
Sexism in tech: Deepdive - rbanffy
https://girl-germs.com/?p=745
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Powerofmene
Sexism will never change, in any industry, until those who believe it is
unfair take a stand. I have had the pleasure to work in both male dominated
and female dominated domains and have seen the sexism in both. People are
people with individual belief systems, backgrounds, social experiences, and,
yes, prejudices. All of these things color our every interaction.

Nothing is changing despite the plethora of conversations surrounding the
topics of treatment of people in general, whether that be based on gender,
race, orientation, cultural heritage, disability or religion. Zero tolerance
policies have not made a difference and women, specifically, 'shouting from
the rooftops' has made little impact. Maybe we all just need to treat each
other with respect and as equals and when we witness something that is less
than we would personally expect, then we take a stand.

I have repeatedly heard the excuse of that individual "is on the spectrum."
Autisim is a diagnosis not an excuse and it certainly is not a "get out of
trouble card." That applies both to those with autisim and those who use the
"oh, he has autisim," as a means to placate. I have worked with thousands of
individuals with disabilities and particularly those on the spectrum. I have
yet to meet an individual who wanted to be treated as "special"; they want to
be treated as every other man or woman in their industry. Yes, boundaries and
facial expressions and directness can be difficult but work with people to
understand what is acceptable/appropriate. It will take time but even
individuals with autisim are capable of making adjustments to their behavior.

And I truly hate when women are disparaged for 'shouting from the rooftops' or
the 'on the spectrum' statements used repeatedly to shut down these
conversations. I wish people would make constructive, creative suggestions on
how to make the workplace comfortable for everyone.

In short, an open, safe dialogue is needed. Laws prohibit these actions yet
Lawsuits have not worked. The press has brought a great deal of attention to
these matters yet the debate rages on.

