Women Bloggers Invisible?

Áine on November 26th, 2003 filed in Blog On

I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to find some geek grrrl bloggers who offer intelligent commentary on a regular basis, and I will add them to my sidebar links so that I read them in my rounds of blog-hopping. Why am I doing this? Because, as pointed out at misbehaving.net, most of us don’t seem to get many incoming links from anyone (male or female) and I’d like to do my part to make some sort of a difference. I’m not an A-List blogger, which would be much more helpful to women online, but I’ll do whatever I can to make women bloggers a bit more visible online. I think it’s important that women’s views be heard, and judging by most of the blogrolls I’ve seen online, that happens so seldom that we might as well be invisible and unheard, for all the web cares. I don’t think most people are consciously avoiding linking to women’s blogs, but at the same time, I also don’t think they are aware of the fact that by not linking, they are keeping those voices unheard. Especially true among the A-Listers… take a look at their blogrolls, you’ll see what I mean.

Now, some people will obviously label me as some sort of feminist or something, but the truth of the matter is, I believe that if the whole purpose of blogging is to communicate ideas freely among each other, then why are more women’s viewpoints not being heard? Are our ideas and viewpoints somehow worth less than male ideas and viewpoints? I think not, and I also think that we, as webloggers, need to take a good look at the list of people we’re linking to and determine whether we’re getting a diversity of viewpoints, or are closing ourselves off from what could be a more realistic blogsphere. But how will we know unless we look at our own outgoing links and make an effort to make women bloggers more visible?

Let’s face it, the IT industry is mostly white and mostly male. Women in technology-related fields do not account for 50% of the “workforce,” some studies indicate they may number around 25%, but only half that (13%) make it to top-level positions in the industry. Personally, I think that number is wrong… I think it’s even lower than 13%, probably more like 3%. Computer science itself is seen as “male-dominated,” but I believe it’s important to get all perspectives. Corporate culture, failure to identify and develop talent, isolation, and the ability to combine work with family and personal life are the main issues inhibiting professional growth for women in technology. Blogging need not take that same road, knowingly or unknowingly.

In addition to all of the above, I’d like to note that I’ve often heard some bemoaning of the fact that geeky men who are looking for geeky women can almost never find them. Well, guys, check your blogrolls… how many women geeks are you linking to? Is it any wonder you can’t find them?

Fix that.

Technorati Tags: Blog On

8 Responses to “Women Bloggers Invisible?”

Operation Codemuffin Says:
November 26th, 2003 at 9:31 pm
Demographics of blogging?

There’s millions of blogs out there. Some of them talk about politics, or technology. Others are photologs, and entertain the eye with interesting photos. No matter what your interest, you’re sure to find a blog out there that fits your…
mickels Says:
November 27th, 2003 at 1:56 am
super idea!;) you know at news trolls they finally picked up on (More Kennedy’s)but i am sure,,it will be mundane,,he has the talk down,,but do you really think anyone is listening?(”…The control of the capitalist system by large corporations leads to the elimination of markets and ultimately to the elimination of democracy. And we desperately need to understand that point in our country — that the domination of our country by large corporations is absolutely catastrophic for our democratic process.”)i don’t think that more than 30-40 percent of our peoples actually care,,i wish more did,,anyhow blog on,,you are so good at this,,inspiring*smiles*
meg Says:
November 28th, 2003 at 3:41 am
“I think it’s even lower than 13%, probably more like 3%. Computer science itself is seen as “male-dominated,…”

You think lower than 13%? Where and why? All my rowdy friends would make up more than 3%. Yea, I think it’s higher than 13% here in California, but then again we don’t see the overwhelming male dominance in our industry that others are recognizing lately.

I’m not a geek but I have been a professional developer since the 80’s. I haven’t read any A-list bloggers that I know of, the C-list territory is where the interesting action and interaction is.

And finally, while I find blogging entertaining I would never encourage or wish a life of an IT worker on anyone. But I’m this theme repeatedly and trying to figure out why folks want to encourage more women to enter this profession.
Maybe I just need to take the blindfold off.

Interesting post and perspective.
mickels Says:
November 28th, 2003 at 1:56 pm
*inconsiderate of me* to post kennedy things here,,sorry,,my thoughts about grrl bloggers,,are sad,
it seems like even in the blogging world,,there few,whom,escape that box that all are in,,the box of(”my shits betta than yours”)the rest of us could easy pass off ourselves as lurkers,male or female,,though i’ve never considered myself chauvanist(with an A),i am sure that there is always someone to turn their nose up at my thoughts as a individual,,and myself like wise to others,,(i believe thats a matter of sensitivities)though,i like opposites,,sometimes we all do not attract,each other,i have a sensitive side a couple miles wide,,but maybe not the correct feelings for others to want to share,or join into,,hmmmmmm
Aine Says:
November 29th, 2003 at 1:52 pm
I find it interesting that meg doesn’t think she’s a geek even though she’s been in the profession since the 80’s. If you’re not a geek, then what’s a geek? To be honest, though, I never considered myself a geek until I recently admitted it. I may not be a programmer, but the web work I do certainly makes up for it. I was thinking about this the other day… that there are some folks who program very well, but can’t write a decent webpage, so they shouldn’t be the only ones considered geeks. There’s room for us all.

Yes, I think lower than 13%, California and the west coast is a bit skewed because of Silicon Valley, and Redmond, WA, which we all know is the home of MS, so the whole west coast probably reflects the 13%. In the rest of the country, though, things aren’t like that. You won’t find many Carly Fiorina’s around (head of HP), for example, and the Mena Trott’s in this country are a minority, not the norm. If you start looking at conference pictures online (pick any one, the result is the same), you’ll see lots of pictures of guys both in the audience and on stage (or at the roundtable discussions). Demographically, you would expect about 50-50, but that’s not the case, not even on the creative side of things in computer graphics. And it’s not just a case of men being more technically-minded… take a look around at some of the 3D galleries online, even at the sites of makers of 3D graphics software… Maya or 3DSMax… most of the artists showcased are male, not female. Why is that? Are there more male graphics artists than female? If so, why?

These are the kinds of things I’m trying to understand.
Aine Says:
November 29th, 2003 at 2:11 pm
And mickels… I dunno how long you’ve been online, but yes, off-topic posting (and comments) are frowned upon in the online realm, and are often the cause of a lot of flaming comments from others. I’m fairly patient (lucky you) or your comments would have already been deleted by most of the webmasters I know. A few people have already commented to me in private that they would have done so, but I’m giving you a break, a chance to learn from others.

This,,,,,,,,,, is also annoying.
Whereas… that’s not so bad.

*grins*
Josephine Says:
November 29th, 2003 at 4:14 pm
Hi there!

Well I’m for that. I myself have been disappointed that the Net seems to have turned into a boys’ party. If you go to alexa.com and check out the top 5 women’s sites, it’s…ivillage.com, bellaonline.com, handbag.com, ivillage.co.uk, women.com…basically, with the somewhat exception of bellaonline, highly commercialized sites. By commercialized I mean you may be able to glean some content out of them…you may not. Where is the ZDNet of women’s sites?

I don’t think the solution is to visit the boys’ sites instead. I think the solution is to make good women’s sites and make people like ‘em.

BTW I’ve linked to your blog on the Women Bloggers page.
Aine Says:
November 29th, 2003 at 5:15 pm

Thank you!!! You’ll find your site is now linked on my sidebar, too.