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I had to stop doing it. Then, a wake-up call came. I learned I’d be having a daughter. Was this my punishment for my transgressions? Would this mean all of the secrets of the female psyche would be revealed to me? Probably not. But I want to make sure both my son and daughter, if they choose to follow my footsteps into a technology field, are both given the same opportunities and the same treatment.<\/p>\n
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As soon as I learned I was having a daughter, the articles about sexism in tech became immediately more personal and relevant. A lot of attention had recently been paid to conferences, female speakers (or lack there-of)<\/a>, and conference behavior<\/a>. I took this all to heart as I was planning a conference<\/a> that was held right before my daughter was born – WordCamp<\/a>. I made a conscious effort to have a good representation of women speakers.<\/p>\n In the WordPress community, it’s not difficult to find and meet amazing women doing amazing things. Look at Lisa Sabin-Wilson<\/a>, my neighbor to the east – she wrote a book. I’ve thought about writing a book – but she actually did it! However, you don’t have to be a superstar or “internet famous” to add to the conversation<\/a>. Maybe that’s why I enjoy working with the WordPress community. It’s easy to meet all types of people doing great things.<\/p>\n Even though WordPress is written in PHP, I found that there’s a big difference between these two communities. I’ve only been to two PHP conferences: php|tek<\/a> in the mid-aughts and most recently MidwestPHP<\/a> 2012. At both conferences, the only female speaker was Sara Golemon<\/a>. Maybe it was just coincidence. Sara is a highly respected contributor to the PHP community and she’s also a published author. But my feelings concluded that she had become the token female spokesperson for PHP conferences.<\/p>\n So what can we (especially men) do? First you need to change your mind. If you don’t have a daughter, imagine one of the few women in your technology field as if she were. Is she being treated fairly? Are you<\/em> treating her fairly?<\/p>\n Then start leveraging your power for good. Be your own superhero. If you’re organizing a conference, go out of your way to include women.<\/a> Pay it forward: my business partner<\/a> teaches a class called Black Girls Code<\/a>. For those who don’t know him, he is neither black, nor a girl. If you’re involved with the interview process at work, bring some women in. I guarantee they’ll bring new perspective to your old boys club. It may only take a couple of GI Jane’s in a male-dominated field to turn the tide and welcome a new wave of female geeks.<\/p>\n I like to think that I’m not sexist, but my reputation may precede me. At some point during my college years, I started using a reverse-psychology approach with women I knew (usually girlfriends) – telling them they couldn’t do something – in hopes that they’d be motivated to prove me wrong. Ask my wife –… Continue reading ![](\"https:\/\/www.foell.org\/justin\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
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