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You Can't Solve the Gender Gap in Tech If You Don't Understand Why It Exists

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Re: You Can't Solve the Gender Gap in Tech If You Don't Understand Why It Exists

#3
Gender gap isn't a problem to solve. It may be a symptom of many things, such as harrassment, discouragement, discrimination, or environmental biases that make women less comfortable than men. Gender gap is smoke, go find fires the need to be put out, and solve those. Otherwise you'll slam into a wall because the "optimal" ratio does not exist and has no consensus, but specific harmful behaviors and and systems are indefensible.

Re: You Can't Solve the Gender Gap in Tech If You Don't Understand Why It Exists

#6
post #4

"Stop missing the complex issues and relying on the simplified pipeline cliché" but then immediately invoke the basement-dwelling, hoodie-wearing, male neckbeard stereotype?

Yes.

Because the focus of the article is about how the gender gap/discrimination in tech issue is nuanced, and the other is literally talking about default stereotypes in tech and how they are damaging.

Literally, the article invoked a stereotype, because the overwhelmingly common stereotype is damaging.

Re: You Can't Solve the Gender Gap in Tech If You Don't Understand Why It Exists

#7
> Girls in elementary school show equal interest and aptitude as boys when it comes to coding

That might be true today, but it's a steaming crock of made-up bullshit if they're saying it was that way 15 years ago. You know... At the beginning of the pipeline that would have produced an even distribution today.

Re: You Can't Solve the Gender Gap in Tech If You Don't Understand Why It Exists

#8
post #3

Gender gap isn't a problem to solve. It may be a symptom of many things, such as harrassment, discouragement, discrimination, or environmental biases that make women less comfortable than men. Gender gap is smoke, go find fires the need to be put out, and solve those. Otherwise you'll slam into a wall because the "optimal" ratio does not exist and has no consensus, but specific harmful behaviors and and systems are i…

I agree with you. It's frustrating when we focus on symptoms instead of the root causes, which are deeply encoded in our culture. It just makes it that much harder.

It's also frustrating when it's not discussed at all. It's hard to bring up the biases and subtle discrimination that occurs as a PoC without making a privileged person run for the hills.

I applaud people whose job is focused on bringing change to organizations. I can't imagine how difficult it is to do this work effectively.

Re: You Can't Solve the Gender Gap in Tech If You Don't Understand Why It Exists

#9
post #6
post #4

"Stop missing the complex issues and relying on the simplified pipeline cliché" but then immediately invoke the basement-dwelling, hoodie-wearing, male neckbeard stereotype?

Yes. Because the focus of the article is about how the gender gap/discrimination in tech issue is nuanced, and the other is literally talking about default stereotypes in tech and how they are damaging. Literally, the article invoked a stereotype, because the overwhelmingly common stereotype is damaging.

Not sure what you're saying, but it sounds like we're kind of agreeing, maybe? It just seems pointless to urge that we quit using tired tropes to solve a problem, but then immediately invoke another trope to make your point.

Are men coding alone in their basements really the problem?

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