Social Engineering
by Leslie Hawthorn09/04/2007
Leslie Hawthorn held various roles at Google before joining the Open Source Programs Office in March 2006.
On any given day, it seems I do more than I can recount or recollect, such as spec out new initiatives for the Open Source Programs Office, write documentation, answer questions on the Google Summer of Code ™ mailing lists, plan future improvements to the program both from a technical and logistics perspective, organize community conferences, make sure that the right people are talking to each other, and peruse the latest offerings on Digg. What I do every day is fairly straightforward, but trying to summarize my role as a woman in the technical community has proved a difficult enterprise.
Roles in the technical community are well-defined and, not surprisingly, focus almost exclusively on technology. However, I am no industry pundit nor kernel hacker; I do not intend to create the next mashup hotness nor will I ever fix torturous bugs while in the throes of a coffee bender. I don't write code and, honestly, I didn't enjoy it in the slightest when I tried to. I understand technical concepts well and delight in discussing them, but the implementation details hold no allure. Yet, I spend my days surrounded by programmers and, in the open source world, a near monoculture of men writing code and talking about code, gaining credibility with their peers through the code they produce. I've asked myself what the hell I'm actually doing here on more than one occasion.
I've never thought of my role in the technical community as being the result of or in any way inextricably tied to my femininity. If anything, in an effort to be the change I wish to see in the world, I've distanced myself from questions of gender roles in my work. If we are all (to be) equal, it seems counter-intuitive to look at my work as informed by my being a woman. I do and I make, I listen and I advise, I lead and I follow, and none of these things are the exclusive purview of women. While others might, I would not argue that either sex has a particular aptitude for any of these things. Still, when I look at what I do and what I make, I far more often than not find women playing a similar role and doing similar tasks: building communities, creating space for creativity and connection to manifest, taking care of mundane and arcane details so that others can focus on executing to a grander vision.
Like everyone else, I've been called many things in my day, and often the word used is mother – “a mother of open source” or “geek mama.” I usually hear these words after organizing a particularly effective conference, reviewing a Summer of Code student's slide deck before the big presentation, or posting a particularly insightful piece of advice to a mailing list. It's not a compliment I accept without reservation. It brands me as feminine in a masculine world, it implies difference where the optimal outcome is equality and, by extension, sameness.
Certainly, this designation means that people see me as someone who will solve problems effectively on the fly, provide reassurance and support, and impart accumulated wisdom and help when needed. Given that these are all things I strive to do, it's satisfying that I'm perceived this way. On the other hand, at its core the reality of that compliment can be wholly unrewarding; a woman is a mother by virtue of her having children, a powerful role, to be certain, but one by nature subservient to the desires and needs of others. While the role I play has a service-oriented capacity to it – and I personally feel a great responsibility to be of service to the various individuals and communities with whom I interact – it can, at times, feel as though my accomplishments are regarded as having no intrinsic value, that my actions have merit only insofar as they are a vehicle for helping others accomplish their goals.
All that being said, it's very clear to me that the intention of the technical community is not to slight my contributions or the contributions of any woman. If anything, men tend to be passionate advocates for helping women have a broader involvement in the technical conversation and the shaping of our respective futures. I find myself spending time with individuals from many open source projects with wildly divergent aims and methodologies, but without exception the healthiest ones are those who place a high value on contribution of any kind, not just in the creation of code. Among these folks, I find my efforts are accorded the highest of respect and I am treated as an equal, if not as a goddess, for the simple things I do each day: bringing people together, providing structure and organization, understanding pragmatic but often overlooked details, communicating effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and helping them to work most effectively with one another. Some may call that mothering. I'd call it social engineering.
Return to Women in Technology.
Showing messages 1 through 9 of 9.
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We're not all geek mothers
2007-09-04 15:38:09 sherylc [View]
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A Disappointing Start
2007-09-05 03:39:40 Capecoder [View]
"Technology" is a big tent, with room for people with many talents and abilities, but it is regrettable that the first article in this interesting series includes the statement "I don't write code and, honestly, I didn't enjoy it in the slightest when I tried to." It's difficult to believe that this opinion is representative of most women in tech, or for that matter, the majority of O'Reilly customers.
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Bravo Leslie!
2007-09-05 04:26:30 pleia2 [View]
As someone who works on a lot of technical projects, I am indebted to those women who handle some of the "Social Engineering" tasks.
So, Bravo Leslie!
Skills such as yours keep the projects running well, yet I find they are so often under-appreciated in the community. Far too often I see people who take these roles become jaded with them and feel that to really be a part of the project they must more hard technical skills This is terribly unfortunate, I'll be linking to this article to inspire and encourage them :)
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Thank you!
2007-09-05 04:35:04 nightrose [View]
Thanks you! The Open Source community would not be what it is without people who hold it all together.
cheers Lydia
(another geek with social skills doing social engineering ever day ;-))
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mother and sameness
2007-09-05 08:26:10 jenthefen [View]
i think i disagree with the statement about motherhood being a subservient state to needs & desires of others. i prefer the creative connotations of that word in every sense, reminiscent of "authority" coming from root word "author."
and i wouldn't want sameness, that wouldn't be the optimal outcome of relations between genders for me. besides creative i prefer vibrant and shifting when it comes to the social roles stuff, and respect and recognition. i did agree with the "healthiest ones are those who place a high value on contribution of any kind" though.
but i too want to hear more in this series from women in code-writing roles. just seems that this is the place for those perspectives to be paramount, though i think there's also room for those of women in other roles in technology.
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I am not a tech mama...
2007-09-05 09:19:35 LenaWest [View]
I have avoided many of the "mama" tags that people seem to adore placing on women who work in the tech space. I'm not a tech mama, tech maven, tech queen, tech diva or whatever. And, I'm quick to gently correct someone who uses those terms in reference to me. I find them off-putting and passive aggressive in an odd sort of way.
It seems like if you're a successful woman, you need a label so people can place you in the apppropriate sections in their mental file system. These labels seem to underhandedly attempt to put us in "a woman's place". From my experience, this doesn't happen so much with men. When was the last time you've heard a guy refer to himself as a Tech Prince?
I do think women bring a distinct advantage to the tech smorgasboard and I, for one, leverage my advantage every chance I get. After all, I wasn't born a woman for no reason.
What I ponder most often is why, in this day and time, we're still being asked what it's like to be a woman working in technology. I think there are valuable answers to that question, I just think the current focus of that question could use some modernization and reframing.
As a social media strategist, I have a lot in common with your experience working in technology however, I also look forward to reading stories from women coders and developers. There's room for everyone at the table. Anything else is coming from a scarcity mindset and - if we're going to support one another like we all say we want to - scarcity, crabs-in-a-barrel tactics shouldn't be tolerated.
Contrary to what others wrote about this being a disappointing first article, I think running this article first was uber-smart. Having the first article be about the technical side of tech would be obvious, expected and trite. Kudos to Tatiana for having the ovaries to veer from the norm.
-Lena
http://techforward.entrepreneur.com
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Good to recognize this role...
2007-09-05 09:19:59 kdsmith [View]
The author shares her experience in what others appear to be perceiving as a socially nurturing role: facilitating communications, putting groups together, managing communities. (And it seems, there are two articles here -- both from the angles of being a non-coder in a world where coders are gods, and being a woman in a technology community comprised mostly of men.)
Often women fulfill these roles with finesse and skill. And so do men.
Leslie, you mention:
"It brands me as feminine in a masculine world, it implies difference where the optimal outcome is equality and, by extension, sameness."
But women aren't the same as men. Do you really want to be the same? Is sameness the optimal outcome?
Do men receive compliments for this role? Are they called geek daddies? Are the social networking facilitators around open source communities who happen to be male referred to as gods?
I think if you look closely you'll find they are not.
It's such a tough thing to be complimented in the male world of technology in part just because you are female. Do you accept these 'geek mama' compliments? How can you not?
I'd challenge you, Leslie, to change your online persona to Ken Smith, communicate in a less nurturing, more male style -- and see how many accolades you receive under those conditions.
Would you be satisfied in this role if people didn't compliment and recognize you? I'm imagining that men out there who perform this same work are thinking, 'Wow, she gets compliments? Must be nice!'
If you received the same level of feedback from the community as a male in your role receives, you'd likely feel even more de-valued than when you compare your role to the work of 'coders'.
While this service role is vital to the technical community, I think you're going to find not a lot of people are receptive to the idea of equating it with a technical role akin to pure engineering/coding.
I'd say don't feel conflicted. Don't compare these two separate roles. Feel vital and important on your own terms, and to hell with sameness.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
People are bound to react strongly to this series, and I hope that all the contributors realize that having this conversation is great -- regardless of the level of agreement around the ideas and viewpoints in the individual articles.
Thanks, O'Reilly!
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The vehicle that helps others
2007-09-05 10:20:28 lawngirl [View]
"...it can, at times, feel as though my accomplishments are regarded as having no intrinsic value, that my actions have merit only insofar as they are a vehicle for helping others accomplish their goals."
YES! That is right on, and despite DEMONSTRATING value -- reaching goals, developing new products, managing projects (involving a mostly-male systems team) -- it sometimes comes across as "Oh, she just wants to make it look good." Huh? What? Bringing the right people together, incorporating feedback, sharing best practices -- does that not provide value? I dunno. I like doing it, it's what I'm good at.
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Great insights
2007-09-05 10:24:46 Selena Deckelmann | [View]
I really enjoyed your article, Leslie. I completely identified with you when you said, "in an effort to be the change I wish to see in the world, I've distanced myself from questions of gender roles in my work." I do this, as do many other women in technical fields.
Your experience is a great case study for technical groups that incorporate people who aren't programmers or evangelists. I think your insights about the skills needed for "social engineering" apply regardless of gender. I know men who end up with the title "geek herder", because "geek papa" just doesn't mean the same thing as "geek mama".
Your statement that "the healthiest [open source projects] are those who place a high value on contribution of any kind" applies more broadly than just the tech world. To inspire lasting participation and enthusiasm, we have to let people know not just that they are wanted, but that they are needed and essential.
I enjoyed the article and I respect your opinion and your comfort with your role. However, I'm a woman who prefers working with technology to "social engineering".
To each her own. I know it's early yet, but I hope this section will feature some articles on/by women who *are* into the technology.
Sheryl