Just came back from a con, and in light of the discussions here I was watching out for issues related to gender and gaming. First I'd like to say that participation in this con was a pretty even mix of male and female. That may not be the norm, but it's what we had at this con.
Second, there definitely were people there with children, often young children. There were no childcare arrangements, and I didn't see anybody working the con who had children. I did see the spouses and children of several people working the con. I think that this is because of the same reason that you don't see people bringing their children to work every day: it's not practical.
What I did see was that everyone was very quick to help out parents who were in need (and these were almost universally women). I was with the group running the computer lounge, and when a mother came in needing to change her infant, we quickly got her a table. She was also a small focus of attention, since the wife of one of our members is expecting a baby fairly soon.
As I mentioned over on Matt's blog, I did also see some behavior that was likely to keep women unwelcome in some groups. I was in a room with a group of guys, we were all happily talking about computer stuff. Three cute, drunk girls showed up and effectively killed the conversation. I don't think that they did it with the intent of being rude, but instead out of ignorance that their behavior was disruptive or offensive in any way. They were greeted cheerfully and made to feel welcome, but it had wholly killed what was going on before. If it had happened at a gaming session I had set up with friends, I would have been offended. As it was, I had just met these guys casually, so I moved on to greener pastures.
no subject
Second, there definitely were people there with children, often young children. There were no childcare arrangements, and I didn't see anybody working the con who had children. I did see the spouses and children of several people working the con. I think that this is because of the same reason that you don't see people bringing their children to work every day: it's not practical.
What I did see was that everyone was very quick to help out parents who were in need (and these were almost universally women). I was with the group running the computer lounge, and when a mother came in needing to change her infant, we quickly got her a table. She was also a small focus of attention, since the wife of one of our members is expecting a baby fairly soon.
As I mentioned over on Matt's blog, I did also see some behavior that was likely to keep women unwelcome in some groups. I was in a room with a group of guys, we were all happily talking about computer stuff. Three cute, drunk girls showed up and effectively killed the conversation. I don't think that they did it with the intent of being rude, but instead out of ignorance that their behavior was disruptive or offensive in any way. They were greeted cheerfully and made to feel welcome, but it had wholly killed what was going on before. If it had happened at a gaming session I had set up with friends, I would have been offended. As it was, I had just met these guys casually, so I moved on to greener pastures.