Girly Geekdom have been having a series of constructive discussions on similar lines to this one!
http://girlygeekdom.blogspot.com/2007/07/me-tarzan -you-jane.htmlhttp://girlygeekdom.blogspot.com/2007/07/geeks-can -be-chicks.htmlhttp://girlygeekdom.blogspot.com/2007/08/barriers- in-set-surely-not.html
These subjects seem to come round year on year and little seems to happen, however maybe this is the tipping point. The comments here on Slashdot show many issues, a number of potential solutions and a whole host of different view points.
It seems to me that women see some discrimination, sometimes they don't help themselves, but sometimes they are just totally put off by the way the industry is as a whole. Some of the stats that people throw around show a decline of women in the tech industry, but what they miss is that young people in general (not just females) are declining tech degrees in favour of others, which suggests that there are wider issues with the tech industry than just the gender issues. Issues that are putting women off are also putting men off too.
Why would guys or girls want to be in an industry where it is deemed to be late night working (often a myth in many companies... but not all... just a case of doing your homework!), inflexible (also not always the case with home working these days) and unfriendly (depends on the individuals surely!). Then you add competition into the mix and there's the recipe for disaster. So, how do we fix the issues. Well it seems to me that no one wants this sort of culture, businesses loose out, individuals loose out... and guess what the industry has another skills shortage!
The cycles have been seen before, the comments have been raised before and no one is picking up on the obvious. Be flexible, be sensible and be nice to each other. Who cares what gender you are? (or rather who should care... ) A good work culture should encourage people to learn from one another and create a nurturing culture rather than a competitive one. It's about time everyone in the industry demands such things from their organisations, not just women.
Lets make the tech industry an interesting, fun, innovative, exciting and enticing place for current and next generation techies to enjoy!
Slashdot Mirror
Girly Geekdom have been having a series of constructive discussions on similar lines to this one! http://girlygeekdom.blogspot.com/2007/07/me-tarzan -you-jane.html
http://girlygeekdom.blogspot.com/2007/07/geeks-can -be-chicks.html
http://girlygeekdom.blogspot.com/2007/08/barriers- in-set-surely-not.html
These subjects seem to come round year on year and little seems to happen, however maybe this is the tipping point. The comments here on Slashdot show many issues, a number of potential solutions and a whole host of different view points.
It seems to me that women see some discrimination, sometimes they don't help themselves, but sometimes they are just totally put off by the way the industry is as a whole. Some of the stats that people throw around show a decline of women in the tech industry, but what they miss is that young people in general (not just females) are declining tech degrees in favour of others, which suggests that there are wider issues with the tech industry than just the gender issues. Issues that are putting women off are also putting men off too.
Why would guys or girls want to be in an industry where it is deemed to be late night working (often a myth in many companies... but not all... just a case of doing your homework!), inflexible (also not always the case with home working these days) and unfriendly (depends on the individuals surely!). Then you add competition into the mix and there's the recipe for disaster. So, how do we fix the issues. Well it seems to me that no one wants this sort of culture, businesses loose out, individuals loose out... and guess what the industry has another skills shortage!
The cycles have been seen before, the comments have been raised before and no one is picking up on the obvious. Be flexible, be sensible and be nice to each other. Who cares what gender you are? (or rather who should care... ) A good work culture should encourage people to learn from one another and create a nurturing culture rather than a competitive one. It's about time everyone in the industry demands such things from their organisations, not just women.
Lets make the tech industry an interesting, fun, innovative, exciting and enticing place for current and next generation techies to enjoy!