Gendered culture in online workplaces for open source software development

What is it about?

This paper highlights the gendered aspect of software development by examining the language use and mainstream 'bricolage' practice. It establishes a compelling ground for enlarging the talent pool to include more women and integrating gender ethics.

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Why is it important?

Sexism can be inscribed or hidden in everyday conversation in online workplaces. Though seemingly innocuous, gendered talks that contain cultural references familiar to male developers could be seen as a performance of gender that simply reflects the hegemonic heterosexual masculine culture manifested in online virtual work space.

Perspectives

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Brogramming languages and behaviours are often made hidden or invisible in the highly technical talks, such as the one examined in this paper. The gendering process started from the initial problematisation and framing of a bug (i.e. cultural references cited) and the sense-making discussion processes even though the extent to which they play a role remains unclear.

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