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Women Dropping Out of IT
Women's eNews has an interesting look at women in tech, with numbers showing that women are bailing out of the IT field at a rapid pace. "Technology jobs are predicted to grow at a faster rate than all other jobs in the professional sector, up to 22% over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compensation is also good. In 2008, women in tech made an average salary of $70,370. ... But women's stake in that rosy outlook is questionable. For starters, men's pay during the same time period was $80,357. A study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology ... also finds that women are leaving computer careers in staggering numbers. 'Fifty-six percent of women in technology companies leave their organizations at the mid-level point, 10-20 years in their careers,' said Catherine Ashcraft, the senior research scientist who authored the report. In 2008, women held only 25% of all professional IT-related jobs, down from 36% in 1991, according to the group's report, 'Women in IT: The Facts.'"
The fact is that blatant sexism exists in the industry.
It was there 15 years ago when I was brought in as an outside consultant - during all-coders meetings the guys would spend all their time in pissing contests. I finally went to Isabelle after one meeting and said "look, you and I both know they're full of it, and that your work is much better than theirs. Speak up - I'll back you all the way!" She felt she couldn't because she knew the guys would resent a woman being right.
The next gig - same thing. Watch out for the prima donnas - the guys. Can't bruise their egos. One in particular - Peter - "be careful because if he feels threatened he'll stop eating and he'll mope and make life miserable for everyone again."
Another gig - "Women don't have what it takes to be real programmers." Really?
Another gig - The men outnumbered the women 7 to 1 ... the testosterone was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Men - the after-interview discussion would revolve around whether they could do the job, how their white-board presentation went, their answers to questions. Women - "nice tits - does she have a boyfriend?"
Nothing has changed. If a woman expresses herself the same way a man does, "Stop PMSing". Don't put up with the sexist remarks or unwelcome advances? "You're a lesbian." Act HALF the prima donna that a guy does, "You're just a woman - stop being such a princess." If you're a woman, you opinion counts for less, you'll be second-guessed, paid less, and if you don't accept it you're such a c*nt. And if you DO get along with your boss, everyone else will automatically assume you're having some sort of an affair and that's why you have the job you do. White-board presentations? If after a year the men still only know what you look like from the neck down, why would you expect them to suddenly put their attention elsewhere?
If you don't believe it, videotape the next meeting, then watch the tape.
It's not just IT - I was in another office, and the woman who OWNS the company was talking to a guy-friend who's known her for years. We were talking about marketing, and discussing what people first notice about other people. She believed that men noticed the smile or the eyes. He agreed - "Absolutely!". I said "Absolutely NOT!" I put my clipboard between their faces, and asked "okay, so what color are her eyes?" He guessed - wrong ... That relationship went downhill after that ...
It's not just in IT - but you'd think that people would be a bit more intelligent in IT than elsewhere. They're not.
Because if we have two employees who have worked at SuperCo Computing for 5 years
John, who was raised to love technology by his father, played electronic chess when he was 7, took apart and reassembled radios, and was typing in programs from magazines on his Apple II when he was 9, and knew from when he was 7 he wanted to go into technology or science
and
Elizabeth, who was raised playing with dolls, had a social life, and decided at the last moment "computers might be a good career, and I'm marginally good at math"
we all know that even if John runs circles around Elizabeth in productivity and skills that since they've both worked there 5 years Elizabeth should make as much money as John, right?
If you want to blame someone for the fact that men are generally better than women in IT, blame parents and society for socializing them that way, don't try to alter reality and pretend that women are just as good as men (in general) in IT and should be paid the same in all cases based on experience only.