An article on the webgrrls move-over. Sounds like they were trying awfully hard not to say anything actually bad about webgrrls' current organization, but that there was no way they were going to stay afiliated... >X-Authentication-Warning: ins-slinky.thetoybox.org: nobody set sender to [EMAIL PROTECTED] using -f >To: "WebgrrlsMailingList" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [Webgrrls-Dis] DE article online >X-Originating-IP: [206.191.28.109] >From: "Donna Dewar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 20:05:43 -0400 >X-Mailer: MSN Explorer 6.00.0009.1102 >X-OriginalArrivalTime: 15 Oct 2000 00:06:51.0605 (UTC) FILETIME=[D1BB3050:01C0363B] >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Reply-To: "Donna Dewar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Resent-Date: Mon, 16 Oct 14:50:01 2000 -0400 >Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Resent-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Hi Everyone, Here is an article that was on http://www.canadacomputes.com > Any questions, just ask. Donna Dewar/Chapter Leader First report: Canadian >and U.S. Webgrrls chapters flee international group, form Digital Eve >By Stefan Dubowski, posted Oct 13, 2000 Webgrrls International, the >worldwide organization of women interested in technology, has suffered a >mass exodus as many of its chapters head for a new name - and a new image. >CanadaComputes.com might be the first Canadian news outlet to break this >story. Jen Evans, acting director of a new organization called Digital Eve >Canada, seemed surprised when we called her about this issue weeks ago. >"You scooped us," Evans said during that earlier conversation. Digital Eve >includes ex-Webgrrls chapters from Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver in Canada. >It also pilfered Boston's Webgrrls chapter, as well as the Houston and San >Francisco groups. "The ball really got rolling in June," said Evans, who >led Toronto's Webgrrls chapter until the name change. She added, "We wanted >the focus to be about what it was about in the beginning." If Adele >McAlear is right, we're behind the times. McAlear is the acting director of >DigitalEve Vancouver, the third Webgrrls group to leave the fold. Vancouver >"quietly" followed Boston and Houston (both equally quiet about the whole >thing, she said) to Digital Eve earlier this year. "We were still in the >formative stages," McAlear said. "We were not an official Webgrrls >chapter." "Boston, their situation was a little bit different. They had >already broken away from Webgrrls and formed their own group." By Evans' >account, Webgrrls International has been losing sight of its core mandate: >to help every woman interested in technology act on that interest. In 1998, >she said, Webgrrls International, an erstwhile not-for-profit organization, >went pro (read: for-profit). Soon after that the group started charging >members US$55-per-year to join. It was free before "They said that was the >way they wanted to go all along," Evans said. "But they never really >satisfied the questions we had." McAlear had a number of questions, even >after she and the other four founding members of Webgrrls Vancouver began >building their community. For one thing, McAlear said she didn't know >Webgrrls International was for profit. "There were certain things we >discovered along the way I had no idea about," she said. Toronto, >Vancouver and other chapters refused to charge membership fees. For Evans, >the price is "a prohibitive number for people looking for jobs, or making a >change... We want to make things as open as possible." McAlear said, "It >was more for us a question of not being comfortable volunteering for a >for-profit organization." Volunteers run the Webgrrls chapters. "That was a >sticking point for us. We wanted to be non-profit." Webgrrls International >did offer a discounted membership rate - US$35-per-year - for students and >unemployed prospects. But just before Evans became Toronto Webgrrls' >director, Webgrrls International informed its affiliates that it must >charge membership fees. That's when Evans and other chapter leaders started >searching for a way out. May Leong, Digital Eve's executive director, said >Digital Eve will get back to its roots: helping women with a tech-penchant >find resources and routes to success in an increasingly digital world. >"There's no other organization doing that," Leong said. Had Webgrrls >International shifted its focus to ill? "We're not going to comment on >Webgrrls," she said. "We're not them." We have not yet received a return >telephone call from Webgrrls International in New York City. Leong >couldn't say how many members might be affected by this move. But >considering the number of chapters heading to Digital Eve, it's safe to say >Webgrrls International's coffers could be impacted significantly. Leong >stressed that Digital Eve would not "compete" with Webgrrls International. >"The way we see it, there's a lot of room for women's groups. What we do is >offer another choice." Evans, however, questioned Webgrrls International's >adherence to its mandate. As headquarters shifted its focus towards profit, >Toronto Webgrrls was taken along for the ride. In a recent survey of its >members, Toronto Webgrrls got a shock. Gone were the teenagers and young >adults from its fold. Here were managers, not programmers, suits instead of >wire- and socket-jockeys. "We thought we were more tech-oriented," Evans >said. "We found that almost 50 per cent of our members are in management." >Plus, a substantial number of its members were over the age of 25. "It >became clear that the name (Webgrrls) no longer represented its >constituency." But McAlear stressed Digital Eve would speak to any woman, >with any level of interest in technology, from the traditional artist >assessing electronic alternatives to the undergraduate computer science >major studying robotics. She added, "From our little corner of the world, >we got no attention from Webgrrls International. They hardly even knew we >were here." Evans sensed similar disinterest from headquarters. Asked if >Webgrrls International chastised Webgrrls Canada - an uber-group for >Canadian chapters - for leaving, she said: "That's the strange thing. Not >really... They never really recognized Webgrrls Canada." Evans suggested >Webgrrls International didn't want an intermediary between itself and local >chapters. Webgrrls Canada split communication. One wonders, what's with >Webgrrls' director? Oddly, he's a he. Kevin Kennedy took over from the >group's founder, Aliza Sherman, the president of Cybergrrl Inc. who created >the Cybergrrl.com Web site. Webgrrls International is a part of this >company. Could Kennedy's sex have informed the decision to leave? "No," >Evans said. "But it wasn't something we were entirely comfortable with. But >it's not just women who can be supportive of women in technology." McAlear >said Kennedy's sex was simply another example of how little she knew about >the group. After all, Webgrrls International's Web site makes no mention of >him. "I'm not saying they set out to purposefully set out to deceive >people," McAlear said. "I am saying, perhaps they were not as up front >about things as they could have been." Evans said there was talk of >merging discontent Webgrrls chapters with local Wired Woman groups. Wired >Woman operates chapters across Canada. It's "dedicated to the growth and >development of women in IT," according to the Web site. We could not reach >a Wired Woman representative before publication. The Digital Eve option >seemed the best course, Evans said. Still, ex-Webgrrls groups in this >country have not given up on the idea of a Wired Woman merger. "There's >some overlap" between the Wired Woman and Webgrrls, McAlear said. The >difference is local: Wired Woman's discussion groups span the country. >Webgrrls lists include comments from nearby members first. How will the >membership take it? Evans said some would break from Digital Eve. The >Webgrrls name carries cachet the new group has not yet attained. But Donna >Dewar, Digital Eve Ottawa's chapter leader, said few members would leave. >"We're looking out for their best interests... So far the responses have >all been positive." Digital Eve is still growing. Or is it DigitalEve? >Evans would say the former is correct. McAlear, however, put her money on >the latter. "As you can see, we're still in the formative stages," McAlear >said. > > >___________________________________________________________ >Get more from your time online. 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