Back in July, a women’s tech organization that promotes “intersectional gender equity in technology” announced they were getting ready to open up registration for the annual Grace Hopper Celebration conference, which they scheduled for the end of September.
In their announcement, the AnitaB.org group stressed their devotion to wokeness by noting that the event would be open to “women and non-binary technologists”:
AnitaB.org, the leading global nonprofit organization committed to promoting diversity, inclusivity, equality, and belonging in the technology ecosystem, is thrilled to announce that registration for the highly anticipated Grace Hopper Celebration 2023 (GHC 23) will open on July 18. The Celebration, recognized as the world’s largest gathering of women and non-binary technologists, will start with GHC 23 Open Source Day (OSD) on September 22, held online for all GHC 23 attendees. GHC 23 will be held in-person in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center and offered virtually from September 26-29, 2023.”The Way Forward,”—the theme for GHC 23—acts as a powerful rallying cry for the industry to improve the state of intersectional gender equity in tech and to create a future that is more inclusive and equitable. This message signifies the collective efforts and determination of attendees to drive progress, inspire innovation, and shape the direction of technology while also encapsulating the urgency and importance of driving positive change in the tech sector.
The conference did indeed kick off on September 26th, but it didn’t take long for the women in attendance to notice that there were an awful lot of men in the building who were standing in the long lines alongside the women to speak to recruiters:
Needless to say, the women weren’t happy:
Avni Barman, one of the attendees and influencers at the conference, also sounded off on the Twitter machine:
Shocking to see how many men showed up to a women in tech career conference claiming “non-binary” on their GHC registration status, shoving, bullying and bribing the women there Yet I still get comments all the time “I thought we solved the women in tech issue a long time ago” Sad to see how low people are willing to go in a tough job market What do you think we should do?
The “invasion” of men at the GHC 2023 was such a hot topic of conversation that AnitaB.org’s Chief Impact Officer, Cullen White, addressed the audience about the issue:
Organizers for the conference addressed the unfolding situation multiple times throughout the four day event. “Yesterday it became clear that there are a far greater number of cisgender men than we anticipated. Simply put, some of you lied about your gender when you registered,” Cullen White, Chief Impact Officer at AnitaB.org, said in a plenary at the conference. “We need male allies. We need men who want to celebrate women, who want to work with and for women. And so we welcome men in this space, but to learn and support and improve,” he said, adding that men have been taking academic tickets and spots in recruiter lines. “So let me be perfectly clear: Stop. Right now, stop.”
Watch:
AnitaB.org advisory president Bo Young Lee also expressed frustration over men allegedly identifying as non-binary in order to attend the conference and allegedly take opportunities from women:
Bo Young Lee, AnitaB’s advisory president, posted a video on LinkedIn on Friday in response to the criticism. She said the event had always felt like “a safe and loving and embracing” place in the past.”This year, I must admit, I didn’t feel this way,” she said. “And I know that many of you felt the same. Many of you are feeling unsafe, physically, and psychologically, and you’re feeling unheard.”[…]”We tried to create a safe space, and this week we saw the outside world creep in,” she said. “This makes me angry, and it makes me sad, but mostly it makes me want to fight.”
Watch:
In reality, the “outside world” did not in fact “creep in.” This was the very type of world these people have worked to create with their emphasis on acceptance of men who identify as women or non-binary into women’s spaces, like in bathrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, and women’s sports leagues:
Needless to say, AnitaB.org, GHC, and the tech magazines that rushed to their defense were widely mocked:
‘Nuff said.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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