[TriLUG] The biggest deterrent for women in tech

[William Sutton]

I had the same job search problem from 2003-2004 (13 months unemployed 
because nobody wanted a junior programmer with <5 years of full time 
professional experience).  Ended up leaving NC to find a job and (except 
to get some DMV records) haven't been back.  Thus my status as a long-term 
expatriate member of TriLUG :-)

William Sutton

On Thu, 2 May 2013, Esther L wrote:

> Marketing of careers is one reason that some young females give for lack of
> interest in going into computer science.  Couple that with socialization to
> be 'nice' and the encouragement of any display of nurturing behavior. It is
> not at all clear to teenagers that you can use computing to improve
> people's lives or to have a large beneficial effect on people. It also
> looks from the outside like programmers spend their days alone in a cubicle
> and there is no teamwork in the job. Young people don't see female role
> models who are working in tech in a way that benefits people's lives.
>
> IEEE and ACM (and some engineering socieities) have made efforts at
> marketing, showing that you can have a career working on pacemakers, or GIS
> tools for urban planning, or air bags.  You can have a career in tech
> helping people - you can choose differently than vet, social worker, nurse,
> dentist,... There are also efforts to show that people in tech work in
> teams, and that the work life is not spent wholly alone in a cubicle.
>
> If you are interested in this topic, I recommend this book
> http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/unlocking-clubhouse
>
> I have a chart that was created by a Girl Guides program during the 1990s
> which shows a circular diagram of what careers you stop being qualified to
> do, the less math you take in high school and/or college. there are
> multiple Girl Scout programs around STEM.
>
> At various times I have volunteered in Expanding Your Horizons, Engineers
> Week, ToyChallenge, Sally Ride science festival, and SWE essay contest.
>
> I decided to go into computing around 1980. High school counseling had
> nothing to do with my choice, and had little information.
>
> During the 2002-2004 timeframe, I considered getting out of tech. I was
> having trouble finding a job in the downturn.
>
> Esther Lumsdon
> On Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 2:12 PM, Rob Rousseau <ki4bke at nc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> Thought that this would be relevant given the recent discussion on here.
>>
>> http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/30/the-biggest-deterrent-for-women-in-tech/?hpt=hp_t3
>>
>> "Most notably, both male and females respondents reported that a lack of
>> "female role models" in the tech community is the top deterrent for why
>> more women aren't pursuing tech-related careers."
>>
>> -Rob
>> --
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>
>
>
> -- 
> ----
> Esther L, estherlist at gmail.com
> "It happens that creeping requirements tend to contain more bugs than
> original requirements. Testing defect removal efficiency is also lower
> against creeping requirements." Capers Jones
> -- 
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