J B wrote:
> But isn't the whole point that the fields have to be attractive to more
> women? Currently, if a woman wants to be in any field, and is of the proper
> mindset, there is nothing that will keep her out...not sexism, not low pay,
> not anything....
Bull-<censored>-<censored>!
Unless 'the proper mindset' is 'a willingness to be walked all over' or
'ultra-thick-skin' or - a host of other things.
Here's some things that demonstrably DO keep women out of fields. In ways I
have personally witnessed.
* lack of childcare combined with inflexible hours or a need to be on call
* lower pay than the men in the field (combine this with the fact that women
frequently have childcare duties, are more likely to be single parents,
etc....)
* social pressure to conform
* lack of access to equal facilities (esp. in high school)
* lack of access to equal teaching (also esp. in high school)
> determination, willpower and strength... Granted, those are
> all (to me) good traits in a woman (or a man for that matter).
And why should they be necessary if the field itself does not inherently
require it?
> But if the pay is not there, and she does not enjoy the work, then all of
> the debate over the number of women in IT is a moot point.
The pay is there for men. Why shouldn't it be there for women?
There was a girl in high school who was at least as smart as I am.
Mathematically smart. She was the school 'tart' - because she valued being
popular. She had low grades - for the same reason. We wound up sitting
together in one math class. In whispers, in the privacy of the class (and ONLY
there), I tutored her into getting almost the same grades I did. Given that
she hadn't properly learned the prerequisite work, this is /proof/ of a
math-mind!
Next semester, IIRC, she quit out of school - still because of social
pressure.
Women like her are the ones _I_ most want to see get the _chance_.
Jenn V.
--
Humans are the only species to feed and house entirely separate species
for no reason other than the pleasure of their company. Why?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Jenn Vesperman http://www.simegen.com/~jenn/
************
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
