From Ligaya and Elizabeth:

We started talking about the number of women in PHP world. Elizabeth Naramore and I know we aren't the only ones (between the 2 of us we could count ~10 other women in the PHP world). There have got to be more then that. So if you are a woman and a PHP developer - stand up and be counted.

We think it would be a great idea to start a women's group for PHP programmers and we want to know who's with us. We've all noticed the lack of females at conferences, user groups, and in print - let's get together and change those numbers, shall we?

If you're interested in this kind of group, you can send off an email to Elizabeth at elizabeth _at_ naramore _dot_ net or just post a comment to this entry over on Ligaya's blog.

The Zend Developer Zone also has their perspective posted today, talking about how the idea was formed and the above discussions on the topic.

Elizabeth Smith has also shared a few thoughts with the community on the "women of PHP" idea.

This topic came up after an Atlanta PHP meeting a few months ago, and I've been asked the same question several times since then. So, what exactly is an acceptable rate for a PHP programmer?

To one person, I answered within the scope of the Java world (since this person has more familiarity with Java programmers). I recommended that PHP programmers receive pay comparable to Java programmers. To another person, I recommended that, as a freelancer, he not accept a job for any less than a specific rate comparable to that of Java programmers.

He talks about the differences in the job market between Java and PHP, mainly due to the low entry level requirements that PHP has. Usually, someone charging a "bargain basement" kind of price for an application is usually the one with less experience.

I want to see PHP programmers paid well for the work they do. Let's face it: anyone can call themselves a PHP programmer, but not everyone programs in PHP well. You should be paid a competitive rate for your skills as an excellent PHP programmer.