OSCON: Women in FOSS session

ROSE Blog: Rikki's Open Source Exchange

On Wednesday, July 23, Pia Waugh presented her Women in FOSS talk at Portland's OSCON. Pia talked about some of her FOSS heroes, including Allison Randal, Stormy Peters, and Val Henson. She also discussed how we can help create change within our culture so that being a woman in tech will not be considered a "non-traditional" role. One suggestion she had is to help lead events and promote technology in our communities, such as speaking at local elementary schools to help encourage participation by girls.

Pia also pointed out the Geek Feminism Wiki, an "overview and resource centre about issues facing women in geek communities."

During Pia's talk, Selena Deckelmann said that Emma Jane Hogbin had successfully attracted a large percentage of women attendees and speakers to her Hick Tech conference. Emma, who was sitting on the other side of the room quietly knitting, suggested the Geek Speak Women site as a resource for finding women to speak at events.

See our upcoming September issue of Linux Pro magazine for Emma's article about how to organize and promote a successful community event.