Does the gender of an admin have any effect on the community?

[Cedric]

Does the gender of an admin or a forum's staff team have any effect on the community, how it's managed, how members react or what kind of people join the forum?

I think it's possible that for some very specialist types of forums, people might be a tad suspicious if the owner is of a gender which is contrary to the site topic. Like say, a forum for moms or dads might seem strange if someone of the opposite gender was the site owner/admin and I suspect it might struggle to gain activity.

I've also wondered whether it has an effect in communities and industries which have very, very well known problems with sexist attitudes and stuff. For example, there's a lot of criticism of sexism in the gaming industry and community, and I've sometimes wondered whether it has a direct effect on the popularity of one website or forum compared to another.

So what do you think? Does the gender of a forum's admin have any effect on the community or popularity of the website?

 

[Arantor]

Yes, it absolutely has *an* effect though the effect varies between niches.

Highly technical forums are usually expected to be run by men, a woman running one will no doubt find some awful “but you’re just a woman, what do you know” because the tech space is basically awful.

I’m sure you can think of other examples.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Sadly yes I can see gender affecting the community. I would even say that the niche may play a part in it for sure, but even general discussion forums could be a target of hate if certain toxic people learn that a person who is a certain gender is running the community, they could potentially cause harm to the community by harassing not only the staff but the members participating in the community.

 

[Uncrowned]

In my experience it has little to do with gender and most communities build around their admins quite well. The largest problem that I encounter is when significant others are placed in admin roles with no real reason to be there and most of the community just sees one admin doing all the work and the other mostly just hanging out. In most cases, this generally seems to be a male admin making a female significant other as an admin based on personal relationships and not admin abilities, do it is quite common to see that admin looked down upon and all-in-all there is some merit to that fallout. Not that couples can't run forums together or that there are not ways to place your significant other on a pedestal, but it needs to be done right.

 

[Arantor]

Not that couples can't run forums together or that there are not ways to place your significant other on a pedestal, but it needs to be done right.

I am a poster child for this - the roleplay experience I have is solely because of my wife, who started her own RP forum years before I even met her, and it's been a voyage of discovery for the both of us because she's more of a people person, I'm more of the technical side and we tag-team things.

The largest problem that I encounter is when significant others are placed in admin roles with no real reason to be there and most of the community just sees one admin doing all the work and the other mostly just hanging out.

Interesting - you don't find that there's an issue around whichever gender is 'less likely to be there' to be kept at a certain amount of distance because they're not expected to be there fundamentally but are doing so because their partner brought them in?

I don't habitually follow gaming forums but the few I've helped out on along the way were never places that could be described as female-friendly and a female admin coming in tended to be perceived as weird unless they're really into gaming - and even then I could expect a certain amount of 'but you don't play real games' pushback because this is what I've seen.

 

[Debashis]

Yes, the gender of a forum's admin can potentially have an effect on the community and the popularity of the website, especially in specialized forums related to gender-specific topics. In industries with known issues of sexism, having a gender-diverse admin team may help attract a more inclusive community and improve the website's reputation.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

Maybe a bit, as there is that occasional user that doesn't want to pay much respect to a female staff member.

 

[Cheryl]

LMAO...first the person across from you is always a man unless there is proof.
I think in the end it doesn't matter what gender the administrator is as long as he maintains the community well I think.

 

[Reverie]

I have found if there is a female on the admin team there is typically more creativity. Now typically with forums the admin team is predominately males and that isn't a bad thing, but every once and a while with a female admin it just creates a different vibe. Perhaps it's also depending on the particular female. I'm thinking of one community, she ran it beautifully and kept it going. Her members were dedicated and continued even when she did not frequently post. It was a dream community honestly. Maybe this was also due to the genre of the forum and etc as well. I definitely held a lot of respect for her.

If your admin has a passion for the community, regardless of gender it will typically go fantastic.

I think if it's not typical to have a gender in a niche, it will create more interest. There might be some toxicity around that interest, but it will be kind of publicity/advertising on its own. I would use that to my advantage. The only thing I would find weird is if it is a "Mom" community to help with the needs of perhaps birth/post-birth and etc.... It'd be strange for a male to be an admin. I would think it's fine for a male to be a member though because shoot men need to be supportive of their partner and perhaps are looking for advice, especially if mom isn't around anymore and they need advice from females.

 

[Paul]

I once seen a forum for women only and it was run by a man, that was definitely dodgy. No, I wasn't a member, saw the ad on proboards support

 

[Gemma]

I think a lot of it depends on the forum niche. Definitely in the past places like tech, sports or gaming forums weren't really places where you'd expect a female admin - don't know why but that was just the way it was...things have maybe moved on in recent times (hopefully).

I think a mix of genders is good for a site in terms of audience, creativity and output. As mentioned, sites with female admins can be more creative and productive from what I've seen.

Slightly off-topic but I've personally been abused online on a support forum for refusing to help people with their site(s). I've also been scammed out of payment for work I've done for people in the past. I've put this down to being an "easy target" because I'm female which is why I usually don't frequent forums, stay invisible online and generally tell people I don't have much knowledge (which is true but I also think I'm one of the most creative people on my forum platform in terms of design). So yes, I do believe gender has an effect.

 

[Cedric]

I think a lot of it depends on the forum niche. Definitely in the past places like tech, sports or gaming forums weren't really places where you'd expect a female admin - don't know why but that was just the way it was...things have maybe moved on in recent times (hopefully).

I think a mix of genders is good for a site in terms of audience, creativity and output. As mentioned, sites with female admins can be more creative and productive from what I've seen.

Slightly off-topic but I've personally been abused online on a support forum for refusing to help people with their site(s). I've also been scammed out of payment for work I've done for people in the past. I've put this down to being an "easy target" because I'm female which is why I usually don't frequent forums, stay invisible online and generally tell people I don't have much knowledge (which is true but I also think I'm one of the most creative people on my forum platform in terms of design). So yes, I do believe gender has an effect.

It's a shame you had to go through that. Some people would scam their own family. It's truly sad. You're also right about the gaming forums part. If you run into an online lobby on a multiplayer game like let's say COD and hear a woman talk, 95% chance you'll have babies disrespecting the woman or just guys shouting "A girl?! Girl?" like they never seen one before just like a bunch of seagulls...

And you're also right about being creative. I love following progress of Idle Chatter.

 

[Arantor]

I think a lot of it depends on the forum niche. Definitely in the past places like tech, sports or gaming forums weren't really places where you'd expect a female admin - don't know why but that was just the way it was...things have maybe moved on in recent times (hopefully).

I think a mix of genders is good for a site in terms of audience, creativity and output. As mentioned, sites with female admins can be more creative and productive from what I've seen.

Slightly off-topic but I've personally been abused online on a support forum for refusing to help people with their site(s). I've also been scammed out of payment for work I've done for people in the past. I've put this down to being an "easy target" because I'm female which is why I usually don't frequent forums, stay invisible online and generally tell people I don't have much knowledge (which is true but I also think I'm one of the most creative people on my forum platform in terms of design). So yes, I do believe gender has an effect.

The sad part is that you're really not alone in these experiences; I know far too many admins who've reported much the same on all fronts.

A mix of genders is great in general if the genre can carry it off, but too many genres have a strong in-built bias one way or the other which makes it... interesting... if you're on the wrong side of that bias, and it absolutely does cut both ways depending on where you look.

 

[Henrywrites]

Maybe a bit, as there is that occasional user that doesn't want to pay much respect to a female staff member.

Those are the issues and I wish a change happens soon. The gender of a site owner shouldn't be a yardstick to how they are being treated and I don't understand why users are having such mindset that it does.

 

[Jason]

I honestly don't view it as important, but I came of age in a tolerant society.

 

[Arantor]

I honestly don't view it as important, but I came of age in a tolerant society.

Society isn't tolerant.

This is why women in tech are underpaid compared to men, treated as less competent than men and generally belittled in general. Tech forums generally perpetuate this, as often do gaming forums.

Meanwhile a lot of writing forums are predominantly female admins and don't take kindly to men being near their space.

 

[Jason]

Society isn't tolerant.

This is why women in tech are underpaid compared to men, treated as less competent than men and generally belittled in general. Tech forums generally perpetuate this, as often do gaming forums.

Meanwhile a lot of writing forums are predominantly female admins and don't take kindly to men being near their space.

Well, I don't tolerate it on my forum or bullies.

 

[NeoMetallix]

I think it does make a difference but not in the way you would think. Men and women biologically are different and science has shown we think differently. So that naturally will have some effect on the forum. Not for better or worse, just of difference.

Gemma, I think is correct. A mix is good. Women and men can be creative but in different ways. That creativity difference can really feed off of each other.

 

[TimelessSailor]

I think it does make a difference but not in the way you would think. Men and women biologically are different and science has shown we think differently. So that naturally will have some effect on the forum. Not for better or worse, just of difference.

Gemma, I think is correct. A mix is good. Women and men can be creative but in different ways. That creativity difference can really feed off of each other.

Yeah I feel this way too! I've been reading the book "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" (to try to understand my wife ) -- while stereotypes do not apply across the board I think most women tend to build social connection through relating to one another's experience/feelings. I have noticed on boards I've had with women on staff things definitely flowed a bit differently!

 

[Kale]

Not really, no. I have worked with and for male presenting and female presenting Admins/owners before. I never questioned it or anything back then and never did now. Gender means zero to me when it comes to someone owning a forum or website. I think what I don't like is when the owner appoints their girlfriend/boyfriend or husband/wife to be co-owner or a mod of the forum. Drama has happened before with that on some spaces I was a part of.