In February 2011, a discussion was started on the Linux-Australia listserv about the group's recent $5,000 donation to the Ada Initiative.
Jon Jeremy asked for evidence of sexism and discrimination against women in IT.
Elspeth Thorne responded with some of her own experiences with sexism in the industry:
"...Perhaps almost every IT work environment I have been in has been abnormal in its cultural rejection of women. Perhaps throughout my life when I was encouraged to take up another course of expertise, and quite actively discouraged to pursue IT, my experience was unique. On the other hand, perhaps the abuse, harassment, discouragement and difficulty I encountered - explicitly and openly based on my gender - is not unique, and is, in fact, quite common if you happen to present as female."
David Newell responded that since he's never noticed any sexist behavior in IT, Thorne's experiences must be unique to her:
"How odd. I've been in the industry for more than 30 years and never seen or heard of such things[...] That [Thorne's experiences are unique] sounds plausible. It fits with what I've heared face-to-face."
See also
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