51–60 of 74 posts
*we as in the general HN audience, which is safely assumed to be largely male
> One of our goals at Dev Bootcamp Chicago is to change the ratio of women in software development: we want a 1:1 ratio in our cohorts. Why? That's a serious question. My hobbies include writing, blacksmithing, cooking, and ceramics. In writing, around half the people are women. In blacksmithing perhaps 3% are women. In cooking probably 90% of the blogs I read and people who take classes are women. In ceramics it's a…
The question of 'why' is an important one, indeed. For example, I suspect that the disparity in cooking and ceramics is not due to a [perceived] unwelcoming culture, or a [perceived] pervasive attitude that men who are entering the field are inferior by default. It might be that women are considered inferior in blacksmithing; I'm not a blacksmith, though, so I don't know. I do know one woman who is a blacksmith, howe…
I don't know about the US but in Europe this is not true. There are quite a few gay males (5% to 10% which is what you'd expect) in the courses that I took in maths, physics and computer science, and there are a lot of women in fields like biology. The number of women in mathematics and physics is also higher than in computer science, although still less than 50%.
One of the best comments on this topic I've seen was by a girl at Stuyvesant on learning computer science: "Before taking the mandated Intro class last year, when I heard 'computer science,' I pictured nerdy boys, who turned into nerdy bearded men, slouched over huge computers and click-clacking out codes that meant nothing to me. There’s nothing wrong with nerdy boys, comp sci just didn’t seem like something I would…
This explanation sounds offensive, but to me it's quite uplifting. Instead of giving women gifts to compensate for our "creepiness", we need to become non-creepy, and women will come. It's a winning proposition for everyone, no?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tech/IT is already starved for qualified employees, and the 'Startup Visa', even if it is signed into law anytime soon won't completely solve that. In the US, more degree earners are women now than men, so that is one large untapped talent pool for the tech industry. We ignore it to our detriment.
> In the US, more degree earners are women now than men, Not in STEM, which constitutes the vast majority of the degrees relevant to Tech/IT.
One of the best comments on this topic I've seen was by a girl at Stuyvesant on learning computer science: "Before taking the mandated Intro class last year, when I heard 'computer science,' I pictured nerdy boys, who turned into nerdy bearded men, slouched over huge computers and click-clacking out codes that meant nothing to me. There’s nothing wrong with nerdy boys, comp sci just didn’t seem like something I would…
One of the best comments on this topic I've seen was by a girl at Stuyvesant on learning computer science: "Before taking the mandated Intro class last year, when I heard 'computer science,' I pictured nerdy boys, who turned into nerdy bearded men, slouched over huge computers and click-clacking out codes that meant nothing to me. There’s nothing wrong with nerdy boys, comp sci just didn’t seem like something I would…
Wow. Now I wonder why it took me so long to see this answer, it's so obvious in retrospect. Of course women don't go into CS in large part because they consider male nerds unattractive. Though male sexism is an important reason, I always suspected that it's not the main reason. This explanation sounds offensive, but to me it's quite uplifting. Instead of giving women gifts to compensate for our "creepiness", we need…
> One of our goals at Dev Bootcamp Chicago is to change the ratio of women in software development: we want a 1:1 ratio in our cohorts. Why? That's a serious question. My hobbies include writing, blacksmithing, cooking, and ceramics. In writing, around half the people are women. In blacksmithing perhaps 3% are women. In cooking probably 90% of the blogs I read and people who take classes are women. In ceramics it's a…
I'm sorry, but "why?", by itself, is never a serious question. Except in cases of extreme naivety, it's a challenge, or worse, a roadblock, posed to force a reexamination of the underlying assumption. In this case, the underlying assumption is that the field of web development would be enhanced by a more equal ratio of women to men. Your "why?" implies a host of reasons, bounded only by imagination, why this might no…
You seem to be saying the reasons behind having a 1:1 ratio are self-evident. And not saying that nicely.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Women can bring different skills to the table; for example, they tend to possess more developed language skills and to be far more engaged in social media. Women are also more likely than men to talk through problems. Those seem like valuable skills, especially in a money-strapped startup environment where everyone wears several hats.
"Women are also more likely than men to talk through problems." Citation required. Positive stereotypes like this create just as hostile a work environment as negative ones.
The author cites several studies to back up those assertions. Agreed on the positive stereotype bit, though--I think people rely far too much on anecdotal evidence simply because the way that people talk is difficult to distill and quantify.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow. Now I wonder why it took me so long to see this answer, it's so obvious in retrospect. Of course women don't go into CS in large part because they consider male nerds unattractive. Though male sexism is an important reason, I always suspected that it's not the main reason. This explanation sounds offensive, but to me it's quite uplifting. Instead of giving women gifts to compensate for our "creepiness", we need…
You aren't creepy. This particular issue is reverse sexism. But heaven forbid it should ever be seriously discussed while there are all those 'neckbeards' out there to point fingers at.
But that's not to say it needs to be 1:1. (There's no high-paid profession that is 1:1, is there?) I think it's valid to question that we need to have an equal ratio, although I agree we have to improve a lot.