Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

themacro.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 491 posts

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#91

Post by hnbroseph »

NTDF9 wrote: post #58
reitanqild wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try rather with: "ask a male nurse". That is more comparable, i.e.: both are perfectly normal, but both are not too common for historical and possibly other reasons.

But I'm not trying to 'balance' anything out. Equality means equal regardless of gender. So if one can have "Ask a female athlete", why not "Ask a male athlete". Your example is valid too. This is a genuine question. How would it be unequal for males to start such a forum for anything they want?

the point of "ask a female engineer" or "ask a male nurse" is that these are "minority groups" in those respective contexts and have distinct life experiences and insights as a result.

> So if one can have "Ask a female athlete", why not "Ask a male athlete".

you seem stuck on the "can have" bit, which isn't really the point.

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#92

Post by FT_intern »

throwanem wrote: post #80
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because any aspect of the human condition as experienced by women, or minorities, or anyone really, is a problem unique to that sub-group. Apparently. And needs to be explicitly called out as a problem. I don't get it. I mean, as a middle-aged white guy in an affluent society with social welfare and healthcare I've never experienced anything uncomfortable, of course. Never experienced anything unpleasant.

Come on, man. How many middle-aged white guys, or white guys, or just guys , have you seen hounded out of our industry by death threats and rape threats? I despise identity politics, but I kind of think you have to be trying pretty hard not to see that there's a problem here.

How many women have? If there are any, it most likely has to do with their political activism instead of their gender.

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#93

Post by [deleted] »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #61
houselouse wrote: post #19

> Invite women you work with for coffee No chance of this being misinterpreted. Invite women you work with for coffee and ask what they like or dislike about their day-to-day. If they mention concerns or problems they’re having, ask if there’s any way you could help make it better.

I think this could be misinterpreted as a setup for a date. I'd think that if some dude asked me and we hadn't had much small talk at the office. At the same time, it isn't horrible advice. It really all depends on the situation and your current 'comfort level' with the person. I mean, if you've been working together some time and have chatted at the office, might not be an issue. It might help to mention that you wa…

[deleted]

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#94

Post by zamalek »

20years wrote: post #48
redDictionary wrote: post #22

I would like to ask a female engineer some things. 1) do you think there are more men in engineering exclusively as a result of men being prejudiced against women? 2) do you think your male co-workers are less qualified to be engineers because they were hired for their gender? 3) one of the engineers in this article said she felt uncomfortable being aware of being the only female. Can anyone explain what causes the d…

My answers as a female. 1.) Not completely. This profession isn't appealing to a lot of women for many reasons outside of it being prominently male dominated. 2.) No 3.) In my early career I was always the only female on smaller male dominated teams. New male devs that came in initially automatically assumed I was administration. It only took a few days for them to realize what I did and all had total respect after.…

Personally I'm in agreement with the rhetoric that blames the interests that we expose our children to, this tweet[1] really sums up that whole situation (though I'm not so naive to think that this is alone to blame). Some more questions:

1. Did you have [what shouldn't be] atypical interests as a girl?

2. If yes, did other girls discriminate against you because of those interests?

My thinking is that it's a compounded problem: as liberal as I might try to be with my children, their peers might disuade them from doing what they want to do (primarily because of their archaic upbringing). It's always good to re-evaluate your beliefs, so I'm genuinely interested here.

Regardless, thanks for your insightful comment.

[1]: https://twitter.com/mariofusco/status/772677525885640704

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#95

Post by Jtsummers »

grahamburger wrote: post #79
houselouse wrote: post #19

> Invite women you work with for coffee No chance of this being misinterpreted. Invite women you work with for coffee and ask what they like or dislike about their day-to-day. If they mention concerns or problems they’re having, ask if there’s any way you could help make it better.

Even if it's not misinterpreted by her, it could be misinterpreted by friends / colleagues / SO's if either of you are married or in a serious relationship. Inter-gender relationships are hard :( I'm reminded of this xkcd[0], 'Hooray! we've solved the problem of drama!' [0] https://xkcd.com/592/ EDIT: I should add a bit of context. I am self employed as a contractor, but my 'boss' at my biggest client - the one that…

I agree that things can be misinterpreted, but that's not a reason to avoid relationships with people. It's a reason to keep things clearly communicated. And if people choose to gossip and act like high schoolers, let them. Maybe call them out on it, depending on the nature of your professional/personal relationship this can be easier said than done.

But, maybe this is just me, I'm not going to forfeit my good relationships with women (several single, attractive) just because my SO is getting jealous. If she doesn't trust me, then that needs to be addressed directly. And if she can't trust me, that's a bad sign for the relationship in the long-term.

If my coworkers start rumormongering because I go to lunch or coffee with a female colleague, they need to grow up. Men and women are quite capable of having professional, and personal, relationships that remain entirely platonic. And barring these sorts of professional relationships on the basis of gender means reducing the professional network of both people, which can result in long-term career setbacks. This is exactly the sort of thing that can hold women back in a male dominated field.

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#96

Post by NTDF9 »

hnbroseph wrote: post #91
NTDF9 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But I'm not trying to 'balance' anything out. Equality means equal regardless of gender. So if one can have "Ask a female athlete", why not "Ask a male athlete". Your example is valid too. This is a genuine question. How would it be unequal for males to start such a forum for anything they want?

the point of "ask a female engineer" or "ask a male nurse" is that these are "minority groups" in those respective contexts and have distinct life experiences and insights as a result. > So if one can have "Ask a female athlete", why not "Ask a male athlete". you seem stuck on the "can have" bit, which isn't really the point.

>> you seem stuck on the "can have" bit, which isn't really the point.

Ok, so you wouldn't oppose if a man goes and creates a group called, "Ask a brogrammer?"

brogrammer = funny slang for male programmers, not meant to offend anyone but to bring male humor to other males

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#97

Post by user5994461 »

The solution to all gender problems: Actively ignore all topics and articles with "woman" or "female" in the title.

People are who they are and go where they want. Tech is no exception.

When one walks into a car garage, one doesn't make a fuss about mechanics being all men.

When one walks into a kindergarden, one doesn't make a fuss about teachers being all women.

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#98

Post by tomc1985 »

zamalek wrote: post #78
tomc1985 wrote: post #38

The more attention you draw on diversity, the less diversity you receive. Diversity is supposed to be impartial and tolerant, yet it seems the prescribed approach is to carve out separate "spaces" for different feelings and situations. How is this building bridges in the so-called "gender divide"? True diversity is complete and utter impartiality. Why are we focusing on all these useless, pretty, inspirational soluti…

I think that getting women involved in STEM does exactly this: > attacking the mental characteristics that lead to sexist thought It's a forcing function. I really think that the current plan is the most logical approach given the current situation; though, we do need to eventually move away from it. Exactly when is going to be hard to nail down; too soon and everyone will revert to their sexist ways, too late and it…

> I think that getting women involved in STEM does exactly this: > attacking the mental characteristics that lead to sexist thought

I agree, but only as long as the end result is the best candidate for the job being hired. Granting special consideration to a group is just as bad as shutting them out.

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#99

Post by cbcowans »

fatdog wrote: post #83

Two questions: 1. In the same job (say, sr. developer) with equivalent qualifications, what differences in approach, behavior, and performance can one attribute to someone being a man or a woman? 2. How would you recommend responding to a peer, a subordinate, or a superior who behaves in a way that reinforces negative stereotypes about their identity?

I've taken note of your questions for our future posts. Thank you for asking!

Re: Introducing “Ask a Female Engineer”

#100

Post by [deleted] »

throwanem wrote: post #80
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because any aspect of the human condition as experienced by women, or minorities, or anyone really, is a problem unique to that sub-group. Apparently. And needs to be explicitly called out as a problem. I don't get it. I mean, as a middle-aged white guy in an affluent society with social welfare and healthcare I've never experienced anything uncomfortable, of course. Never experienced anything unpleasant.

Come on, man. How many middle-aged white guys, or white guys, or just guys , have you seen hounded out of our industry by death threats and rape threats? I despise identity politics, but I kind of think you have to be trying pretty hard not to see that there's a problem here.

[deleted]
Post reply on HN