Session Women in Open Source Danese Cooper, Open Source Diva, Intel and Open Source Initiative Mitchell Baker, CEO, Mozilla Corporation Zaheda Bhorat, Manager, Open Source Programs, Google Claire Giordano, Senior Manager, OpenSolaris Bernard Krieger, Research Associate, Cambridge University Allison Randal, Conference Chair, O'Reilly Media, Inc. Alolita Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, Technetra Track: Emerging Topics Date: Friday, August 5th, 2005 Time: 10:45am - 11:30am Location: Portland 255 The free software and open source movements are having a direct impact on the business of software development. Old business models are crumbling or being modified to fit a “no vendor lock-in” paradigm. As with the commoditization of any large industry, there are challenges to the status quo and opportunities for those who understand the change and how to use it to advantage. Because development of open source projects is conducted on the Internet by virtual teams with relative anonymity, there is a potential for loosening of traditional gender biases. Meritocratic governance models in many open source projects offer another potential area for the advancement of women in technology. Yet several independent studies of open source seem to confirm that only about 2% of the open source community of developers and leaders is female. This panel introduces you to five women who are working on the front lines of the open source movement. Take this opportunity to learn about the issues they encounter in the open source community. Topics covered include: -How is open source development different from closed source development? -What are the commonalities/differences in the experience of the panelists' involvement in open source? -What additional opportunities (if any) are available to women in the open source movement? -How are gender politics expressed in a globally distributed team? -What should women engineers do to influence the open source movement in positive ways?

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