feminism & open source contribution

Corey Latislaw @corey_latislaw

Pam Selle @pamasaur

Slides:

Challenge old models with

new thought patterns.

What does it look like?

• Writing tests

• Writing documentation

• Cleaning up bad code

Feminism

Current Model

New Model

What you can do

"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people. -Rebecca West

"the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes"

Different flavors of feminism

Intersectionality

In open source

"[Women] are not sure if other community members will treat them respectfully, prefer not to be the only woman in the group, or are uncertain about embarking on the solitary exploration typically needed to get up to speed in open source.

-Zhurakhinskaya

"...hindrances to participation includ[e] a lack of mentors and role models, discriminating

language usage, a male–dominated competitive world view, and a lack of women–centered

perspectives.

-Reagle

"Contrary to what we would like to believe, there is no such thing as a 'structureless' group. Any group of people of whatever nature coming together for any length of time, for any purpose, will inevitably structure itself in some fashion. The structure may be flexible, it may vary over time, it may evenly or unevenly distribute tasks, power and resources over the members of the group. But it will be formed regardless of the abilities, personalities and intentions of the people involved. The very fact that we are individuals with different talents, predispositions and backgrounds makes this inevitable."

-Freeman

"Paying your dues

Traditional devaluation of women's work (teaching, art, etc.)

Bias against empathy

[O]pen source culture is not feminist. Feminism is fundamentally about equality for everyone, not just women, and designers of any gender are just as alienated as women programmers, because it’s not an equally welcoming environment.

-Trapani

Low participation diverse populations

Low polish

Low testing

Low documentation

Low engagement of users

Abrasive emails

Flamewars

RTFM

Hostile environments

Microaggressions

Apathetic / silent allies

How can we make this better?

What’s missing?

Warmth

Mentorship

Stewardship

User/design focus

Open discourse

Encourages traditionally underrepresented groups to participate.

Provides a healthy space for criticism of the work product (not the people).

Pathway for newbies to contribute in ways that interest them (coding, UX, PM, technical writer, etc.).

"Let them know you're happy they're here, show them around the place, help them with their question or problem, and let them know how they can give back to the community.

-Trapani

Clear pathways for contribution

Conversion of new contributors to regular contributors

Pair programming

Answering questions and being accessible to new and regular contributors.

Managing resources

Identifying strengths and interests

Architecture

"Prioritize design and usability upfront, rather than accept a mess of software with plans to slap a pretty veneer on afterwards. This is been the lesson I keep having to learn and re-learn: design and usability cannot be an afterthought."

-Trapani

Clear communication

Community-approved standards

Accessible and open forums (lists, IRC, wikis)

Lay out a clear path for contribution

Have resources and tools for new contributors

Keep current contributors engaged

Code of conduct

https://django-admin2.readthedocs.org/en/latest/contributing.html

Conflict happens

Communities are people

Image Source

Contribute requested features

Contribute what’s missing

Engage with community on IRC/lists

Answer questions

Mentor new people

Improve onboarding

Join a core team

You are an expert.

You have something valuable to share.

Existing "rules" aren't what they seem

We can do better

You can help us do better

Rock on!

Pam Selle

@pamasaur

thewebivore.com

github.com/pselle

@corey_latislaw

coreylatislaw.com

github.com/colabug

Corey Latislaw

Books http://tinyurl.com/feministreading

Lists http://bitly.com/bundles/pamasaur/1

Trapani, G. Designers, Women, and Hostility in Open Source. http://smarterware.org/7550/designers-women-and-hostility-in-open-source

Reagle, J. Free as in Sexist? http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/4291/3381

Freeman, J. The Tyranny of Structurelessness http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/hist_texts/structurelessness.html

Zhurakhinskaya, M. Opening Open Source to Women http://www.women2.com/opening-open-source-to-women/