I'm actually being placed on the other side of the fence here, I don't have a clue what "gender discrimination" looks like in the broader tech world, all I know is that in my company, the techies are equal in numbers, male and female (thought not of course by design.)
I find it sad that I often see a great group of people and a group which I would absolutely love being able to join, but that it is exclusively for women, is this really how we want to solve a perceived gender discrimination? By creating another one which leans the other way?
So often politics of gender, race, sexuality, etc. seems to over shadow what these groups should really be about, which is bringing people together to learn and have fun experiences. Men and women can have these fun experiences together, we don't need to invite purely men or women, imagine the backlash if "blokes who code" had a male only tech group.
It's very easy to play the "under-represented" card, but the fact of the matter is this: women in the U.S. ever so slightly out number men. There is absolutely nothing stopping women joining in with the tech industry, there is no law, no patriarchy standing in their way, the only thing stopping a woman from joining the tech industry is herself.
> the only thing stopping a woman from joining the tech industry is herself
What about the fact that we, as a society, are biased against women in technology (all of us, even women)? For example, tech resumes with a female name will be rated lower than that same resume with a male name. Not only in competence but in other categories like "bragging too much" or "how much you would like to work with this person".
How is starting pyladies "playing an under-represented" card? That implies it requires an "excuse". Women ARE underrepresented in technology.
Yes, women can legally join the tech industry, but we as a society can do a lot to make that easier. If you ask young girls their gender before they take a math test, their scores drop. Should we tell them to just get over it and do better at math? Bias is society-wide and can't be solved that simply.
One way to help is to support groups like PyLadies. Keep up the great work Selena!!
Interesting read, but some of the articles seem to be hearasy (no sources listed beyond "so and so seems to remember"). Additionally, some of it seems pretty hairtrigger stuff--body image triggering?
I find it sad that I often see a great group of people and a group which I would absolutely love being able to join, but that it is exclusively for women, is this really how we want to solve a perceived gender discrimination? By creating another one which leans the other way?
So often politics of gender, race, sexuality, etc. seems to over shadow what these groups should really be about, which is bringing people together to learn and have fun experiences. Men and women can have these fun experiences together, we don't need to invite purely men or women, imagine the backlash if "blokes who code" had a male only tech group.
It's very easy to play the "under-represented" card, but the fact of the matter is this: women in the U.S. ever so slightly out number men. There is absolutely nothing stopping women joining in with the tech industry, there is no law, no patriarchy standing in their way, the only thing stopping a woman from joining the tech industry is herself.