Earlier this year I donated seed funding to the Ada Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing participation of women in open technology and culture. One of their early efforts was development of an example anti-harassment policy for conference organizers, attempting to counter a number of high profile incidents of sexual harassment at events. Lacking any sort of plan for what to do after such an incident, conference organizers often did not respond effectively. This creates an incredibly hostile environment, and makes it even harder for women in technology to advance their careers through networking. Developing a coherent, written policy is a first step toward solving the problem.
The Ada Initiative is now raising funds for 2012 activities, including:
- Ada’s Advice: a guide to resources for helping women in open tech/culture
- Ada’s Careers: a career development community for women in open tech/culture
- First Patch Week: help women write and submit a patch in a week
- AdaCamp and AdaCon: (un)conferences for women in open tech/culture
- Women in Open Source Survey: annual survey of women in open source
For me personally
There are many barriers discouraging women from participating in the technology field. Donating to the Ada Initiative is one thing I'm doing to try to change that. I'm posting this to ask other people to join me in supporting this effort.
My daughter is 6. The status quo is unacceptable. Time is short.
