Technology: Where have all the women gone?
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That's awesome to hear about your friend! I'm a female geek and proud of it
I'd love to go back for my masters in Software Engineering (great program nearby for it), but I need to convince my husband that we can handle it if I go back to school. From what everyone tells me, my love of computers started when one of my uncles let me (back when I was like 2 or 3, I think) sit with him while he was on his computer. I don't remember that but I do remember getting excited about them later on and really picking up programming as if it were something natural to me. While in high school, I picked up more skills and looked into my future in computing. (So much for my original dream of becoming a clarinetist in the Cleveland Orchestra!) I knew that the computing industry would be male-dominated and definitely a challenge. However, I accepted that and didn't let it intimidate me. To this day, I do what I do because I love it and I don't let the naysayers who think females don't belong in computing bother me - they don't know what they're talking about.
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Besides me, it seemed all the women replied on this thread love their jobs and would encourage their children to major in computer science.
So why did the data show women leaving IT?
I was good at Math too when I was at high school so I chose IT when I went to college. I started as COBOL programmer, then database developer in both Oracle and SQL Server, now I work as data warehouse developer. I love programming but it is the IT or company culture that makes me sick.
Maybe it was my bad luck that I never had a good job or good boss, I got burnt at all my job. I got bullied at one of my job by a male DBA and his brother. No one took me serious when I was the only woman in the group. I would not complain if all the male developers were talented. But I had to work twice as hard to show my skills to the management just to compare with the average or even low skill male developers. Still the company would value them more.
Although money is not everything, but I am still angry why man earn more than woman at the same position.
At my company, all the upper management of IT are all men. That's it, I am going to quit today !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the culture or sexism or the fact that being the only woman working in large groups of men really has some distinct downsides, particularly if you're unfortunate enough to be young/pretty.
Bless you, Grasshopper, for saying what was in my head for me.
I've been in IT for a while now, and often it's a combination of rampant sexism and a lack of understanding that life > work that keeps me from going any further with it.
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By genetics I wasn't making a sweeping generalisation, far from it.
From the 16 years I have worked in IT the people most suited to IT are geeks. I think that some people are predisposed to become geeks (anyone else remember doing the maths for other kids at Primary in your head?) and some aren't. There are lots of geeky professions - and IT is one of them.
And IT employers like younger geeks because they are often unattached and prepared to do masses of free work.
It just so happens, from my experience, that the majority of geeks are male.
Unless IT changes to be less geek-friendly then it won't attract enough non-geeks; and regardless of gender that is a big issue.
You don't have to be a geek to work in IT; but it helps!
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As a woman in IT since the 80's, I can confirm that there is a lot of sexism, and it does impact the paycheck as well as the work you are assigned and the recognition you get. (My current company is the first exception to that rule of IT, which is one of the reasons I stay here!)
We're even seeing some of that sexism in this thread, even beyond the "females are more nurturing" (as though that had anything to do with programming talent or desire for a high-tech career). And it wasn't just men who created computers and computing languages, although as usual they get the credit. Go back and find out who wrote COBOL, the main business programming language for the last five decades. I believe Commodore Grace was a WOMAN (and I can confirm this because I saw her speak prior to her death). The original programmers were mostly women, because that's who knew how to type! Go check out the history of computers - you may learn or re-learn some interesting facts about gender roles in early IT.
There are a huge number of assumptions related to IT that just are not true. I don't think of myself as a "geek", nor do other people call me one. I am an intelligent, well-read woman who enjoys working on her own cars and motorcycles - so some days I'm typing code with bandaides on my knuckles! Give up the stereotypes, people. Anyone with the skills can suceed in IT. But young girls are not encourage, and in fact are still actively DIScouraged from taking on careers (or hobbies) in fields that are seen as male-oriented. And a discouraged person will not perform well (yes, that's a pun!)
Is any of this a reason that the numbers of women in IT are dropping? Possibly, but until someone does a real study that asks women why they are leaving, or not entering the field, we won't know for sure what is driving it. One of the reasons I chose IT as a career path was because it was a relatively new arena, with lots of growth potential. Biopharm and Biogenetics are the next big up-and-comers, so it's not surprising that young people are more interested in those as careers. But the drop in percentages of women entering IT indicates to me that there is probably more than one driver for the drop in numbers. (And BTW, numbers ARE important - they are a way to measure what we experience.)
Here there be dragons...,Steph Brown
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If genetics was an issue a French man would have translated Newton’s Principia mathematica in the eighteenth century but Newton was actually translated and corrected by Émilie du Châtelet. The French still use her version of that important book.
I do software because it is fun, exiting and easy, if not for all of the above the atmosphere would have made me leave. I still think early education and improved work environment will go a long way. Just my simple minded opinion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89milie_du_Ch%C3%A2telet
Kind regards,
Gift Peddie -
Great editorial and thanks to Kathi for writing it.
I have to say that I've thought women were increasing in IT. It seems every time I go to a conference, there are more and more women, though still the minority by far.
I'm not sure why the numbers are decreasing, though the lack of a boom in IT may mean that more women are going to less stressful careers. Not to stereotype, but somewhere like HR typically has more stable and regular hours without the crazy on call situations we see in IT.
I'd like to think that some day we'll see a great balance in any industry where the mix of races and genders tends to mirror that which exist in society.
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My wife and myself have been in the IT industry since the early 1970's. I have noticed a decline in the number of women in the younger age groups. Certainly women are discriminated against but (unfortunately) that is true in most professions.
My son is currenty doing IT at university and older daughter said she would never consider it (and is doing medicine). The main factor in their decisions was the high school experience where males were encouraged in the IT courses and females discouraged. Also IT has moved from the Science facility (were women feel more comfortable) to Engineering - a well know male domain.
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