Craftsman, Craftswoman, Craftsperson, …. -ship?
This is a post I’ve been sitting on for a while, sharing with a few individuals but not publicly. Following a recent post from Uncle Bob on a very similar topic, it seems like a reasonable time to share.
Strictly speaking, “craftsman” is gender neutral. That’s what the dictionary says. It also says that “policeman” is gender neutral, though I think most people would use “police officer” if they were actually trying to be gender neutral. Etymologically, the “-man” in all of these words refers to humanity at large, not a specific gender. However, this alone is indicative of the fact that to be male is considered the default, and to be female or non-binary is to be secondary.
The same dictionary also defines separate entries for craftswoman, policewoman, etc. But there’s no word to specifically indicate a male craftsman, or a male policeman, because these are already the default; the maleness of the subject can be implied simply by not qualifying the word with “woman”.
Anyway, it really doesn’t matter what the dictionary says, because dictionaries are always slow moving and stale anyway. What matters is how people use and interpret the word, which they do for the most part without precise knowledge of the dictionary definition or etymology of the word. We have the words “craftsman” and “craftsmanship” sprinkled all over the software industry, and for some of us, there’s no gender intended or perceived in this. But for others of us, it is an insinuation (one among many faced throughout the day) that to be male is the default for an engineer, and to be anything else is to be Other.
Moreover, the use of gendered language, intentionally gendered or not, can exacerbate well known biases that pose a threat to the success and inclusion of non-male persons in our industry, which itself is a threat to our industry at large. Studies (such as some of those cited and summarized here) have shown that the use of gender-non-neutral language can actually cause non-male persons to be diminished or outright disappear from a subject’s mental representation. For instance, if you ask someone to consider their entire team, they will generally call to mind a representation that includes everyone on their team regardless of gender. If you then ask who among them are the best software craftsmen, there is an increased likelihood of non-male team members fading away in this representation. This comes into play when considering raises, promotions, task assignment, and other forms of recognition or sponsorship and can negatively impact non-male team members, which in turn, negatively impacts the entire team. Contrast this with more gender neutral language such as “who is the best software craftsperson” or even “who has the strongest sense of craft”, which are less likely to trigger the same biases.
Word Choice
All that being said, craftsperson works ok, but craftspersonship doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
Some alternatives that have been suggested and considered are:
- crafter / craftership
- crafter / craftiness
- crafter / craftitude
- artisan / artisanship
- engineer / engineership (because really, most of the “software craftsmanship manifesto” is just about not being a sucky engineer)
Some additional reading:
- http://blog.cleancoder.com/uncle-bob/2018/05/02/Craftsman-Craftswoman-Craftsperson.html
- http://alittlefeministblogonlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/01/female-craftsman.html
- http://hammerstoneschool.com/from-the-interns-desk-craftsmanship-gender-bias-and-different-words/
- http://communication.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-470
