Information Society Watch

September 28, 2007, Bruce Byfield, Linux.com

This article explores the various questions and possibilities of of a GNU/Linux distribution developed "for and by women". It concludes that even if a women's distribution accomplishes none of the things it promises to, it is nevertheless a worthwhile endeavour. The author expresses his confidence that a women's distribution would extend beyond women-oriented themes and applications, but notes that the strength of FOSS is that all who comply with licensing requirements can do what they want with it. From just a few hobbyists who find a need to a fully developed community, the development of a women's distribution offers a number of possibilities: it can support women users and developers in an open source environment, which despite claims of meritocracy is still gender-biased; it can give women an opportunity for small project-type work that would allow them to gain and develop their skills in ways that can lead to more women's participation and reduce the gender disparities currently in the FOSS ecosystem; it can open up possibilities for change in the FOSS community in terms of support and changing forms of governance. And as the existence of groups such as Debian Woman, KDE Women and LinuxChix demonstrates, there is certainly some need for women to carve out a space in the male-dominated geek culture of open source.

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