Women Geeks
Written by The Geekette on August 21, 2005 – 11:10 pmPosted in Ramblings, Users |
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Loading ...A few days ago, I found a post that mentioned one of my websites - Aleeya.net 
. The whole string was a post about women geeks and techs. One of the opening comments really made me stop and wonder.. in it read:
"What do you think about women in technology? Do you think we should change technology so women could fit? Science has always been about using logic. And women tend to use emotions. So do you care if women are more involved in science?"
Talk about a self centered egotistical male.. This one is a prime example. I mean seriously.. "change technology so women could fit in? puhhhhhlease! It is a good thing not all boys and men have this attitude.
True, there aren’t near as many women into computers.. and I have been told the ones that are mainly do web and data basing, programming. I don’t know whether to believe this or not. In fact, a co-worker and I had a discussion over this about a month ago. He had made the comment that working in a male-dominated field must make a woman to strive harder to be better. It does. And, from many of the female techs I have seen can do just as good of work and more times than not.. better work.. than male counterparts.
Maybe it is that extra push to be more.. to be better.. to have to prove yourself better than the opposite gender. This day and age, we are taught not to be biased in gender. But.. all that seems to go out the window in the tech world. It really sets us back quite a bit too. Instead of being given the chance to be someone, and enjoy what you do, it shows women that they have to prove their selves to men and the public to fit in. It should not be like this!
It doesn’t matter if you are a man or woman. What matters are the skills. If you know your stuff - no matter what gender you are - than you know your stuff. Period. That is what people should be judged on as a tec.. the skills.
About 2 days ago, I also ran across this article Why More Women Aren’t Geeks. It talks about how once again women are a minority in the tech world. This one comes down to math and science being taught in school and to what ages they are taught in different countries vs the number of female techs and relates tech to the Science and Math background.
Is it the right brain - left brain syndrome? Is it about how men use the analytical skills of the brain side over women who supposedly use emotion? Or, is it about other things too…Imagine being a female tech surrounded by men out in the field. You show up at a home ready to fix the computer. An older man answers the door and says ‘Oh, I am sorry, I was expecting a computer tech, not someone from sales” It is a bruise to the ego, but after politely explaining to the customer I am the tech and after repairing his computer, he did apologize. I told him I do not think twice about it, because I am faced with it day in and day out. It almost makes me wonder if society seems to be not as acceptable of female techs. But, we have outgrown that bias.. Haven’t we?
Related Links:
Aleeya.net
Why More Women Aren’t Geeks
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August 29th, 2005 at 1:33 pm
I can’t say that I’ve notice any gender bias in any of the companies I’ve worked for, but then I’m in a different part of the country than you are (I’ve seen some indication that you’re in the South, and I’ve spent all but the last year of my life in a place that would be considered liberated, as far as gender bias is concerned anyway, even for California.)
Based on my observations I think I could say that men, in general, are better in technical positions. I don’t think this has anything to do with aptitude, however; it’s entirely an effect of interest.
I’ve met plenty of men for whom technology is a hobby which they’re able to earn money at, but I’ve not yet met a woman who felt that way. Such a person, by their very nature, will go above and beyond the requirements of a technical job by virtue of their own drive to know more about the technologies they’re working with, Ultimately, these are the people who will most likely excel at the job, and any sane system will recognize that, at least to some extent.
The women I’ve worked with seem to only view technology as a job; a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, and certainly not something they’d waste any of their spare time on.
I don’t have any explanations beyond the obvious “survival of the species” based ones, but I can say that I’ve noticed a lack of interest in technology and science among women and girls over the course of my life. Relatively few girls have any interest in video games, for example, and once I left high school and started persuing my engineering degree I found fewer and fewer women in my classes; not just the engineering specific ones, but the more general classes as well, such as Calculus and Physics.
In my opinion, there aren’t many women in tech and science positions because there aren’t many women interested in tech and science positions. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen any actual barriers to women in the industry.
August 29th, 2005 at 7:32 pm
Maybe that is where I differ. I do not know. I love computers and technology. It is notjust a job, not just a hobby, but it is a way of life for me. At work, at home, even on vacation. It does not matter. I live, eat, and breathe computers anymore. Maybe it is an obsession, but I can say one thing - I love doing my hobby for a job. The more I can learn, the better I enjoy it and want to learn even more. Curiosity skilled this cat
August 29th, 2005 at 10:49 pm
I think there are many female sysadmins as there are web programmers, unless by “programmer”, one means “web designer”. When I go to sysadmin user groups, it tends to be about 10-20% female. Maybe female sysadmins are more likely to be hobbyists than female programmers - I don’t know.
Of course there are barriers to women in the tech industry. It takes a certain volume of dedication to face colleagues that will not take your qualifications at face value just because of your demographic.
August 30th, 2005 at 8:10 am
I think sysadmins in general tend to be move hobbyist than programers. My friend and I share an apartment; he’s the programmer, I’m the sysadmin. I am the one who collects the old hardware to build another server to do something with, and he just enjoys having me around to fix the computers when they break, so he can go on programming and not have to worry about the hardware side of things. So I wouldn’t say that women sysadmins are more hobbyist…but rather sysadmins in general are.
August 31st, 2005 at 9:34 am
I was in the rather fortunate position of growing up with my dad, who was a computer programmer in the Air Force (retired now). When I expressed an interest in computers in any shape or form, I wasn’t discouraged from reading stacks of PC Magazine, Computer Shopper, or anything else. Begging and pleading for a couple of years got me my own computer, which I proceeded to learn how to do all sorts of fun and useful things on (namely learning how to thrash your system and then fix it
). I gradually began to learn that there was more to a computer that just video games and graphic programs - conveniently enough, Dad kept all of his programming books freely available for browsing.
Fast-forward a few years later, and I’m a phone operator (woo-hoo!) - a job is posted for a web designer. Though I have no “formal” training, my dabbling may be enough to get me by. To my utter suprise - it did. I was lucky enough to get a boss who was forgiving enough to let me learn everything I didn’t know and willing to learn it. Currently, I am now the system administrator of the company I work for.
I think hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm for the field you work in (no matter what field it is) will show, no matter what your gender. Though I haven’t met the “gender wall” in my part of the country among the professionals that I deal with, I don’t bring it up and I don’t make it an issue of it. ‘Cause it really doesn’t mean anything - it’s irrelevant. “They” like computers, you like computers - it’s all good!
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:37 pm
Of course there are barriers to women in the tech industry. It takes a certain volume of dedication to face colleagues that will not take your qualifications at face value just because of your demographic.
That’s a cop-out.
As I attempted to point out, the situation starts way before that’s even an issue. My college math classes (calculus and above) have been, at best, 30% female. Physics, electronics, and programming classes have all been, at best, 10% female. My current school has NO females in any of its Computer Science courses, despite the fact that the head of the department is a woman.
Honestly, I could make at least as strong a case that I face “barriers in the industry” because I’m a white male, and thus too “costly” to hire. It would be a bogus claim, though, because the skillset I’ve developed, and my dedication to constantly expanding it, have meant that I’ve never been out of work for more than 10 days, even when the tech job market was at its worst.