Equity

Over the past week I solicited more than half a dozen reviews for my professional blog; and, as usual, only the men got back to me with a positive response. I obviously don't think that women are less professional than men, but I do get the feeling that, for whatever reason, men are far more comfortable than women about getting paid for their writing.

As much as I strive for equity within my limited spheres of influence, it can be a difficult goal to achieve. And honestly, although I welcome content from anyone, sometimes I wonder if I'm not actually shooting myself in the foot by allowing so many men to write for me. Does the mere presence of a majority of male-gendered names cause female writers to feel like the venue is not a safe space? This may seem like a stupid concern, except that I myself have refrained from submitting my own work to male-dominated publications – and, if I had to guess, I might say that "not feeling like it's a safe space" may have something to do with why so many female writers in tech and gaming have started to go by their first initials and use "they/them" pronouns within the past year or two.

Probably I shouldn't worry about this too much, though. The sexism I've faced in my own career has been much more overt, with my work rejected out of hand while editors actively scout male writers with equal qualifications. As long as I'm holding the door open and not closing it in anyone's face, I think I'm doing what I need to do.