I don't have a strong opinion about this particular thing, but it seems like a decent idea.
But let me speak more generally.
Sometimes it seems like some people have a very "logical" way of looking at ideas. It's like every idea is interpreted according to some metaphysical schema and judged by whether or not it's conceptually harmonious and untainted.
In this case, the schema is "equality," which ironically means that any concrete idea that addresses disparity is prematurely judged as faulty or tainted.
It's stunningly obvious that the open source community is dominated by males, even if it's not more so than the programming community at large. This is a matter of statistics, it's not complicated. This paper http://jitm.ubalt.edu/XXI-4/article3.pdf cites a figure of 1.5% OSS developers being women, which doesn't seem entirely implausible.
This simple statistical fact should mean that some women who do want to pursue an interest or career doing open source work might indeed have use for the kind of thing we're discussing. So why not?
There IS a disparity between genders in tech. This is so obvious. Why on earth would you call this an unbased idea?
That there is a disparity doesn't mean that there is an "essential" or "necessary" disparity. It just means that at this point in human history, women are extremely underrepresented in this particular section. In that situation, it seems more than appropriate to set up various measures to support diverse engagement.
You're right about there being many less women population-wise, but I wonder what the cause is, and if there is a more direct way of addressing the problem. Your reply made me reconsider my statement.
But let me speak more generally.
Sometimes it seems like some people have a very "logical" way of looking at ideas. It's like every idea is interpreted according to some metaphysical schema and judged by whether or not it's conceptually harmonious and untainted.
In this case, the schema is "equality," which ironically means that any concrete idea that addresses disparity is prematurely judged as faulty or tainted.
It's stunningly obvious that the open source community is dominated by males, even if it's not more so than the programming community at large. This is a matter of statistics, it's not complicated. This paper http://jitm.ubalt.edu/XXI-4/article3.pdf cites a figure of 1.5% OSS developers being women, which doesn't seem entirely implausible.
This simple statistical fact should mean that some women who do want to pursue an interest or career doing open source work might indeed have use for the kind of thing we're discussing. So why not?
There IS a disparity between genders in tech. This is so obvious. Why on earth would you call this an unbased idea?
That there is a disparity doesn't mean that there is an "essential" or "necessary" disparity. It just means that at this point in human history, women are extremely underrepresented in this particular section. In that situation, it seems more than appropriate to set up various measures to support diverse engagement.