[troutman]

I wondered what the fall-out was (if any) from The Amazing Meeting:

Is It Cold in Here?
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...-cold-in-here/

With all the other trouble in the world, why should we care about this? It’s because those climate issues chase many women out of the hard sciences — and indeed, out of any male-dominated community.

I almost didn’t go this year [TAM]. Why? One word: “Elevatorgate.”

Here is the message being sent to the women skeptics and atheists say they want to join their ranks: “If an atheist/skeptic man behaves boorishly toward you, or refuses to respect your boundaries, whether social or sexual, and you have the gall to state firmly that this is not okay, you will be publicly pilloried, ridiculed for being hysterical, called a man-hating feminazi (or worse), and have your concerns belittled and dismissed.”

Why should I, or any woman, want to be part of that community?

So believe me when I tell you that the skeptic/atheist community has a serious problem when it comes to creating a welcoming environment for women.

The next time you see a guy acting like a jerk around a woman at a skeptic/atheist gathering, call him out: “Dude. Not cool. She’s not the hot girl in the comic shop, you know.” Feel free to quote The Social Network: “You’re going to go through life thinking girls don’t like you cuz you’re a nerd, when really it’s because you’re an #######.”

This thread at JREF is approaching 2700 posts:

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=213405&page=67

Dawkins Oveflow thread:

http://skepchick.org/2011/07/dawkins-overflow-thread/