Wonderful news! At the moment of writing, it's Joomla’s (19th) birthday. 

But what is Joomla, and what are we celebrating? 

Joomla is a content management system (CMS) as we all know. However, beyond this, Joomla is all the people who support it. A huge community of volunteers who are there to build, develop, extend, teach, communicate, advocate, and so much more. 

Notably, there are many women volunteers in Joomla. Amazing women, who look after Joomla, and the community that surrounds it. This is why I dedicate this article to the amazing women of Joomla and the amazing women in technology. 

Let’s celebrate those wonderful women who contributed  to the field of technology through the years, as the impact of women in technology is not something new. Even in ancient times, women have been contributing in the field, as for example Hypatia of Alexandria, the Greek mathematician and philosopher in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Many centuries later, Ada Lovelace, was the first computer programmer in the 19th century. More recently, in the 50s and 60s, Grace Hopper, the computer scientist and Katherine Johnson, the mathematician, made their mark in technology with essential calculations to NASA's space missions. 

Many other women contributed to the field of technology through the years. Hedy Lamarr who revolutionized wireless communications, Marie Van Brittan Brown, who designed the first home security system, Evelyn Berezin, who introduced the first computer word processor, Erna Schneider Hoover, who computerized telephone switching systems, and Judith Estrin who co-invented the Transmission Control Protocol, indispensable for internet data exchange. In the recent years, women in technology have become even more visible, with leaders in organisations like YouTube, and Facebook, and movements towards greater diversity like Girls Who Code, Women Who Tech, Women In Tech, and many more. 

Joomla women, the pioneers in open-source Content Management Systems

Similarly, Joomla, which is an award-winning open-source content management system (CMS) and today has its birthday, has been impacted significantly by numerous talented women. Those women have contributed to the code base, towards building the community, in managing projects, in advocating the CMS, and so much more. 

In the upcoming months, I will be interviewing some of these remarkable women whose work has left an indelible mark on Joomla and the wider open source and tech community, so, stay tuned.

For the celebration of Joomla's birthday, I am going to interview Anja De Crom, the talented writer and journalist, whose spirit lays behind the Joomla Community Magazine (JCM). Please allow me to present:  

Anja de Crom

Could you please introduce yourself?

I'm Anja de Crom, I live in the Netherlands. I’ve had a very diverse career path (think street musician, shop girl, office manager, factory worker, executive secretary and creative activist, to name a few). Eventually I became a journalist, writer and editor. I discovered Joomla somewhere along the way, and when I started inventing projects just so I could build a website, I figured it might be time for a career switch. So after 15 years of writing, I switched to web development. I did that for 10 years and then one of my clients came up with a very interesting job offer I couldn't refuse; now I'm coordinator communications and digital products at a great company. The job has both aspects of my previous work in it and it's pretty awesome.

Can you tell us about your role as a Joomla volunteer—what is it that you do?

I'm team leader of the Joomla Community Magazine. I started working for JCM in 2020, and two years later I became team leader. My job is to make sure we have a good number of interesting articles each month, to push, hunt, chase for articles as well as for authors, keep our authors motivated, help authors with their writing, edit articles, write something every now and then, stuff like that. What I consider my most important job, however, is to keep the TLC - Tender Loving Care - flowing. I think my role should be renamed to Chief Happiness Officer aka TLC Dudette ?, because this is super important. Good vibes make good energy, and that's what we need as a team.

What does Joomla mean to you?

Joomla has been my only source of income for ten years so it played an important part. I will never forget the moment I discovered: hey, I'm actually really good at this! (and over the years I kept getting better - also a revelation).

I joined a JUG shortly after building my first website and met a lot of smart and creative people there, all really friendly and eager to help each other. To give back to Joomla for providing this amazing software (and because the previous organizer left), I started coordinating the group. My first talk at a Joomla event was not much later. In the following years I joined the Dutch JoomlaDays team, toured the country giving talks at JUGs and co-organized a couple of unconferences. 

None of this felt like an obligation or like work, it's just something I do and like.

What makes you particularly happy volunteering for Joomla?

Doing something I’m really good at and contributing to a product I love, together with a lot of great people in a community that fits me.

If you could change something about your whole Joomla volunteering experience, what would that be?

I would like to see a drastic change in the way we communicate. I’d like us all to be friendly, or at least neutral and polite. Too often feedback is delivered with judgment, sometimes it's clearly a personal attack. And the other way around, sometimes neutral feedback is received as personal. Since I consider myself TLC Dudette, it hurts me when things like this happen.

Do you think being a woman in the Joomla community makes a difference and how?

That's a difficult question. I'm a pretty loud person, I'm fast to respond and I have a good sense of humor (even if I say so myself). That often comes in handy. 

I’ve been around in this community for quite a while, and in terms of men responding to me I’ve seen a lot: men who are surprised by my knowledge, men who come to a presentation and afterwards repeat - OK mansplain - everything I just told them, men complaining about a presentation being too technical… But that's in real-life situations. 

Looking at what I do for JCM, I think most people respect me for what I’m doing. For this, gender makes no difference. I value the work of the authors and treat everyone in a friendly and respectful way, and usually that's what I get back. 

Would you encourage women to volunteer for Joomla? Why (not)?

Yes. I would call upon everyone who is considering volunteering for Joomla: do it. Be part of this awesome CMS and help make its community grow larger, more diverse and better!

Is there anything else you would like to share with the world as a woman in technology?

I think we shouldn't just focus on gender or any other part of people's identity alone. 

What I do and what this means for others, that's what counts. Having said that: our community could benefit from a little more diversity and inclusion, curiosity and a genuine interest in each other, and from embracing our differences. A group of people with the same voices sounds like a soccer tribune: loud and intimidating in unison. You need different voices to make truly beautiful music.

Anja de Crom, thank you so much for your contribution to Joomla through the years. You are the soul of the Joomla Community Magazine, an amazing Joomla woman! The Joomla community is so lucky to share this incredible journey with you.

Anja de Crom is one of the women of Joomla who have been instrumental in transforming the CMS into the vibrant and dynamic platform it is today. By lifting barriers, and fostering a collaborative atmosphere, Anja has not only propelled Joomla forward but has also sparked a wave of inspiration, encouraging others to dive into the project and the community.

Again, thank you Anja!

Please stay tuned, next month we have another amazing woman to celebrate!

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*Many thanks to Crystal Dionyssopoulos for sharing the article nowebwithoutwomen.com for inspiration, and to Mr Daniel Dubois for his support to the women of Joomla. Your support and kindness are appreciated.