-----Original Message----- From: Helen [mailto:postmodernhousewife@gmail.com] Sent: mardi 21 septembre 2010 00:20 To: opensuse-marketing@opensuse.org Cc: opensuse-ambassadors@opensuse.org Subject: [opensuse-ambassadors] Re: [opensuse-marketing] Women in Free and Open Source
I think this ties in with the current interest in identifying our users and community. (I feel these two groups are distinct: users can become community....)
Dear Helen, Thanks very much for your kind email. I run user groups since 1994 so the challenges are becoming mere formalities, but…. I totally agree with you about women being a minority in Linux. Should we men try to talk less in Geek language for starters? OK, we are busy, and when our wives ask for something, what I tend to do is not giving the attention that she deserves, but attempting to get hold of the keyboard or mouse and solve whatever the problem was. I do the same with my sister, friends and neighbours. Slap! At SFD last Saturday, I was “jealous” because my wife attending at a wordpress workshop asked Denis (a NUI member) about themes? Why did she not ask me that question? In fact, she needed somebody to give her unbiased answer. Coming from a stranger rather than the husband, because she feared that asking *me* would make her feel stupid. Is what follows not generic cases in everybody’s couple? In that, women may search for hours on how to do something on their computers? Because IT is our job, women would even just do something else or drop/forget their problem altogether rather than “disturbing” us with a “stupid” question? Is that because this or that is “obvious” to *us*? The male? Is it not true that when having a meal with by coincidence some males (in IT) we tend to divert to X or Y in IT and women end up having their own conversation and we indulge in vCloud or whatever new technology? Women have all sorts of clubs, sports, bingo, sewing, yoga, etc. They may have their own LUGs as well. In France, women started to vote in 1945 only. Their salaries are roughly 25% less than their male colleagues, on pension, they have other issues as well if they carried babies. I felt very bad yesterday at the Police station while waiting to file a case for the vandalized new car. All the police officers at the counter were women and male officers were those who take your case up. I said, OK, I am in the UG business; I want to liberate women with Linux. I can help them with logistics and advice, but what they do and how they do it should be their choice, at their own pace, their way! I feel like buying them a domain name LinuxPourNousLesFemmes like the famous cosmetics advert Stop! What am I doing right now? I am even choosing their LUG name? Sorry! Just my 2 cents. Best, Jimmy -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-marketing+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-marketing+help@opensuse.org