Today I begin an internship with the Outreach Program for Women (OPW) by GNOME! I’ll be working with the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) to make a mobile version for their robotics simulator, Gazebo. I can’t begin to put in words how excited I am!
It’s so awesome to see something like this made especially for women! Because we basically grow up like this:
And throughout life, we hear all sorts of nonsense, like this:
Even from the people you least expect, like when my friend was teaching me how to drive:
So yeah, it feels like we constantly have to justify ourselves. “How come you prefer robots over dolls???”
Or even prove ourselves… Prove that we can get the job done, that we deserve a good pay, etc. The burden of proof is with us…
I have male friends who would like to be doing an internship with one of the amazing companies involved in OPW and they feel like this isn’t fair. Cheer up, guys, there will be other opportunities! This is not about double standards or unfair competition. Women deserve a push, for a change 😉
So, this is as political as it gets 🙂 For the next 3 months I’ll be blogging frequently about my progress in the internship and my adventures with Free Open Source Software 🙂 I’m super happy and flattered to be chosen for this program! I can’t wait to see what will come out of it! Stay tuned!
my Shumi 