Navigating Identity and Inclusion: The Grace Hopper Job Fair Controversy
Examining the Dynamics of Gender, Identity, and Access in Professional Spaces
This is a guest post.
Researched by Horace Willis.
Written by Horace Willis and ProfessorTom.
Edited by ProfessorTom.
A friend sent me some articles about the Grace Hopper Job Fair and asked me to give my input.
The articles I was sent gave the impression that men were invading a space reserved for women and non-binary. The men allegedly did this by claiming to be trans when they weren’t. It was further alleged that some of the organizers called men out for this behavior. As described, I considered the organizer’s actions to be rank hypocrisy.
When I did a deeper dive, it came to light that men have always come to the conference and been welcome to do so.
In this video, AnitaB Chief Impact Officer Cullen White said the following: "We need male allies; we need men who want to celebrate women, work with and for women. So, we welcome men in this space—to learn and support and improve." (emphasis mine, transcript compliments of Newsweek.)
According to the New York Post, what happened was the men were taking time slots reserved FOR women and non-binary and handing out resumes that indicated they were fully cis. There were open time slots for anyone to talk to recruiters that the men should have used instead of taking ones reserved as they were.
Originally, I was going to call out the organizers for rank hypocrisy. Why? Because I constantly see it preached that we must take people at their word when they tell us how they identify sexually. Initially, it seemed that the organizers were not taking the men at their word.
I’ll be the first to admit I see how that stance can be abused but it has to be the stance we take. To do otherwise invites what I like to call The Open Door Issue.
The Open Door Issue (ODI) revolves around the following question: when we do something, are we opening a door for someone from an opposing view to use it to legitimize what they do? In this case, the ODI is that if we do not take people at their word, we open the door for others to not take people at their word.
Consider J.K. Rowling and the entire Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) movement.
TERFs believe ONLY cis women should be allowed in ANY space reserved for women and that trans women should be excluded totally from such spaces. By far the most famous TERF is J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.
That is something that simply cannot be allowed because if someone identifies as female, we should take them at their word.
On the other hand, if someone does take a spot reserved for women and non-binary and they are handing out resumes that indicate they are strictly cis, then they should be lambasted and called out.
That behavior is completely unacceptable.