The EuroPython 2015 Keynotes

[Terry Reedy]

On 7/10/2015 5:14 PM, beliavsky--- via Python-list wrote:
> On Friday, July 10, 2015 at 2:58:18 PM UTC-4, Chris Angelico wrote:
>> On Fri, Jul 10, 2015 at 10:01 PM, beliavsky--- via Python-list
>> <python-list at python.org> wrote:
>>> On Friday, July 10, 2015 at 7:21:14 AM UTC-4, M.-A. Lemburg
>>> wrote:
>>>> With Mandy Waite we have announced all keynotes for EuroPython
>>>> 2015: 5 keynotes, 6 speakers, 4 women and 2 men.

>>> Your mentioning these numbers makes me wonder if the organizing
>>> committee is using gender preferences in its selection of keynote
>>> speakers.

I am sure they did, just as most organizing committees have been doing 
for decades, though in the opposite direction. However, 2 of the 4 women 
are the founders of PyLadies, who I presume will talk about the 
successes and lessons of their work.  Eliminating them, we have a 
balanced 2 and 2.  About time.

> If 80% of Python programmers and potential speakers at a Python
> conference are male, the chance of 4 out 6 speakers being female is
> fairly low if gender is ignored. Some people think gender diversity
> in tech is so important that there should be gender preferences --
> see for example this post by a Python blogger
> http://ilovesymposia.com/2015/04/03/calling-out-scipy-on-diversity/ .

It is a real fact that some members of the tech community have tried to 
make people with female bodies feel unwelcome.  (Hardly unique, the same 
is true of the academic community, for instance.)  I strongly feel that 
all Python programmers who respect others should be respected and welcome.

> It is plausible that the organizers preferred female keynote
> speakers.

Assume so and don't go if it bothers you. Let us hope that this is a 
non-issue within a decade.

> Can the OP comment on this?

Mark has better things to do, like continuing preparing for the conference.

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy