An interesting discussion was held Monday morning regarding the role women take on the Web. Karen Chu(Graphic Designer, Playfirst Inc.), Laura Roeder(Principal, Roederstudios.com), Carly Kocurek (Doctoral Candidate, University of Texas), Blagica Bottigliero (Social Media Consumer Brands, Edelman) hosted the panel “Are Women Taken More Seriously On The Web,” joined by a room full of women and even a few men.

They started off the discussion by laying the topic out on the table: it is hard for women to be taken seriously online. Developers, gamers, and users in the technology industry have not been very welcoming. When asked how the Web impacts the way women present themselves, Bottigliero said that gender didn’t matter in her case. It counted on her skills. When Chu got started as an intern at a media corporation, she was placed
as the company representative. Having a woman spokesperson may help their image.

“Does it depend on gender or knowledge? There are issues everyday that are addressed on the Web and some areas women are respected and some areas are not. “Our society is being reflected on the Web,” said Kocurek. “As long as we have issues in general, it will creep up on the Web.”

Bottligiero and Chu discussed how there is a gender writing style that exists, referring to men using “dude” and women using “k.” The panelists observed the disappearing trend of psuedonames, and people are realizing how to brand themselves. People are becoming more aware of their identity as a real person on the Web. ” People are feeling more freedom with screenames because we are genderless most of the time,” said Roeder.

Women are good at being social and now is a great time to thrive. “Voices are finally heard through the social media space. We are natural connectors.
Women link, men build,” said Bottigliero.

Video by: Lewis Knight