Equity a distant prospect for women in CSIRO|Canberra Times: “CSIRO’s [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation] latest annual report released in 2013 indicates that women represent 40 per cent of employees, but only 12 per cent of technical services roles and 24 per cent of research scientists are female. In contrast, women are over-represented in more poorly-paid, traditionally female roles such as administrative support which is 76 per cent female. At higher levels of the hierarchy, the situation for women is even bleaker, with only 11 per cent of research management roles held by women.” (August 25)

We Need to Talk About Silicon Valley’s Racism|The Daily Beast: “an elite set of tech investors that Forbes labels “The Midas List,” 100 venture capitalists with staggeringly profitable portfolios in the tech industry. And if you scroll down the complete Midas List, some visible trends begin to emerge. The featured photo for the list, first of all, is as white as a loaf of Wonder Bread and as male as a football locker room. There are only four women on the list, none of whom rank in the Top 20. And of the 96 men on the Midas List, the overwhelming majority appear to be white, including every single member of the Top 10.” (August 22)

Lunch with Dads|Ellen’s Blog: “That’s what being different does. It makes you aware of your actions, and that you might be imposing. It’s so minor, but it adds up…..When you don’t have a diverse team, there will be that nagging sensation for the few people who are different. It’s more likely those people will leave, or continue to feel out of place.” (August 23)

I accept trans women in my tech feminism | 0xabad1dea: “Trying to enforce the separation of trans women from other women does not support any cause I believe in – especially if that enforcement is being proposed by a man, no matter how well-meaning or feminist.” (August 22)

Adding misogyny to Fark moderator guidelines | Fark: “as of today, the FArQ will be updated with new rules reminding you all that we don’t want to be the He Man Woman Hater’s Club.  This represents enough of a departure from pretty much how every other large internet community operates that I figure an announcement is necessary.” “I recommend that when encountering grey areas, instead of trying to figure out where the actual line is, the best strategy would be to stay out of the grey area entirely.” (August 22)

Late Night Thoughts on Boundaries & Consent | Julie Pagano: “Being nice is incredibly overrated. I have no desire to be nice, and I think a culture of “nice” is counter to a culture of consent and boundaries. I prefer to be kind and empathetic – these are things to aspire to.” (August 24)

People of Color-led Makerspace and Hackerspace! | Indiegogo: Liberating Ourselves Locally is one of the few (if not only) people of color-led makerspaces/hackerspaces in the Bay Area. If you do a search for “people of color makerspace” on Google, we’re not just the first result, we fill the first page. We lost one of our main funding sources recently, so we’re appealing to our community to keep the space running.

If White Characters Were Described Like People Of Color In Literature|Buzzfeed:
“2. She took off his shirt, his skin glistening in the sun like a glazed doughnut. The glaze part, not the doughnut part.” (August 22)

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