Careers In Tech Still Dominated By Men
When it comes to careers in tech, it's still a man's world.
According to Susan Merritt, the dean of the computer science program at Pace University in New York, only 10 percent of computing majors are women. One of the suggested reasons for such low interest among women could be that, as kids, boys are more likely to be interested in video games than girls, and gaming activity often leads to an interest in computer science.
But having good role models can also play a part.: Merritt said that women make closer to 30 percent of the computing majors at her school, which has a faculty with more women professors.
The general trend, the article in USA Today states, follows long established patterns with women, who as young girls are often discouraged from excelling in math or science, often in an effort to appear more attractive to boys, who are easily put off by girls who do well academically.
[Source: USA Today]
Filed under: Computers
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John @ May 16th 2008 8:56PM
Sounds like a conspiracy to keep girls out of math and science. Just like the conspiracy to keep men out of nursing programs.
Shelly @ May 17th 2008 7:09PM
As a female with over 20 years in the electronics field - the tech side, not engineering - I can say there has been fewer than 10% female in any place I have worked, trained, or taken classes. I think it is not just a lack of encouragement in math and science, it is the lack of hand-on with screwdrivers and wrenches. How many girls learn how to FIX something? I have been to conferences about software, classes on troubleshooting a new system, and taught other troubleshooters from other departments in the corporation I work for and have been 1 of 50 or 1 in 100 female to male ratio. I know it isn't because our girls aren't smart - they don't have the exposure to the mechanical/electrical side and I agree with the dean in the article, they don't have the examples/role models.
As an answer to John, there is actually an incentive in Michigan for men to go into nursing - they automatically get in to the Clinical (in hospital) portion of the nursing program and get help paying for school as part of the Sex Equity Grant program.
More Thoughts @ May 18th 2008 2:53AM
Another factor could be the lack of women happy about their choice of careers in traditionally male fields. I have been in engineering for almost thirty years and have to pick the companies I work for very carefully. Especially with the smaller, local firms in conservative cities, there is a strong double standard. There is still the phenomena of "Well-spoken men know what they want and well-spoken women are aggressive witches." With that labeling comes the lack of opportunities and pay. Women drop out and scale back as ways to deal with the unhappiness this hostile work environment causes.
CK @ May 18th 2008 10:36PM
This calls for immediate application of affirmative action programs based on politically correct equality standards which must be imposed immediately.
In addition, upon birth, all persons of the female gender should be provided with a volt meter, screw driver and hammer supplied at Government expense. Tech schools and industries that do not have a work force composed of at least 50% of the affected gender must be mandated to reduce male staff levels until the proper ratio is achieved.
An amendment to the Constitution is the only fair way to fix this unacceptable state of affairs.