I don't know Julie much, but I have met her at least once or twice and have seen her around the Pittsburgh software community events on several occasions. As an organizer of the Pittsburgh Python group I feel a sort of camaraderie with her and the other members of our little community. I can't truly understand her experiences as a woman in this industry, but I know she is hurting now, and I won't ever forget that.
These women are our people. They are tinkerers and geeks and perfectionists and builders and creators and geniuses and artists. They are who we are and who we aspire to be. There is plenty of imperfection to go around on both sides of the gender divide, but what we all have in common is a desire to be better... Better at our work or our craft, better at our fun. I think if we took just a little bit of that energy and aimed it at being better at relating to and respecting one another, we would all be better off.
We can make progress on this issue of sexism. We can start by practicing a bit more professionalism, even when we think no one is watching. We can make progress by thinking about others first when we think or act. We can make comments with real value, rather than shock value. We can acknowledge that there is no inherent connection between boldness and rightness. We don't need to start treating women differently... We are already doing that and it is only making things worse. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard when dealing with everyone.
What if we all went to work today and encouraged every good idea, and were constructive toward every bad idea? What if we talked about software like it was software, not a swimsuit model? What if we stopped being so impressed with ourselves at every turn of off-color phrase, and started being impressed with the great things that the men and women we work with are doing to drive our products forward?
What if we spent just one week focusing on that. Maybe some of Julie's paper cuts would get a chance to heal. Maybe then we would learn what we can really accomplish together. Maybe we would never look back.
These women are our people. They are tinkerers and geeks and perfectionists and builders and creators and geniuses and artists. They are who we are and who we aspire to be. There is plenty of imperfection to go around on both sides of the gender divide, but what we all have in common is a desire to be better... Better at our work or our craft, better at our fun. I think if we took just a little bit of that energy and aimed it at being better at relating to and respecting one another, we would all be better off.
We can make progress on this issue of sexism. We can start by practicing a bit more professionalism, even when we think no one is watching. We can make progress by thinking about others first when we think or act. We can make comments with real value, rather than shock value. We can acknowledge that there is no inherent connection between boldness and rightness. We don't need to start treating women differently... We are already doing that and it is only making things worse. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard when dealing with everyone.
What if we all went to work today and encouraged every good idea, and were constructive toward every bad idea? What if we talked about software like it was software, not a swimsuit model? What if we stopped being so impressed with ourselves at every turn of off-color phrase, and started being impressed with the great things that the men and women we work with are doing to drive our products forward?
What if we spent just one week focusing on that. Maybe some of Julie's paper cuts would get a chance to heal. Maybe then we would learn what we can really accomplish together. Maybe we would never look back.