I'm not assuming at all that a hijab signifies sexism. Though I'm also not assuming that if every single woman in the world were to deny that a hijab does not signify sexism that therefore a hijab does not signify sexism. (I have noted though that not one single man wears a hijab, but let's leave the hijab discussion, that's not the point but an illustration.)
The problems "there" are actually "here". I.e., when we're talking diversity, we're I think inevitably going to be talking creating safe spaces, which means, as well, trigger warnings and microaggressions. All of which are important and should be addressed. I think my point is that we don't really have a global language of inclusivity -- and sure everyone should feel welcome at conferences and so on. But if we're going to be trying to figure out what blockages there are in the participation of contributors based on the subcategories of identification to which they subscribe voluntarily or by birth -- where does it end? I'm uncomfortable with the survey, to be honest. Though of course it's important to do our best to ensure that everyone feels comfortable to contribute regardless of the various identities they hold. Gj On Thu, May 9, 2019 at 9:18 PM Ross Gardler <ross.gard...@microsoft.com.invalid> wrote: > It is very complicated. For example, your assumption that the Hijab > signifies sexism is contested by every single woman I have known who wears > one (which admittedly is a low number and not at all representative of the > bigger picture). > > That said, there are problems everywhere. We can't solve the problems > there, it's not our place to. But we can solve our problems here in the ASF. > > For example, if a woman is attending an ASF event in a Hijab and we assume > she is wearing it because of inequality in her culture then we are not > creating a welcoming environment. We are creating barriers between her and > us because of assumptions based on what our own culture teaches us. In my > (admittedly limited) experience such a woman is likely wearing the Hajib > because she chooses to do so and we should respect her right to make that > choice. > > If it's not a choice for her then it's not something that we can directly > influence but we can still make her welcome within our community. > > Ross > > ________________________________ > From: Geertjan Wielenga <geert...@apache.org> > Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2019 11:27 AM > To: diversity@apache.org > Subject: Diversity in a diverse world > > Hi all, > > Just a trigger warning here -- I was in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia last week, > giving a course in which Apache NetBeans was used. There were 8 people on > the course, three of which were women completely covered in black hijabs > with only their eyes showing. I do think safe spaces, microaggressions, and > trigger warnings are very important -- but in an ecosystem where there are > literally women in the back of the classroom with only their eyes showing, > it seems complicated to address this diversity topic at all, unless we're > not concerned about the diversity issues connected to superiority, > colonialism, and ethnocentrism, etc. > > And... a year ago those three women would not have been in a computer class > at all, so the fact that they were even in the room was a sign of massive > progress. > > Just want to raise this because what some might see as diversity could be > pretty problematic in a global context -- unless we're comfortable, or at > least very prepared, to deal with the fall out. > > Gj >
