An open Letter to Women in Tech

Post by factorial » Fri, May 18, 2012, 5:52 PM UTC

aspir wrote: post #4

jamiew wrote: post #2

I'm amazed anybody, male or female, would speak at an event where tickets cost $600 and they won't even pay for speakers' airfare & lodging.

Conferences are lower margin than you think, particularly in tech. They're normally thrown for the good of the community or as a loss leader for some other business/product. If you're lucky, there's a slim profit that can be reinvested into the next conference, or that allows you to pay yourself for the insane hours put into planning. In all, tech conferences are generally a labor of love.

Post by factorial » Fri, May 18, 2012, 6:10 PM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #12

factorial wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you assume that the community is unwelcoming toward women? Isn't it just equally plausible that women just don't really want to be in technology-oriented fields? Maybe they just much rather prefer other areas. I know, the thought that men and women are actually different is deeply troubling to those who think that the only differentiator beween the sexes are a couple of sex organs.

I'm not just making assumptions. e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3731441 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3894404 and https://plus.google.com/106119964731604142156/posts/DkFAzuwm... and a lot of other stories. I do believe that's the only difference, actually. Girls are not encouraged to enter tech nearly as often as boys are. Also they have fewer women as role models in tech. So it's not surprising…

Post by factorial » Fri, May 18, 2012, 6:24 PM UTC

factorial wrote: post #13

sp332 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not just making assumptions. e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3731441 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3894404 and https://plus.google.com/106119964731604142156/posts/DkFAzuwm... and a lot of other stories. I do believe that's the only difference, actually. Girls are not encouraged to enter tech nearly as often as boys are. Also they have fewer women as role models in tech. So it's not surprising…

Hmm... Couldn't it just be that men are discouraged (!) from entering basically any field other than science/technology these days? Just have a look at the gender distribution in most majors. Why is nobody making a fuss about creating more "education opportunities" for men in medicine, journalism, communications, education, or just about college in general?

Post by factorial » Fri, May 18, 2012, 6:31 PM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #8

tomjen3 wrote: post #6

Just a quick question: has there been any research indicating that more females want to be in tech? That females are unfairly (ie other than ability) excluded? I realize this may seem a silly question, but so far all I have heard is what percentage of females are programmers, but by the same argument men are being prevented from getting a career in nursing.

This article has some information: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1643180

Post by factorial » Fri, May 18, 2012, 6:46 PM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #16

factorial wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say that the statistics speak for themselves. If you (sp332) say that women are discouraged from entering tech, it's just as valid to claim that men are discouraged from entering basically any other field. Besides, I get the uncanny impression that you have some political agenda, as evinced by your lack of facts and reasoning in your arguments, and substituting it by mere claims and rhetoric.

Me? You asked, Isn't it just equally plausible that women just don't really want to be in technology-oriented fields? And I said, yes, but that's not the whole story. Also, I don't believe there's a biological imperative to enter tech. Of the two of us I'm the only one who's presented any evidence.