Apache hopes to encourage female coders

The Apache Software Foundation is hoping to increase the participation of women in its open-source projects by setting up a new mailing list.

Jean Anderson, who works on the Apache Derby database, said Monday that the list will provide a "supportive, encouraging forum to help women become more involved in ASF projects."

"The list is open to all genders--you might be a woman who wants to become more involved or you might be someone who would just like to help create a welcoming environment," said Anderson in a mailing list posting.

Open-source projects tend to have many more male developers than female developers; this is partly a reflection of the under-representation of women in software development as a whole, but other issues, such as sexism and aggressive language on mailing lists and forums, have been thought to deter women from getting involved.

Debian, the free Linux distribution, set up a group last year to encourage the participation of women. Helen Faulkner, a member of Debian Women, told ZDNet UK last year that the group offers advice to women on a variety of topics from how to install Debian to how to write a bug report. It is also encouraging Debian to become more welcoming to women by flagging instances of sexism.

Ingrid Marson of ZDNet UK reported from London.

[William Squire]

This job pays how much?

While some companies pay employees to write code and create bug reports, the open-source community thrives on the work of volunteers. The Apache Software Foundation, responsible for the open-source Apache web server software and Debian, distributor of the Debian Linux distribution are both trying to encourage women to donate their time and expertise for the benefit of, well, Apache and Debian.

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.inaniloquent.com/PermaLink.aspx?guid=5cb98042-a4e3-4f86-af49-486784ab5c22" target="_newWindow">http://www.inaniloquent.com/PermaLink.aspx?guid=5cb98042-a4e3-4f86-af49-486784ab5c22</a>

[CNerd2025]

Apache and Debian hardly self-serving

You are forgetting that since both organizations are OSS/FSF, they want coders for themselves, but also for posterity. OSS/FSF is not about the money, it's about the rights. GNU GPL guarentees that. Sure, Apache SF and Debian want more coders, but with more coders for those projects, more of the code from those projects can be reused or added onto later.

[William Squire]

This job pays how much?

While some companies pay employees to write code and create bug reports, the open-source community thrives on the work of volunteers. The Apache Software Foundation, responsible for the open-source Apache web server software and Debian, distributor of the Debian Linux distribution are both trying to encourage women to donate their time and expertise for the benefit of, well, Apache and Debian.

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.inaniloquent.com/PermaLink.aspx?guid=5cb98042-a4e3-4f86-af49-486784ab5c22" target="_newWindow">http://www.inaniloquent.com/PermaLink.aspx?guid=5cb98042-a4e3-4f86-af49-486784ab5c22</a>

[CNerd2025]

Apache and Debian hardly self-serving

You are forgetting that since both organizations are OSS/FSF, they want coders for themselves, but also for posterity. OSS/FSF is not about the money, it's about the rights. GNU GPL guarentees that. Sure, Apache SF and Debian want more coders, but with more coders for those projects, more of the code from those projects can be reused or added onto later.

[katamari]

What does this have to do with gender?

Why is gender even a focus-point in anything at all? Is the Apache "foundation" this bored? What's wrong, not enough bugs submit in their software?

I just don't get it, folks.

This whole notion of focusing on gender -- whether it be male or female -- completely goes against the goal of equality. We're going backwards discerning the difference when it comes to common goals and tasks. It's borderline sexism... which I thought women in the 30s took care of addressing via bra-burning feminism.

Also, I love how this issue is only a focus in American societies; doesn't work this way in Europe...

[katamari]

What does this have to do with gender?

Why is gender even a focus-point in anything at all? Is the Apache "foundation" this bored? What's wrong, not enough bugs submit in their software?

I just don't get it, folks.

This whole notion of focusing on gender -- whether it be male or female -- completely goes against the goal of equality. We're going backwards discerning the difference when it comes to common goals and tasks. It's borderline sexism... which I thought women in the 30s took care of addressing via bra-burning feminism.

Also, I love how this issue is only a focus in American societies; doesn't work this way in Europe...