Snappy the Clam

Daring Fireball: Regarding Kottke's Piece on Gender Diversity at Web Conferences

So the issue here isn’t why there aren’t more women speaking at web conferences, but why there aren’t more women interested in web nerdery.

Not to be too circular, but maybe there aren't more women interested in web nerdery because of the lack of women speaking at web conferences. The argument given is that the percentage of women speakers at web conferences is proportionate to the number of women in the web development field. After briefly noting that the number of women in other "intellectually challenging" fields such as medicine and law is gradually increasing, Gruber throws up his hands and says that

There’s obviously something quite different about science and technology…It’s not because of a lack of opportunity or aptitude; it’s a lack of interest.

First off, I think it's less science and technology than it is computer science and technology; but never mind. What's really at work here is another version of the meritocracy argument, and the same fallacies apply. Instead of addressing root causes of gender imbalance in technology, the web development world is assumed to be a pure meritocracy free of any social or political influences and thus serves as validation. In other words, if there were qualified women, they'd be getting speaking gigs, thus, there are no qualified women. There is no nepotism, favoritism, or undue influence of any sort; opportunity is equal and available for all. So, if women are underrepresented at web conferences, and by implication, the entire web development field, it's not that there's any underlying bias at work; the only logical explanation is that women are mysteriously just not interested in web development. This strikes me as disingenuous, self-serving, and is the sort of argument oppressors trot out against the oppressed. Maybe we need to figure out what those magic forcefields keeping women out of science and technology are. I think we already have a pretty good idea though.

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