Change The Ratio

Courtney Stanton, “A Woman Walks Into A Tech Conference,” BuzzFeed 

cbracy:

It’s a low day for the tech industry: it seems that SendGrid has fired Adria Richards.

For those who don’t know, Adria was at PyCon sitting through a plenary session when some men behind her starting making “dongle” jokes. You get the idea. Adria (who was SendGrid’s developer evangelist), fed up with having to sit through sexist crap at tech conferences all the time, took a picture of the offenders and tweeted it at the conference organizers. She’s documented the exchange with context on her blog though you may or may not be able to see it since last I checked it was under DDoS attack. You can read more at VentureBeat.

There’s an unconfirmed rumor that one of the men Adria took a picture of got fired. That’s when the high-minded defenders of liberty (liberty, apparently, to make sexist jokes in a public and professional environment full of strangers and colleagues) decided this couldn’t stand and started DDoSing both Adria and SendGrid, not to mention threatening her personally.

Before I go further, I’d like to say that we have no way to know the full reason either of these people was fired. This could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in either case. So there could be many reasons either or both of these individuals is out of a job today (it’s also not confirmed that the man in the picture was actually fired).

But let’s assume for the moment that both of these people, Adria and the man she took a picture of, had perfectly fine employment records and there were no pre-existing reasons that either would have been let go. Assuming that’s the case, it’s a very sad moment for the tech industry when the woman who calls out misogynistic bullshit gets fired and has to deal with death threats and more.

One can imagine a world where SendGrid stood up for Adria. Maybe said something like “the behavior Adria witnessed at PyCon was unacceptable in our industry. We’re proud to have someone on our staff who refuses to remain quiet in the face of such sexist and inappropriate behavior.”

Or at least a world where SendGrid would have been too ashamed to let Adria go based on her speaking out against sexism.

Unfortunately we don’t live in that world yet. The myth of the tech meritocracy is officially dead.

From “Who’s Afraid of Sheryl Sandberg?” by the great Katha Pollitt.

More: 

Yes, Sandberg emphasizes individual initiative: Given the pervasiveness of sexism, how can women help themselves? Her critics don’t want to hear from psychology, and yet it’s true enough that women put themselves down in order to be liked, don’t speak up in public, wait to be asked. Much of what she says struck me as applicable to many women I know, including myself. 

…Of course, personal effort is hardly the whole story. I know women who have leaned in for a lifetime and been passed over. But it’s hard to see what’s wrong with encouraging big dreams, giving pointers on sexist bosses and salary negotiations, and telling women who join the mommy track before they even have a boyfriend not to lean back: “Don’t leave before you leave.” 

Obviously, much of Lean In is not directly helpful to working-class women, who need unions, daycare, paid sick days and legal protections from discrimination more than a pep talk. Still, you don’t have to be climbing the corporate ladder—or, as Sandberg would call it, the jungle gym—to find her message useful. Don’t marry a man who isn’t egalitarian? Good plan! Be more confident? Excellent advice. Between the CEO and the janitor are millions of professionals, businesswomen, managers and freelancers who will find the book cheering, eye-opening, perhaps even inspiring.

Rebecca Traister on Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.

Sandberg has no time for biologically determined stereotypes and suggests that men should “lean in” at home. “Even if ‘mother knows best’ is rooted in biology,” she grudgingly offers, “it need not be written in stone…. Yes, someone needs to remember what goes into the lunch box, but … it does not have to be Mom.”

…But Sandberg isn’t letting men off the hook; she’s just using positive reinforcement to paint them, appealingly, not as oppressors but as potential allies — supportive mentors, colleagues, mates and fathers — and encouraging us all to model more equitable domestic arrangements for our daughters and sons. She tells women to seek out “someone who thinks women should be smart, opinionated and ambitious. Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do his share in the home.”

And

From an early age, Sandberg writes, “Teachers interact more with boys, call on them more frequently, and ask them more questions…. When girls call out, teachers often scold them for breaking the rules and remind them to raise their hands.” She synthesizes reams of studies about gender dynamics in the workplace, showing how men are promoted based on potential, women on accomplishments; that a woman who explains her qualifications in a job interview is less likely to be hired.