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Gender Gap in Computer Science Growing
EReidJ writes "Looks like finding a compatible girl geek in the computer profession is becoming even harder, as an already wide gender gap among Computer Science majors is becoming larger. From the article: 'A Globe review shows that the proportion of women among bachelor's degree recipients in computer science peaked at 37 percent in 1985 and then went on the decline. Women have comprised about 28 percent of computer science bachelor's degree recipients in the last few years, and in the elite confines of research universities, only 17 percent of graduates are women [...] The argument of many computer scientists is that women who study science or technology, because they are defying social expectations, are in an uncomfortable position to begin with. So they are more likely to be dissuaded from pursuing computer science if they are exposed to an unpleasant environment, bad teaching, and negative stereotypes like the image of the male hacker.'"
Where's the link between "the computer profession" and having a degree in Comp. Sci.?
most of the people I know (admittadly mostly men) in "the computer profession" do not have comp. sci. degrees.
There are many paths into working in this industry, a degree in comp. sci. is only one of them. The smartest people I know do not have a degree, much less one is CS.
The basic sleazeware produced in a drunken fury by a bunch of UCBerkeley grad students was still the core of BIND. --PV
She was askin' for it, she kept talking about fingering and mounting...
Unfortunately, we are still animals. And as animals, we must compete to mate, just like any other animal. Females desire to mate with the males who are the most confident, successful (in things like "sports" and "business"), attractive, and physically strong. Geeks are generally not good at these things.
Geeks, by and large, are the people who didn't get the girl in Middle School/Junior High or High School-- and who are shunned and bullied due to their behavior and interests-- so they turned to computers instead.
This sort of thing doesn't happen to women because virtually any woman, even a heavy or unattractive one, can get a date.
Most female geeks I've met have been either [A] very overweight, [B] unattractive, [C] lesbian/bi (and therefore socially shunned) or [D] transgendered (and therefore really socially shunned)-- or, most commonly, some combination of the above. Please don't bore me with your anecdotal evidence to the contrary. I know exceptions to this rule exist.
Guy geeks become geeks because they can't get the girl in school. Girl geeks (who are rarer) become geeks because they're utterly socially rejected-- which is much, much rarer among girls than among guys. Girls usually have at least a small clique of friends, and girls can almost always find a date; a much, much higher percentage of guys are utterly alone and utterly sexually frustrated.
Thus, male geeks.
With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
They're not so bad. I think the problem is Bush gave all the good CS jobs to India and the women have enough sense to bail out and find something they can live on... except me.
The politically incorrect explanation which no-one is allowed to say is that it's much easier to get by in today's economy than it was 20 years ago. In better economic times, heroines have always dropped out of the workforce or stayed in the workforce but chosen to do things for pleasure rather then necessity. Male breadwinning expectation has always been constant.
Doesnt matter, cause as a geek girl you are probably fat, ugly or fugly.
I think women are just smarter than men. CS is a dumb degree. Math, Computer Engineering, Physics, these are all real fields of study. Computer Science is a nothing degree, it's like Lite(tm) beer. Why would a smart person pursue a useless degree?
"This mission is too important to allow you to jeopardize it." -- HAL
Whooo, where to start. How crap like this gets modded insightful I will never understand, unless the fascination with Jackie Chan films are to blame, and wildly inaccurate propaganda pieces like "hero" (which ended with a lengthy quote from the prince by machiavelli, originally written to flatter a political figure in Italy at the time and make hime feel better about being an asshole)
But whatever your position is, as a CS person, you are socially classified as a geek.
Thats because Americans worship ares, as per the book the Cryptonmicon, by Neal Stephenson.
It's just the way Western societies have been largely static for centuries now--people idolize artists, entertainers, businessmen....and the Western mind hasn't really adjusted to that yet as far as I can tell
At least the west has a society that has lasted centuries, and changed drastically during those centuries (static my ringpiece, talk about propaganda in action, lets ask Marie Antoinette what she thinks about that, or possibly Martin Luther King). Whatever was left of Chinese culture after the revolution was systematically wiped out by Chairman mao, and whats there now is whatever tune the current political leaders are whistling. Speaking of chairman mao, wasn't he the loon that executed like 95% of the educated population of china and left his mark forever on chinese society? See the problem was, he was an uneducated peasant, and feared anyone with an education. Very forward looking and embracing of technology. His body is still preserved and raised for the worship of the chinese masses every year, by the way. And as for static societies, China of all people cannot afford to throw bricks.
Chinese people are very much in tune with what is practical for getting ahead, both as a country and individually.
See above for the tune the Chinese people are dancing to.
There is a combination of old Confucian elements
Confucius ha. You are alone when you are born, and you're alone when you die. Better get used to the idea my bucko. Thats all I have to say on confucius.
In China, it's in fact the 'arts' majors who are looked down on.
You are somehow toting that as a good thing...
Chinese girls are in fact much more inclined to study science and tech
Well its a good thing they are no longer required to have their feet bound from birth then isn't it? Or no wait, that practise still happens all over China. Honestly if I had a choice between being a woman in Chnia and being a woman in Iran, I'd have to think long and hard about it.
A society which respects litigation and playing the stock market more than science and technology won't stay ahead too long.
Why does everyone assume western society starts at florida and ends in seattle? The old world is still very much alive and well, thank you very much. In fact most projections indicate the EU will be the next superpower, and if you think thats stagnant, baby you have a whole other think coming. With half the population of China and a vastly more advanced infrastructure, industry and educational system, unified Europe is the number one economic power on earth. All China is right now is a source of cheap labour with fixed currency rates to keep that labour permanently cheap, and it will be playing catch up for a long, long time.
What he can't kill, he has sex on. Trent.