Hi,
I'm coming into this discussion on the late side, but one
of the things I see keeping women out of tech is the nature of the
tech companies. I had this discussion years ago with a female
co-worker several times over the past few years.
The traits listed as 'needed' for success at my company used to
state things like 'be a recognized leader in your field', 'willingness
to take risk' (losers quietly discarded), etc. I'm sure it is
mostly social conditioning, but few women excel at those traits.
Ergo, women at our work don't rise as quickly and in the engineering
groups, I see 90% men. The women are weeded out by the requirements.
There is an interesting article I read...just yesterday about
the stereotype and working type of programmers:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19991222/mcconnell_01.htm
In it I see the traits that our society breeds men for (and
either don't emphasize or breed out of women) being key assets in
the field (by 'breeding', I mean a combination social/biological
view, not one or the other).
It's not so much that we need to get girls in 5th or 7th grade
interested in math as we need to address the 'roles' girls and
boys are relegated to. Boys are the aggressors, girls are to
wait to be aggressed on (approached in some manner). This mold is
taught early. It makes women vulnerable to the desire to be
an attractive 'prey' and thus to become molded by what men want in
a support-role.
Until we raise girls and boys to have equal self-esteem (not
esteem dependant on others), women will be manipulable out of
various fields by the field or workplace environment.
Sorry to have jumped in the middle of this and hope I didn't
step on too many toes....(is that sufficiently apologetic?: another
female trait - sigh).
Linda
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[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
