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Why women in tech are so angry all the time

mashable.com

31–40 of 88 posts

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#31
post #28
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue here is it's asking women to be activists. Few companies want activists. Most companies want to achieve fairness and equal opportunity, but they also do not like agitators (because one can never have control over agitators, you never can know their next target, so to be safe, most companies tend to not want them around). It's the same conundrum with double agents. You agree with them helping your intelligen…

Substitute race for gender and this argument totally falls apart. If you see a black colleague being treated unfairly and do nothing because you don't want to be seen as an "agitator" or "activist" then you are part of the problem . Full stop. The same goes for women.

There is an interesting face to this coin though, the "don't be a snitch". You're saying "be a snitch".

Yes, being a snitch would probably improve the lives of people in lots of places, and yet it does not happen often because it can be destabilizing (despite people not liking the people they could snitch on). Companies do not like this "unknown". They do want to do the right thing, just not via activism/snitching. Because just as other groups of people who see the downsides of snitching, companies see the same.

This is asking too much from other women. Sure it’s a good thing for the group to pint out bad behavior, but it comes at a price for the individual doing the reporting.

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#32
post #23
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird take on a news site focused on tech. Posts about other industries are often met with 'why is this here?' But anyway, is there a female-dominated industry that promises upward mobility that men are clamoring for acceptance in and failing to get it? And, speak for yourself, I only did IT when I was in high school and now I work in cutting edge technolgy.

The cutting edge technology you work in wouldn’t happen to be information related, would it?

All of matter is 'information related', until the heat death of the universe. What's the purpose of your question?

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#33
post #31
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Substitute race for gender and this argument totally falls apart. If you see a black colleague being treated unfairly and do nothing because you don't want to be seen as an "agitator" or "activist" then you are part of the problem . Full stop. The same goes for women.

There is an interesting face to this coin though, the "don't be a snitch". You're saying "be a snitch". Yes, being a snitch would probably improve the lives of people in lots of places, and yet it does not happen often because it can be destabilizing (despite people not liking the people they could snitch on). Companies do not like this "unknown". They do want to do the right thing, just not via activism/snitching. B…

Sticking up for someone being harassed or treated unfairly isn't "being a snitch"

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#34
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is an interesting face to this coin though, the "don't be a snitch". You're saying "be a snitch". Yes, being a snitch would probably improve the lives of people in lots of places, and yet it does not happen often because it can be destabilizing (despite people not liking the people they could snitch on). Companies do not like this "unknown". They do want to do the right thing, just not via activism/snitching. B…

Sticking up for someone being harassed or treated unfairly isn't "being a snitch"

I'm explaining why this isn't the best path toward equal treatment. Companies may agree with your specifics but not the method.

Snitching on the neighborhood bully would be a good thing. Snitching on a company cooking the books, etc. But people also can't trust the snitch. Companies can't trust activists (whatever their persuasion).

Some other expressions of this are seen as “men clam up” in front of me. Basically they now don’t want something to be misinterpreted. It’s to be expected.

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#35
post #31
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Substitute race for gender and this argument totally falls apart. If you see a black colleague being treated unfairly and do nothing because you don't want to be seen as an "agitator" or "activist" then you are part of the problem . Full stop. The same goes for women.

There is an interesting face to this coin though, the "don't be a snitch". You're saying "be a snitch". Yes, being a snitch would probably improve the lives of people in lots of places, and yet it does not happen often because it can be destabilizing (despite people not liking the people they could snitch on). Companies do not like this "unknown". They do want to do the right thing, just not via activism/snitching. B…

I would never use the word "snitching" to describe sticking up for marginalized/mistreated people. Nor would I ever work for a company that sees it as such.

For me, no amount of money is worth compromising basic human decency but YMMV.

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#36
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sticking up for someone being harassed or treated unfairly isn't "being a snitch"

I'm explaining why this isn't the best path toward equal treatment. Companies may agree with your specifics but not the method. Snitching on the neighborhood bully would be a good thing. Snitching on a company cooking the books, etc. But people also can't trust the snitch. Companies can't trust activists (whatever their persuasion). Some other expressions of this are seen as “men clam up” in front of me. Basically th…

>Snitching on the neighborhood bully would be a good thing. But people also can't trust the snitch.

You're projecting. Maybe you wouldn't trust the "snitch". Most educated people would see him/her as a victim and show sympathy.

This isn't prison for crying out loud.

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#37
post #35
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is an interesting face to this coin though, the "don't be a snitch". You're saying "be a snitch". Yes, being a snitch would probably improve the lives of people in lots of places, and yet it does not happen often because it can be destabilizing (despite people not liking the people they could snitch on). Companies do not like this "unknown". They do want to do the right thing, just not via activism/snitching. B…

I would never use the word "snitching" to describe sticking up for marginalized/mistreated people. Nor would I ever work for a company that sees it as such. For me, no amount of money is worth compromising basic human decency but YMMV.

What's the difference?

Whether it's in school or your neighborhood or work. Stick up for what's proper in school or neighborhood labels you a snitch. You're trying to do what's right. And it is the right thing, it's just that people cannot trust that person from then on.

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#38
post #37
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would never use the word "snitching" to describe sticking up for marginalized/mistreated people. Nor would I ever work for a company that sees it as such. For me, no amount of money is worth compromising basic human decency but YMMV.

What's the difference? Whether it's in school or your neighborhood or work. Stick up for what's proper in school or neighborhood labels you a snitch. You're trying to do what's right. And it is the right thing, it's just that people cannot trust that person from then on.

My god, where on earth do you live?

Re: Why women in tech are so angry all the time

#40
post #4

Just because men do a bad thing, doesn't mean every single man is responsible for that. Not to mention all men have mothers, and they play a huge part in how their children grow up to treat others. To solve a problem, the root cause must be found, and the root cause of harassment is NOT other men. Sure men could help, but articles like this seem to demand it, like they're yelling at men, as a group, for the actions o…

The assumption is that somehow every man is complicit. Like we all know about every bad thing that happens to women in our lives and workplace. Not only that, it assumes we have the power to fix things or make changes and we just choose not to. I don't know about other men but it absolutely alienates me from "the cause". I'm not having anything to do with people who start out by assuming I'm part of their problem.

I find articles like this annoying but this woman doesn't speak for all women in tech. Presumably some women can relate to her experiences, others can't. Some women will agree with her proposed solutions, others won't. Assuming the goal here is just to provide a workplace where women are treated fairly and not subject to harassment, I think that is a fair thing to ask for. I agree that as a man, it shouldn't be my job to police other men. If a woman comes to me and asks me for help with something, I will try to help her, but I'm not going to monitor interactions between my male and female colleagues for improper behavior.
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