.

"the anonymous white male militia that threatens to rape and kill us when we speak up"

Stay off 4chan. They don't represent the tech world.

"Let’s create a system for revealing and publicly challenging the pervasive anti-feminist propaganda of our industry."

Uhh... where the hell is THAT? I have yet to crack a book on Python or open /etc/sudoers and see "No girls allowed"

"They will pay their white male terrorist regime to photoshop our faces onto dead bodies, to email us rape threats, to publish our home addresses."

Again, stay away from 4chan. They don't represent the tech world.

bonzoesc• 13 years ago

Do people who accuse a passionate writer who wants equality of going "off her meds" represent the tech world?

> "the anonymous white male militia that threatens to rape and kill us when we speak up"

This is a thing that happens. You don't have to go to 4chan to find it. It shows up at your doorstep and at your office.

Shut the fuck up and quit dismissing a problem you don't understand.

what_the_frell2• 13 years ago

I'm not dismissing the problem at all. I personally haven't seen it, but I've heard about gender inequality in the industry. I'd be pissed if I found out my female colleagues aren't making what I make for the same work and skills. You probably aren't going to believe that, but frankly, I don't care. It's the truth whether or not you believe it.

I'm not claiming to represent the tech world at all. I'm just some dude with an internet connection. And I'm not accusing her of going "off her meds" but the tone of her article DOES seem mentally unbalanced (to a degree) in some places, which is why I drew the comparison. She may very well be the epitome of being mentally balanced, but perhaps her passion for the topic came across in the wrong way when she wrote the piece. Maybe if she'd written it in a way that didn't try to vilify white males (or anyone other than the people who actually take part in the discrimination) I could've taken it more seriously, but she didn't. As a result, I don't take THIS ARTICLE seriously, but that doesn't mean that I don't take the issue seriously.

If there's a specific issue - REPORT IT to the appropriate authority and make sure it gets dealt with. I'm entirely in favour of equality, but don't try to get it by stomping someone else down. Instead, try to lift yourself up. It may be far more difficult, but you also have a whole lot more credibility and respect when you do it that way.

Regardless of all other points, if my previous post (or this one) offended you or anyone else, I sincerely apologize for that. It was absolutely not my intention.

signalsignal• 13 years ago

If men are part of a patriarchy, I should be getting paid more money.

An Open Letter To Women In Technology

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