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I had an interesting conversation with my sister over the holidays. She was talking about efforts in the cycling community to get more women to participate, and I saw a lot of analogies to similar issues in chess.
She said that cycling has had low participation rates among women, and that there has been a recent (and partially successful) general effort to rectify the problem.
First, there may be issues in measurement. For example, data collected based on cycling commuters crossing the Brooklyn bridge doesn't show the much higher numbers of women who ride around their neighbourhoods. I compared this to our (chess) numbers based on participation rates in tournaments not reflecting women who are learning chess, but not playing in tournaments. At our club, we have a number of women in our adult beginner class who rarely spend time in our tournament hall - even to play casual games. So it might be good for us to take the broadest possible view of chess participation, and look at barriers that exist in moving from one level or space of participation to another.
In this regard, one concern in the cycling community was that bike shops were intimidating to women. My sister says they aren't intimidating to her; she described herself as an "early adapter" - someone who overcomes barriers more easily than others in her demographic, and who then supports others to participate. So it doesn't make bike shops less intimidating to her, because she's never had the problem, but she has noticed bike shops have started selling "pretty baskets" in an effort to convince women that shopping for bike parts is "just like buying shoes." And she says it's working: more women do attend such shops. Along these lines, she suggested our chess club offer good coffee and tasty snacks in our playing hall.
I recently did a profile on a new female player at our club, Teresa Lee, and reflecting on what she told me, my sister's comments made a lot of sense. I think it's fair to describe Teresa as an "early adapter" in tournament chess, just as my sister is in cycling.
She said that cycling has had low participation rates among women, and that there has been a recent (and partially successful) general effort to rectify the problem.
First, there may be issues in measurement. For example, data collected based on cycling commuters crossing the Brooklyn bridge doesn't show the much higher numbers of women who ride around their neighbourhoods. I compared this to our (chess) numbers based on participation rates in tournaments not reflecting women who are learning chess, but not playing in tournaments. At our club, we have a number of women in our adult beginner class who rarely spend time in our tournament hall - even to play casual games. So it might be good for us to take the broadest possible view of chess participation, and look at barriers that exist in moving from one level or space of participation to another.
In this regard, one concern in the cycling community was that bike shops were intimidating to women. My sister says they aren't intimidating to her; she described herself as an "early adapter" - someone who overcomes barriers more easily than others in her demographic, and who then supports others to participate. So it doesn't make bike shops less intimidating to her, because she's never had the problem, but she has noticed bike shops have started selling "pretty baskets" in an effort to convince women that shopping for bike parts is "just like buying shoes." And she says it's working: more women do attend such shops. Along these lines, she suggested our chess club offer good coffee and tasty snacks in our playing hall.
I recently did a profile on a new female player at our club, Teresa Lee, and reflecting on what she told me, my sister's comments made a lot of sense. I think it's fair to describe Teresa as an "early adapter" in tournament chess, just as my sister is in cycling.
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