Digital Digest December 2004

:/:/:/:/ THE DIGITAL DIGEST /:/:/:/:/:/ The Monthly Newsletter of DigitalEVE Japan. Promoting women's digital lifestyles by offering a supportive community and programs tuned to women using IT in their workplace and in their everyday lives. http://www.digitalevejapan.org

FROM THE EDITOR

Louise Mackay, English Newsletter Editor.

Hello All,

Welcome to the December edition of the DigitalEve Japan Newsletter. Here at Digital Eve we are getting excited about our upcoming Christmas party on the 3rd of December - a chance to meet DEvas and their partners/friends/grannies that they bring along, to celebrate the spirit of our group and to encourage more DEva ideas and activities to come in the New Year. It's always a great time of year for celebrating not only what has been achieved in the past year, but the people (both familiar and newly-met) that you have found encouragement from, given encouragement to, learnt something new from or enjoyed a well-earned cup of coffee with.

In this month's issue: news from our Web, Membership, Media and Steering teams, an interview with a DEva, Marilyn Books; and a little food for thought on women in IT; all in all a great read on a cold evening.

From the Newsletter team - A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

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NOTES FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE

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ROTA LEADER

Leader Report Misao Kajiro Interim leader for December and January

Hello DEvas,

One year has passed since I last wrote a message as interim leader and 2004 is drawing to a close.

As old members know, we haven't had a leader for 2 years, and SC members went from 10 to 5. To be able to promote good events or organize efficient workshops, I think this number is not enough.

When our group was established (1996) there were few women who were using and working with computers in Japan. An organization such as this, where Japanese and foreign women help each other to make a difference through the internet, was rare. Our group met women's needs and amazingly grew up.

But hardware is getting simpler and many guide books are published for various kinds of software. Our IT circumstances have gradually changed and the needs of our group seem to be changing too. There are many women who are IT professionals and entrepreneurs in our group now, though there weren't at the beginning. We'd like to rethink the type of activities we offer in such a way as to support each other rather than to promote growth only in numbers.

We also face the issue of our group as a global-local network. We'll need to clarify the benefits of joining DE-JAPAN and determine which resources are most helpful for all our members.

One of our missions is for women to help women, and we are still providing a comfortable and safe environment for women of all ages. I'd like to call on you, especially long-term members, to volunteer again for this mission. We can walk alone but your help or advice, no matter how small, will make others happy AND it will make you happy, too.

Thank you all who helped us as volunteers and who came to our events this year.

Wish you all a happy 2005!

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MEMBERSHIP TEAM NEWS

Misao Kajiro, Membership Coordinator.

Total membership is 542 as of the 26th of November, 2004.

The combination of our two mailing lists is coming soon. As we used to do, we'll get information, Q and A, and announcements on one mailing list. There is no need to subscribe to another ML.

But there is a concern that many spam mails might be sent to the de-japan address. Many other MLs are bothered with a lot spam or ad mails as it's so hard to avoid them. There are few messages posted to the discussion list these days, so we'd like to see what happens for a while after the MLs are combined. If we get too many spam mails or unsuitable advertisements then we will think about using 2-3 volunteers to moderate the messages, or we can discuss a better system.

We'll make new guidelines for our new ML and look for volunteers who can help our team with this task. Please contact us if you can help.

If you have any further questions/comments concerning this issue, please contact us via email or write directly to the discussion list.

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WEB CONTENT TEAM NEWS

Debra B. Foster, Web Content Coordinator.

My husband and I are expecting our first child in the beginning of December. The Web Content team needs volunteers to help update the web site and generate content. Anyone who would like to volunteer to help update the web site, please contact me.

Happy Holidays!

Debbie Foster

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TECH TEAM NEWS

Nothing to report.

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MEDIA TEAM NEWS

Chiharu Kawai, Media Coordinator

The holiday season is here already. While it is a shopping and party season, there is this "Yong-sama" craze among middle-aged Japanese women, which is also contributing to Japan's economy. It's an interesting social phenomenon, but couldn't that much energy of Japanese women be directed to politics or something? Anyway, may I have your attention: I am looking for an English-speaking media coordinator to act as an English media contact. If you are interested, please let me know. Well, I hope you are ready to wrap up this year. It's a bit early, but Happy Holidays!

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DETAILS OF UPCOMING EVENTS

A Meet the DEva Event will be held in January. Details to be announced.

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RECENT EVENTS

Nothing to report.

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Q & A: INTERVIEW WITH A DEVA

Interview conducted by Noriko Hasegawa

Newsletter Team newsletter@digitalevejapan.org

I am so happy to introduce an attractive DEva, Marilyn Books, who has actively volunteered for Media team (t-shirt promotion) and works as a university professor in Miyazaki now. It's pretty nice for us to get connected with DEvas all over Japan, not only the central area. Thank you, Marilyn!

Q) Where are you from originally? When and why did you relocate to Japan? A) I am from Winnipeg alias Siberiapeg, because it has a true Continental climate, being situated smack in the middle of the continent, and because of the huge population of Ukrainians. I'm one-my father was born in Ukraine. I left Canada because teaching kids did me in, and I wanted to teach adults, plus I thought the money was better (wrong). I came for 18 months; it has been almost 18 years.

Q) Where in Japan do you live now? A) I live in Miyazaki now because I was offered a full professorship, and at my age, and being a woman, and with no Japanese ability to speak of, I grabbed it. I was in Tokyo for ten years. Miyazaki is a beautiful resort town with palm trees everywhere, beautiful beaches, mountains. And I can ride a bike; in fact, my bike is my car. (By the way, you must come to Miyazaki to see another Japan.)

Q) How long have you been a member of DigitalEve Japan? A) Gee, it must be for about seven years. It was called something else that I refused to utter or type.

Q) How did you find out about DigitalEve Japan and why did you decide to join? A) I think a friend told me about it. I really missed the Ringo Club and I thought this would be a substitute.

Q) What DE-J activities/resources have you participated in? What did you think? Of these, which do you find the most advantageous and why? A) I flew to Tokyo specifically to go to DEvas meetings three times. I picked up something useful each time; the instructors were great. I especially enjoyed meeting the other members and going out for a beer and a bite after. Once I contacted Kristen and we had a great one-on-one.

Q) Are there any other activities and resources you would like to see offered by DigitalEveJapan? A) Yes, ma'am. Basic PC. I have been a Mac user for 22 years, and I finally gave up on Macs because everybody here is afraid to touch them, so I bought a PC and read the xp manual twice. Now I am afraid to get on the Net because I think I need a good anti-virus application (program) first, and I need to know what email program to use. Anyone?

Q) What are your interests in digital technology? A) I am fairly low-techie. I write like with my left foot, so I open up the computer to write even one sentence. I got my first serious Mac when I started my graduate degrees, and another one for my first book. I use it for academic papers and presentations. I have got an excuse for a digital camera and want to get something decent in April. Then I've got a PalmPilot PDA because I get hopelessly disorganized with pieces of paper or PostIt everywhere. More important, I don't have to write everything all over again that I didn't get done yesterday.

Q) What kind of computer do you use? A) - This week: a G4 Mac. - Next week (with your help): a Panasonic notebook (only 1 kilo) with the works. - Until today: an 8-year-old PalmPilot - When I get a cradle somehow for my new PalmPilot: a Tungsten T. - I might keep my iBook unless it is a nuisance to go back and forth between it and the PC.

Q) Are you a member of any other technology-related groups and if so, which ones? A) Women Can IT. I've mostly surfed.

Q) Please tell me a little bit about where you work and what your responsibilities are. A) I teach Intercultural Communication (How Not to Be a Fluent Fool) at Miyazaki Municipal University. My biggest responsibilities are researching and publishing; then there are long, boring committee meetings in which I comprehend about 5%, and then I teach on the side. That's the job.

Q) Do you have any favourite software programs? If so,why? A) Only Word.

Q) What is your favourite computer-related activity? (For example, games, email, surfing the net, etc.) Do you have any other hobbies? A) Email is the bane and boon of my existence. We all love to receive 'em, but not always to send 'em.

Q) What is your favourite website and why? A) Epicurious. Kristen from DEvas pointed me in the direction of Epicurious. The best for recipes. Never fail. They're rated.

Q) Name three things you will always find near your computer. 1. Sunseeds (sunflower seeds) and sugarless gum (to keep me awake), 2. A photograph of my family -- twin sister and brother, and 3. My PalmPilot (dead as of yesterday). Does anyone have a cradle for a Tungsten T (m550)?

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FEATURE ARTICLE:

Food for Thought on Women in It,

by Louise Mackay.

Recently while listening to a BBC radio program (via the internet) on Women in IT, I heard an item describing how, although women are twice as successful as men in IT (for A-levels, a UK form of examination for university entrance), the number of women in the IT industry in the UK last year dropped to 20%. The item then went on to say that this contrasted with the fact that British companies were keen to recognise that diversity is important in the workplace and society as a whole would benefit from a more balanced workforce in IT. The program then tried to explain how this contrast had occurred and when interviewing young women undertaking IT courses at university found that their experiences of IT and the acceptance of women in IT while at university were negative and were in fact putting them off pursuing a further career in IT. When these young women were asked to explain what exactly was wrong with their university experience they stated that they felt the young male students were dominant (they made up the majority of the class), exclusive (they omitted the women from technical conversations), and were technically advanced for the class (they had the latest gadgets/PC's to practice with). I thought to myself that this sounds very much like the working world of IT (luckily they didn't have promotion girls in bikinis at the front of the lecture hall). Interestingly, these young university women could not clearly identify a female role model from the world of computing. The article then brought in a comparison with the experience of young women at universities in the Far East (including Japan). For these young Asian women at university their experience was more positive because they were more fairly represented in terms of class numbers (50% of IT students are women), they felt that access to technology was generally easier for younger pre-university girls (cheaper and the latest gadgets and PC's) and that "geek culture" in Asia was more inclusive to young girls (believe it or not, through, amongst others, the universal attraction of computer games, manga and anime). As a consequence they were more likely to take their IT career further than university.

As such I thought to myself isn't it interesting that DigitalEve Japan members are mostly women over a certain age who have come out of the other side of a negative or positive education and are engaged with IT in some form as part of their career. In fact, how can we help or encourage younger girls through a possibly difficult education or first experience of the IT industry so that they too can be the true IT Devas that they aspire to become? In last month's issue our media co-ordinator, Chiharu Kawai, proposed hosting a DEJ panel discussion/presentation to graduating female college students to inform them of the real world experience of female IT workers, etc. This may be just the type of event that younger women would greatly benefit from. You can listen to the radio article in full from the BBC Radio Four Woman's Hour program of 20th October 2004, "Women in IT, Why are the numbers declining?" from the BBC radio four website archive: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/listenagain/2004_42_wed.shtml. Food for thought for us all - does any of this reflect the experience that you had and the decisions you have made? I'm sure that the aspects mentioned here only skim the surface of the experiences of younger women that influence their decisions when pursuing a career in IT (and isn't it interesting to have a European/Asian comparison)!

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SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER

Have an announcement to make? An article to submit for consideration? (We can't pay you, but we'll give you a byline.) Please send your submissions in plain text format to newsletter@digitalevejapan.org

The Digital Digest is brought to you by the Newsletter Team: Debra B. Foster, Noriko Hasegawa, Koko Iwata, Misao Kajiro, Louise Mackay, Sugiko Obata and Ailsa Wylie.