11–20 of 174 posts
30 points and on the front page, yet basically no commentary. That's a message by itself.
Sexism seems to be a problem in this industry, along with many other industries. But I don't really know what you expect people to discuss every time an article like this gets posted to hacker news.
When I see articles like this (and the issue of sexism in computing does pop up quite often) I usually agree. It is there. But what can be done? I myself have been a disgusting example of a male engineer at times. And as much as I would love to permanently erase any male/female alteration of my behavior in a professional context, the reality is I do not become asexual when I go to work. I'm still a man. What to do?
Well she writes like a junior because she is. But the main points she makes - subtle sexism regarding capability in the face of equivalent effort - are certainly observable and do ring true. When I see articles like this (and the issue of sexism in computing does pop up quite often) I usually agree. It is there. But what can be done? I myself have been a disgusting example of a male engineer at times. And as much as…
Did she really use the word 'sausagefest'? Ouch. That noise was credibility slamming the door on the way out.
are sexism and sexual harassment the same things? To me it sounded like she listed examples of both. I mean like the stranger in the night isn't exactly "sexism in tech", it is more like industry unrelated harassment bordering on assault. I'd venture to guess that such harassment/assault is even less probable from a college educated tech workers than from other demographic groups.
The "Stranger in the Night" comment is definitely harassment, but it is not hard to see how its occurrence is relevant to the larger issue.
I have heard most of these things, and it sucks. This is hella real.
Most of these incidents just sound like guys who were genuinely trying to be nice or funny, but because anything can be seen through the lens of sexism, this woman took the opportunity to consider herself oppressed.
I am reasonably convinced that even those trying to be nice or funny can be sexist, and in fact, can be sexist while trying to be nice or funny. I am also convinced that sexism is a societal problem, and not the hand-wringing of a few key dudes. There are plenty of things in Computer Science / engineering / etc that are trying to be nice/funny, but contribute to a strong culture of sexism.