What is this obsession with getting women to become developers?
Me
I can't say about fresh graduates, but we work with experienced developers of both sexes, and there is really no difference between them - they just really like to make stuff. Unlike writing, I can't tell if a man/woman wrote what code.
And to be honest, we want more women developers.
The Obvious
Why are most professional drivers male? Why are most construction workers male? Why are most engineers in general male? Why are most pilots male?
The opportunity cost is higher for women to enter these fields.
Labor Market Economics
One Slashdot comment: "IT companies are tired of paying
$100k/yr for programmers. They're trying to flood the market. Getting
women into Programmer is just one part of this."
This makes business sense. If it's already hard to get more people to join the field, why not break into a new market, with all the feminist rhetoric about "equality"? Increase the supply, lower the cost.
Follower Mentality
The current mainstream female view of developers is not positive, compared to other IT related careers. (eg. project management...middle management...sales...) And in this, there is this whole culture of looking at STEM as some kind of tool. I have a female colleague (Web Developer) who likes to state "I am not a programmer."
If a counter-trend is somehow set up, it could be big.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Why should people who are not self-professed dorks, nerds, geeks, techies or geniuses (in that order) attempt to compete with those who are passionate about problems that seem too difficult or mundane to the vast majority of people? Why should they try to join this circle of people? To them, it sounds like a dead-end and not a cave full of treasures waiting to be excavated.
Or the long hours. You can't just put up with real development work, you have to completely absorbed the program. Why do that when you can go shopping, get drunk and have fun?
Also, being a developer seems to be just a section of most people's career paths. They don't remain developers because it will grow to be as mentally demanding as one is mentally able.
Fairness
Why should it even be equal? We don't hear people complaining that there are not enough male teachers in today's schools. Or that dads aren't spending enough time with kids. We accept those biases and recognize the differences in interests, without resorting to conspiracy theories.
Conclusion
All is well.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Why should people who are not self-professed dorks, nerds, geeks, techies or geniuses (in that order) attempt to compete with those who are passionate about problems that seem too difficult or mundane to the vast majority of people? Why should they try to join this circle of people? To them, it sounds like a dead-end and not a cave full of treasures waiting to be excavated.
Or the long hours. You can't just put up with real development work, you have to completely absorbed the program. Why do that when you can go shopping, get drunk and have fun?
Also, being a developer seems to be just a section of most people's career paths. They don't remain developers because it will grow to be as mentally demanding as one is mentally able.
Fairness
Why should it even be equal? We don't hear people complaining that there are not enough male teachers in today's schools. Or that dads aren't spending enough time with kids. We accept those biases and recognize the differences in interests, without resorting to conspiracy theories.
Conclusion
All is well.
2 comments:
We need more male nurses too. There aren't enough male nurse role models.
Every time I encounter a male nursing student, his tone is almost apologetic. The first question people ask after hearing he studies nursing is "how is the male/female ratio of your class".
This whole game is/caused by collectivism. People are not just males and females (or any other politically correct sex). In reality we are all far more than that.
This labeling is degrading to everyone. I am not just a guy/male/man. This keyboard is not just a keyboard. The women are not just women. They have their own ways, nobody needs to be encouraged/pushed. "Hey girl! Be a developer!" You know what someone with healthy self-respect would do? They'd think twice.
I've never liked it when I would be asked "how is the m/f ratio in CSE?", especially if it's a prospective student. What does it matter anyway?
This sort of gender activism has been insulting our intelligence for so long. If anything, I try very hard to catch myself consistently putting people in neat little categories and labeling them.
The more one thinks about it, the more ridiculous it gets.
-- The Bigger Picture --
When people see themselves as their assigned labels, they start to act like it. Someone labelled as prisoner #0293 will become this prisoner #0293. I've come to consider myself as a graduate because that's what people say I am. Everybody has their labels.
How do we change? To begin with, believe that people do unexpected things. Believe in your ability to surprise yourself. Allow yourself to realize what the labels don't cover. Observing the unexpected is the best cure for stuck-up-ness. And lastly, limit exposure to intelligence-insulting articles!
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