She's Geeky: A Technology Conference for Women will be taking place between 29 and 31 January, 2010 in Mountain View, California (US). Held in the Computer History Museum, She's Geeky promises to be an awsome event.

Among the proposed sessions can be found many interesting ideas: from technical skills, to management and transfer of knowledge, networking and philosophy around women and technology, children and computers, and the future.

Here are my favourites mixes:

• Linux, command-line, GIMP, programming, public speaking
• Ruby programming, Rails, ways to get more women into programming, teaching programming to kids
• Arduino!

The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology has announced the release of a new study related to Women in Technology professions: Obstacles and Solutions for Underrepresented Minorities in Technology. It is a study about the barriers and obstacles of women's advancement in high-technology professions. Author: Caroline Simard, Ph.D., is Director of Research and Executive Programs at the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.

Gender and ethnic diversity are very important. Ultimately we can only do well if we have the best ideas in place. If everybody thinks the same way, you’re not going to get the best ideas — you’re going to get the same ideas.

• Obstacles and Solutions for Underrepresented Minorities in Technology
• Climbing the Technical Ladder: Obstacles and Solutions for Mid-Level Women in Technology
• Climbing the Technical Ladder: Obstacles and Solutions for Mid-Level Women in Technology Executive Summary

Source : Anita Borg Institute

The xkcd comics has provided a great way to understand the (simple) mind of the sys-admins, which we all seem to rely on at times in order to "fix" our computer and networking problems. When you look closely what they do, and the time they take to fix the smallest problem, you understand where they get this wisedom sometimes. The answer surely is Google.

What does Google have to do with abortion rights around the world? Why should search engine change with respect to the country you search from? These and many other questions come out by reading Mosum Momaya`s Is Google Violating Women's Rights?

At the time of this writing, when searching for the relevant translation of “abortion” in each of the fifteen localized Google search engines, no sponsored links appeared in any of the countries – for abortion-related services or otherwise. Incidentally, no AdWords come up either in China - a country that heavily restricts search results for many topics – Greece or South Korea. Meanwhile, AdWords featuring abortion service providers do appear in localized searches in Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

For about an year now Google has in its policy a clause that states that will no longer "accept ads that promote abortion services in fifteen countries", among which Germany, France, Spain, China. Why should some countries differ from others by Google standards, in terms so far away from what search engine companies should be worrying about like abortion rights? And why does it seem to me that the Pope is paying the salaries of some Google Inc. decision-makers? This selective policy sounds very much like the Catholic religious freaks who decide to limit women's rights (such as abortion rights) for no sensible (nor religious) reason.

With this policy revision, it appears that Google Inc. has chosen to steer clear of controversy, avoiding any kind of related ads altogether in the fifteen specified countries. The shift in and specificity of the company’s policy indicates it is taking a stronger role in verifying and deciding what ads are placed – a move that has policy and ethical implications.

Interestingly, decisions are taken on a selective basis, by a corporation that is big and influential enough not to take childish decisions. At the same time, the AdWords freak me enough in thinking how much lack of privacy exist in gmail.com for example - by tracking each keyword of my e-mail and flooding me with ads which I haven't even asked for.

Yet another proof there is no privacy over internet, neither there is net justice, or net neutrality. Internet is everywhere, but there is a lot of controversy, one of which is the access to information, and the right to this information, as a human right.

I found an interesting example of stereotyping technology between genders in Judy Wajcman ’s book "Technofeminism". In her explanation, the typewriter keyboard remains the primary interface for connection to cyberspace. In historical context, typewriter keyboards and all the relative words were associated with the feminine:

1. typewriter (machine)
2. typist (occupation)
3. typing (skill)

Typewriters were used in sewing machine factories, in piano, and in embroidery in 1870s. These were all feminine tools. "Hundred years before it is natural for men to be seated in front of the keyboard typing , and the practice of typing to lose its sex...."

Photo taken from Wikipedia

Penny Leach wrote recently a blog post about the awards given at Best of Swiss Web.

What annoyed her with this event was the special award given to women in technology (Women Wired in Web). The reaction this initiative produced was that most of the female participants felt bad and did not find it appropriate. Penny provoked a discussion on several lists and on her website (see here) in order to see what other women-in-computing think about the issue.

Before I summarize the discussion and the main conclusions, here are some facts that Penny points out about the event:

1. There was sexism throughout all the event with pretty women giving the awards, and with colouring the Women Wired in Web award in purple, etc. While they were pretending with the women-only-award to be fighting gender inequality in the Computer Science field.
2. The result from the initiative actually put women down, pointing at them and saying they are different, instead of just making place for women into a male world.
3. The female jury got to get up on stage during the presentation of their award, which didn't happen for
   any other jury of any other category.

So, I thought the discussion on this was important, since the issue is very ambiguous: yes, it is a great initiative to give place for women in a male-dominated field. But is it actually the good way of doing things? And if it is not done in the proper way, isn't it producing the opposite feelings, and actually contributing to the problem, and not to the solution? I guess, this is what happened with the Best of Swiss Web.

What are the pros of a women-only space in a CS conference, project or any other type of activity?

• It is actually a raising problem that women are absent from software development industry. This problems add two new problems: 1) women are not well represented in the decision-making about software production, and 2) the software produced does not answer women'e needs.
• For make a change, there need to be active measures, and not silence on the issue. Some groups who recognise the problem, try to work in order to solve it. Companies offer special conditions for women to join teams; others provide scholarships and prioritise women's ideas. The main reason is that if there are 2 women initiated projects out of 100, even if they are great, it might be difficult to make them visible in the pile. So, what is done is to assign quota.
• I tried to define the above as "positive discrimination", but Penny came out with a better idea: affirmative action (Def: A policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment.).

BUT....

• The problem I see with this event is that it was promoting a stereotypic underestimation for women in general (with the pretty women giving awards, etc.), while they wanted to show off that they care about "bridging the gap" by organising this women-only award event. In this, they actually mocked the female participants. Therefore, even if they had good intentions, they did more harm than fixed anything.
• Since the question is so delicate, every wrong move contributes to the problem, rather than to the solution. In a polarised male field, to give a tribune to women, creates a lot of food for contempt and hate. The badly presented activity of positive discrimination can easily turn into humiliation. And if you women felt like this at the ceremony, this has obviously not been the best way to do.
• Sarah Currier talks about tokenism on Penny's blog: "The trouble is of course, when any movement reaches the point where tokenistic attempts to solve the problem are made like the one you describe, it becomes difficult to know exactly what to bitch about and how."
• Nicolas Connault says (in the same post): "In my experience, whenever a minority group feels they are being discriminated against, they tend to adopt the victim frame of mind, and interpret people's actions through that frame of mind. It usually makes things worse because, if you play a victim role, you usually stay a victim, even when the initial annoyances have gone".

To summarise the good ideas and suggestions that came out of this really constructive and rich discussion, I would support Penny who thinks the event was organised with good intentions (although road to hell is covered with good intentions!!!), and that it would be probably important to contact the organisers and to let them know how women participants felt. To point them out some of the problems, and to make propositions on how to do next time. In a good tone, and with humour, of course. As someone said: it comes down to treating other people with respect.

In my opinion, it has been indeed good intentions. But maybe they need some help by gender aware people who could propose better ways for involving and encouraging women to the technology field. The efforts are in place, now we need to work on the quality of the contents.

A message on Slashdot brought my attention this morning. Spam uses 33 billion kilowatt hours of energy per year, which is to suit 2.4 million families or 3.1 cars. This comes from the 60 trillion "dumped" spam messages in 2008. So, not only it pollutes your mail box, but also environment. "Interestingly, the majority of energy usage (around 80%) comes from users viewing and deleting spam, and searching for legitimate emails within spam filters."

Interestingly, the research is made by an anti-spam corporation, and one of the main recommendations is to use spam filters (what a surprise!).

I was actually wondering if there can be such a research on the pollution coming from advertisement (online, but also billboards and posters, tv, electronic billboards, painting and stickers all around in the metro stations, on buildings, etc., etc.).

Belfast Telegraph has announced a few days ago, that a shocking "rape simulator" called RapeLay is being offered for sale on Amazon.com. Created by the Japanese company Illusion, the game involves the player stalking victims and then raping them in a virtual world. One website review describes "tears glistening in the young girl's eyes" as she is attacked in graphic detail.

Following the next Debian-Women sexist discussion, related to the importance of women in computer science, Michael Norwick pasted a list of remarkable women in computer science. I knew many of them, but I liked to have them together. Thanks Michael!

Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852). born Augusta Ada Byron, was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron. She is widely known in modern times simply as Ada Lovelace. She is mainly known for having written a description of Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine. She is today appreciated as the "first programmer" since she was writing programs — that is, manipulating symbols according to rules—for a machine that Babbage had not yet built. She also foresaw the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching while others, including Babbage himself, focused only on these capabilities.

By searching a definition of a geek for a new research project, I got this one:

by PHDcomics.com

Drupal Camp approaching. This is just the right time, since I am migrating my website to Drupal. Also, I will be celebrating my birthday party on Friday evening... what a nice coincidence!

Internationalisation, documentation, Drupal 7, show and tells, and much more... Whether you are a user or a developer, accomplished or beginner, there will be something to satisfy your curiosity — because you decide on the program.