> "Some schools, often girl-only schools, simply don't offer ICT [information and communications technology] at A-level and the girls wanting to do it have to go to a nearby boys school to learn it," she says.
For what it's worth, I went to a public magnet school for computers, AND a private school in which every person had a laptop. I learned nothing of tech in either school, and I taught myself everything I know. (They wouldn't let me take the classes I was already studying at home)
> And among girls who carry on and study science at university, two out of three don't go on to Stem-related careers.
How many people actually get a career in what they got a degree? Probably half of the people I know do something different than what they studied in school.
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This kind of article has me thinking more and more about assigned gender roles and societal expectations. A lot of people are really concerned with getting women into the tech industry. Years ago, people were probably really concerned with getting women into etiquette school, or getting them to learn a trade such as seamstress. How is our modern imposition of what a particular gender should do any different than the old impositions?
People claim to be pushing for these "new" gender roles as a way to fight inequality, or because women need help getting into the industry. But how necessary is it? For nerdy/geeky people who are really inspired and curious about the stuff, there is little stopping someone from learning online via tutorials and books geared towards beginners.
That said, I think there is an urgent need for more female-centric online help. The male-dominated chat, mailing lists and forums can be horrible for anyone to browse, though they're particularly hostile towards women. But I don't think this is an industry thing, I think this is a general cultural thing. Find American boys or men anonymously online and they'll probably be doing some really horrible shit, a lot of it directed negatively towards women.
I think we all want a quick and easy fix, so we look at just the tech industry. We decide that we only want to fix our own little corner of the world and ignore the larger problem. But realistically, the lack of women in tech is probably a larger societal issue, and it won't ever be resolved until you address the bigger picture.
I think IT just gets a lot of press and coverage of people who got rich.
Computers are nice because you don't need a huge factory to start something. However, let's take an archaic example: sewing. I think you can also get rich sewing, for example by designing a popular fashion line or creating a popular brand.
I am not even sure it is easier to get rich with computers than with sewing, or if more people are getting rich with programming than with sewing.
It seems possible that by the time women have been successfully coerced into tech careers, some completely different technology will be in the limelight. I don't know what - perhaps bioengineering? Then there will be a big lament why so few women are in bioengineering.
Curiously, most of the bio-researchers I know are women... but apparently we should get them to drop out and start writing Javascript.
(This is just one more danger of trying to push people towards a subject - you risk alienating the other subjects they would have naturally been attracted to and possibly enjoyed more)
For what it's worth, I went to a public magnet school for computers, AND a private school in which every person had a laptop. I learned nothing of tech in either school, and I taught myself everything I know. (They wouldn't let me take the classes I was already studying at home)
> And among girls who carry on and study science at university, two out of three don't go on to Stem-related careers.
How many people actually get a career in what they got a degree? Probably half of the people I know do something different than what they studied in school.
--
This kind of article has me thinking more and more about assigned gender roles and societal expectations. A lot of people are really concerned with getting women into the tech industry. Years ago, people were probably really concerned with getting women into etiquette school, or getting them to learn a trade such as seamstress. How is our modern imposition of what a particular gender should do any different than the old impositions?
People claim to be pushing for these "new" gender roles as a way to fight inequality, or because women need help getting into the industry. But how necessary is it? For nerdy/geeky people who are really inspired and curious about the stuff, there is little stopping someone from learning online via tutorials and books geared towards beginners.
That said, I think there is an urgent need for more female-centric online help. The male-dominated chat, mailing lists and forums can be horrible for anyone to browse, though they're particularly hostile towards women. But I don't think this is an industry thing, I think this is a general cultural thing. Find American boys or men anonymously online and they'll probably be doing some really horrible shit, a lot of it directed negatively towards women.
I think we all want a quick and easy fix, so we look at just the tech industry. We decide that we only want to fix our own little corner of the world and ignore the larger problem. But realistically, the lack of women in tech is probably a larger societal issue, and it won't ever be resolved until you address the bigger picture.