Gender in science — online and offline
This session is moderated by Suzanne Franks, Abel Pharmboy and Alice Pawley:
How to get and make allies? What allies can and should be doing? How the Web provides new methods and means for action and effecting positive change.
Discuss:
Alice says:
So some of us have been having a conversation by email about the title of this session. On one hand, the parallel session (I understand) last year was supposed to be on gender AND race (as of course the two go together, along with other identities too) but people tended to focus on the “gender” portion; hence they were broken into 2 sessions this year. On the other hand, if the session is to be about allies, it seems to me we really HAVE to bring in other identity characteristics, particularly including race. Co-organizers, would you like to weigh in publicly? Others, do you have thoughts? Also of interest to me is how we can support an important discussion on intersectionality as a concept, as well as not “taking over” the content of the session being run by Danielle…
Abel sez:
We’ve been having a lively discussion on the blogs as to what constitutes an ally and how to enlist allies without worrying if they feel uncomfortable at first. Most readers at Terra Sig tell me that men need to hear, understand, and appreciate the anger and exasperation of women in the academy while a small minority have expressed concern that they might feel alienated as an ally – are the latter even worthy then of being cultivated as an ally?Regarding Alice’s query, I agree that other identity characteristics will unavoidably enter into the discussion, not only race/geographical origin but also LGBT issues. I don’t view this section as taking over Danielle’s session but, as I noted there, this is a GoodThing to have this broader discussion over two sessions rather than be crammed into one as it was last year. but then again, feel free to tell me I’m full of crap.
12/15/08 Alice says:
Abel, you’re not full of crap. :-) So in terms of how this unconference idea works, is it a good idea to have a series of guiding questions in the back pocket to help with this discussion? I’m going to also post the question on our blog — should have done this a while ago, I guess.One item it might be interesting to also click in to is how non-pseudonymous bloggers can help pseudonymous bloggers and vice versa. Not trying to muscle in on SW and KH’s session, but some past posts have suggested pseudonymous/non-pseudonymous bloggers have different things they can say. I don’t know, what do y’all think?
One last thing: do you think it’s worth changing the title of this session? Like “Allies in science: gender, race, sexuality and more in blogging”?
I’ve opened up these and other queries to our readers here.
DNLee says
I was posting about increasing diversity in the sciences at my sight and had a commentor say some interesting things about gender equity, too. check it out here.
1/3/09 Alice says:
Thanks DNLee, good post! We definitely should spend some time somewhere talking about resources, or supportive organizations… did your article come out in the American?Okay, we’re getting down to the wire here for planning. Some brainstorming thoughts:
- On our blog, the question of “who is an ally” came up, in terms of the definition of what an ally is. We could start with a discussion about people’s definitions.
- What about going around the room and asking a) for introductions, then b) for an example of when they could have used an ally but no one stepped forward? Then perhaps a second circle asking people when they’ve acted as an ally for someone else – a friend, family member, or stranger?
- How can we keep the conversation going afterwards? Can we set up a blog circle or something, with people contributing posts when they head back home?
- Can we use the session to write a manifesto about supporting underrepresented bloggers online? Or is that a bad idea?
1/4/09 acmegirl says:
I don’t know about a manifesto, Alice, but I’d love to have some discussion of the different concerns that underrepresented bloggers may have. For instance, we may have different reasons for wanting to write under a pseudonym, and yet it might be harder for us to maintain the separation between our pseudonym and our “true identity”. Maybe going into how a blogger can create a safe space for commentary/discussion that doesn’t shut down contibutions from anyone?
Relevant blog posts (add yours here!):
Abel at Terrasigillata
Alice at Sciencewomen, 12/15/08
Alice at Sciencewomen, 1/4/09
