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Getting Young Women Interested In Open Source

Posted by Soulskill on from the stop-making-them-uninterested dept.

New submitter Jason Baker writes "It seems like a perennial question: 'How do we get more women involved in tech?' The open source community, like any other part of the technology industry, is grappling with finding solutions that are more than just talking the talk of diversity, but actually make some demonstrable difference in the numbers. While there have been numerous success stories, the gender gap is still rampant. The answer, at least to one freelance entrepreneur, is providing strong role models of women using open source to have fun and make money. But is that enough to make a difference?"

3 of 545 comments (clear)

  1. In what? by Curunir_wolf · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's not "open source" that I'm looking to get them interested in...

    --
    "Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
    --- Jerry Garcia
  2. Brain Change by sphealey · · Score: 4, Informative

    So... how was it that women's brains were "wired" for programming from 1940 to 1985 [1], but suddenly around 1990 they stopped being interested in "coding" and "IT"?

    sPh

    [1] From 1940-1950 approximately 100% of programmers were women; from 1950-1980 the percentage was still very high and probably a majority. 1984 was the peak year for women graduating with engineering degrees since WWII and a large percentage of those women took CS degrees.

  3. Re:I'm male but... by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Informative

    Supporting your point, the nurses I've known face sexual harassment far beyond anything female programmers endure. But there are still plenty of female nurses.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."