Watch out - she's in Bitch Mode.
May. 2nd, 2012 04:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reynardoThere's an article in the Age today about why aren't there more women in IT. It's not a bad article, pointing out that there's a low percentage of women in IT courses and that many women have set up support groups and networks to help each other in this male-dominated world.
And the comments to the article? Warning - SERIOUS ranting below
Geeks aren't unwelcoming because of some stereotypical discomfort around women. It's because the women who pick IT as a career are almost universally unattractive. Geeks like hot chicks too you know. - Nicho
IT is difficult. If they are not doing the foundation courses in school then cannot expect to get the university offers at the expense of boys that do the hard subjects. - Mark
... but really do they want everything handed to them regardless to ability. - greden
So once my blood had stopped boiling, I penned the following.
As a woman who has worked over 25 years in IT, it's not a matter of lack of interest. Let me tell you what we put up with:
- The snide comments about women not understanding technical work.
- The loud conversations about sexual imagery in the tech support area.
- The insistence that part-time work isn't possible in a large-scale call centre.
- The bullying by male supervisors who insist upon picking up every error of the female worker but who do nothing for the malingering male sitting opposite who is playing games instead of answering calls.
I've had all of these and more.
It's hard enough for women to get treated fairly in the IT world. Many resort to gender-neutral "nicks" or versions of their names to avoid the insults and innuendo that occurs in discussion groups and online communities. They fight to be given fair time in computer labs when the "boys" camp on the machines for hours.
Women would very much like to be in technical support - there's a large market for our skills. But when there's this much opposition, you can't blame many of them for deciding that they really don't need that sort of treatment.
I note the preponderance of males in the derogatory, sexist and demeaning comments above. That is exactly the sort of testosterone-laden bull____ we have to put up with. Make the workplaces and study areas safe from harassment and discrimination or you're missing out on 50% of the best minds available.
It got published. I'm just waiting for the flames.
And the comments to the article? Warning - SERIOUS ranting below
Geeks aren't unwelcoming because of some stereotypical discomfort around women. It's because the women who pick IT as a career are almost universally unattractive. Geeks like hot chicks too you know. - Nicho
IT is difficult. If they are not doing the foundation courses in school then cannot expect to get the university offers at the expense of boys that do the hard subjects. - Mark
... but really do they want everything handed to them regardless to ability. - greden
So once my blood had stopped boiling, I penned the following.
As a woman who has worked over 25 years in IT, it's not a matter of lack of interest. Let me tell you what we put up with:
- The snide comments about women not understanding technical work.
- The loud conversations about sexual imagery in the tech support area.
- The insistence that part-time work isn't possible in a large-scale call centre.
- The bullying by male supervisors who insist upon picking up every error of the female worker but who do nothing for the malingering male sitting opposite who is playing games instead of answering calls.
I've had all of these and more.
It's hard enough for women to get treated fairly in the IT world. Many resort to gender-neutral "nicks" or versions of their names to avoid the insults and innuendo that occurs in discussion groups and online communities. They fight to be given fair time in computer labs when the "boys" camp on the machines for hours.
Women would very much like to be in technical support - there's a large market for our skills. But when there's this much opposition, you can't blame many of them for deciding that they really don't need that sort of treatment.
I note the preponderance of males in the derogatory, sexist and demeaning comments above. That is exactly the sort of testosterone-laden bull____ we have to put up with. Make the workplaces and study areas safe from harassment and discrimination or you're missing out on 50% of the best minds available.
It got published. I'm just waiting for the flames.
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