If you’re doing US-based events for women in tech, especially if your events are NB and trans-inclusive, you need to be paying a whole lot more attention to security than most events do. Get some paranoid infosec women and a real physical security presence. Safety planning right now should make everyone sweat. And don’t do events in states where your attendees are exposed to legal and medical harm. 🤦🏻
ETA: This went wide enough that I’m into the long tail of bad replies, muting now. <3
@kissane Event security is such a joke. Anyone that works in the live industry knows that 90% of the time you can just walk around back to the loading dock and get in with a confident walk.
American society has drifted so far into dangerous territory that they can't just pretend anymore and need to be held accountable. This problem is certainly exasperated at a minority focused event, but it's an overall issue.
@kissane That reason alone is why I won't enter the USA nor intend to ever host or recommend any events there...
In fact, I've been in contact with people fleeing the USA for the same reasons...
Not just in tech, and not just women-focused events. The religious nonprofit I'm part of has a long tradition of moving our training events around the country to reach more members. Now we're having difficult conversations about how to balance continued access with team and attendee safety in choosing event locations. It's crushingly sad that there are large chunks of the country that I, a trans woman, cannot safely visit. But that's where we are, and we can't ignore it.
katintheboots
Erin Kissane
Jack
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Catherine Berry