You are missing the point a little I think. Women make up more than 50% of the world population, and only 1% of Free Open source Software contributors are women. That is beyond absurd. (20% of proprietary software contributors are women, which is also low, but not nearly as low as FOSS)
Projects CAN and SHOULD make their community as welcoming as possible to non-majority members. In the case of your example, if that group were constantly making anti-american jokes, it would be a problem that should be addressed, but if they are just as welcoming to US contributors as European, there is no need for an outreach program because most US citizens are not marginalized, and have equal opportunity to contribute and have their contributions considered seriously and respectfully.
Outreach programs are important, #1 because your project will get more contributors in general, and #2 because it will give a group that is often ignored, and maybe even harassed, an opportunity for learning and contributing that they wouldn't otherwise have.
On that note, outreach doesn't have to be anything as organized as a whole new group for women, there are lots of existing groups you could contact. Make a post to Dev Chix, Linux Chix or other women's tech groups and ask if anyone would be interested in joining your project. A few invitations and welcoming words can really go a long way.
Re: AP
Projects CAN and SHOULD make their community as welcoming as possible to non-majority members. In the case of your example, if that group were constantly making anti-american jokes, it would be a problem that should be addressed, but if they are just as welcoming to US contributors as European, there is no need for an outreach program because most US citizens are not marginalized, and have equal opportunity to contribute and have their contributions considered seriously and respectfully.
Outreach programs are important, #1 because your project will get more contributors in general, and #2 because it will give a group that is often ignored, and maybe even harassed, an opportunity for learning and contributing that they wouldn't otherwise have.
On that note, outreach doesn't have to be anything as organized as a whole new group for women, there are lots of existing groups you could contact. Make a post to Dev Chix, Linux Chix or other women's tech groups and ask if anyone would be interested in joining your project. A few invitations and welcoming words can really go a long way.
-meskarune (Dolores)