Re:Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
by btilly on Wednesday July 20, 2016 @12:16PM
(#12130187)
You have indeed captured the standard reasoning. But when a group of people forms an exclusive club, the result is inevitably politics. And politics of a kind that is bad for everyone. It is bad when people in power do it. But it is also bad when people who are disenfranchised do it.
The specific comment in question came about as follows. It was triggered by her recommending a book club to me, then having the organizer ask me not to come "because it would change the dynamic too much to have a man there." This lead to the woman who recommended it to me dropping out of said club because it became something which she did not wish to be associated with.
"would be seen" talks about everyone, and I obviously can't speak for everyone. I'll try to anyway:
A men-only club would be judged differently since men are perceived to be the privileged class -- a concern would be that in this club, unfairly obtained advantages are carried on. A women-only club is much less of an issue, because women are perceived to be disadvantaged as-is. Having them organise in a secret circle won't cause any damage.
Beware: I'm not commenting on how sound this reasoning is, or defending or denying anyone's right to meet non-publicly.