Speaking in pubs


The Ada Initiative did an interview with Rebecca; she says a number of amusing and/or insightful things. (No not “inciteful” – that’s not a word. Insightful.)

On why she stipulates a minimum of 35% women speakers as a condition of speaking.

I’ve also seen that the more women who speak on stage, the more women show up in the audience. People feel more at home when they see people like them in prominent positions. Because the conferences I attend are usually heavily male-dominated, having a minimum of 1/3 female speakers is another easy way that conference organizers can show they place a high value on diversity. 35% is actually ridiculously low considering women are 51% of the population, but then, I’ve always been pretty easy-going. Despite the rumors. Next year I may up it to 40% and add a “non-white” percentage for fun.

And the year after that, total world domination.

She was asked what her dream speaking engagement would be.

I like speaking in pubs, because everyone is relaxed and there’s beer. So I suppose my dream speaking engagement would be on a panel with Hillary Clinton, Lucy Lawless, and Amy Poehler, in a pub full of sloths, and also we’re on a spaceship.

A pub full of sloths does sound ideal.

 

Comments

  1. Brian E says

    Just to be clear, are we talking sloths that hangout in the jungle, or are we talking blokes like me who could drop a few kilos, and aren’t exactly metro sexual?

  2. says

    If Rebecca is a fan of Hillary Clinton, I would recommend to her Hitchens’ little book “Noone left to lie to” which, while mainly dealing with Bill, offers a few interesting glimpses into the fine lady as well.

  3. Brian E says

    hjhornbeck: I’d pay good money to see Rebecca or Ophelia giving a discourse in a pub to a bunch wild sloths, with their poo face on.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *