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Feminist Hackerspaces: Hacking Hackerspaces

As a field, engineering follows a flawed ideology. Engineering is typically depicted as a meritocracy. A meritocracy is a system where only the quality of your work determines your success. At the same time, engineering programs are infamous for their lack of diversity and for the disadvantages that women face in the field. According to the NSC in 2013, only 19% of women completed a bachelor's degree in an engineering field. Engineering companies have histories of discrimination and abuse, such as paying women less than men for the same work and the countless claims of sexual abuse. Because straight men are already at the top societally, they naturally gain more representation in high paying fields, such as engineering. Because of the meritocratic assumption underpinning the field, this lack of representation is then seen as a result of poor work done by women, rather than by discrimination by men. By claiming that poor work is the reason women are not represented in engineering, rather than realizing the true nature power structure that surrounds the field, those already in the field are able to continue their discrimination in a way that is ideologically justified, while justifying their own privilege as a result of hard work.

Hackerspaces are posited as one answer to this problem. For the uninitiated, hackerspaces are communal spaces that combine engineering, art, and learning. Hackerspaces typically eschew the rigid hierarchies adopted by corporate engineering structures, instead promoting free flowing information and autonomy.

NYC Resistor, A New York Hackerspace

One would think that this would lend itself nicely to having a diverse range of people using hackerspaces. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Women are once again underrepresented, due to a number of compounding factors. Hackerspaces, as one would expect, usually attract those in an engineering field, which makes those outside of engineering feel less welcome in the space. While hackerspaces eschew the typical hierarchy found in a business setting, they adopt a de-facto hierarchy by attracting the same straight male engineers that dominate businesses and colleges. The same meritocratic justifications are made, and the same hierarchy develops.

So what can be done then? Where can women and non-binary groups feel welcome when the business, college, and hackerspace world are structured to leave them out? In true engineering style, the solution is to hack hackerspaces: to create one that is designed to avoid the problems that befall other engineering organizations.

The model of this new hackerspace is Double Union. It was first conceived at a feminist unconference (a conference without fees, sponsored talks, or rigid hierarchy) called AdaCamp in 2013. Double Union was formed out of a need for a hackerspace that was more welcoming for women and non-binary peoples, without the need for having to prove that they belong like in other hackerspaces. Double Union is designed at every level to avoid the issues that befall typical engineering organizations. The prime indicator of this is its base assumptions, a document that details what values its members should uphold. Meritocracy is explicitly rejected in this document, citing that it does not address the overarching hierarchy formed by our society that favors straight men. Double Union is structured to avoid the usual hierarchies that form when a hackerspace is without a governing body. Inspired by Jo Freeman’s The Tyranny of Structurelessness, the space is structured such that there is a board of directors that handle high level decision making while also having committees that handle various aspects of the space, such as screen printing or electronics. This de jure governing body ensures that no oppressive de facto body will form out of the existing hierarchy in our society. Double Union has 15% of its budget go towards inclusivity and multicultural advisors. In 2018, the acceptance criteria changed from those who "identify as a woman in a way significant to them", to those who "identify as a woman or non-binary person in a way significant to them". This further reinforces the message of inclusivity that Double Union embodies.

Double Union hosted zine making event

    This is not to say that Double Union is perfect in every regard. While it does appeal to a wide range of people not normally represented in hackerspaces, it misses a key demographic: mothers. This is where Mothership Hackermoms comes in. Like Double Union, Hackermoms is designed to be inclusive to groups not normally represented in engineering, this time with a focus on mothers.

Hackermoms members

To quote their webpage: “Traditional hackerspaces have great equipment and ambitious projects, but no safe spaces for babies, young children or, consequently, their mothers.” Hackermoms features childcare and events for mothers and their children that are not normally featured in other hackerspaces. They also feature a program called the Failure Club. The Failure Club is a program where members set a goal that seems terrifying or impossible, and then work towards that goal in an environment that allows them to learn from their failures and support each other.

What Double Union and Hackermoms share is that they both solve the contradiction formed when a meritocratic viewpoint is applied to a society that already favors straight men. Although they appeal to different audiences, they both apply a new philosophy: one that favors inclusivity, making mistakes, and encouraging those otherwise left out to create and grow.