I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on genetics; FWIW, I know that (1) the % of women programmers has gone down since the 50s and (2) in Israel, where I grew up, the % of women programmers is substantially higher. As an exercise, though, I'd like to accept your point and explore its repercussions.
Even if women are and will remain a minority for whatever reason, that doesn't mean we should be dicks to our colleagues. My intuition is that most damage being done is not malicious; I don't think programmers as a community are mean-spirited or misogynistic.
Tess has already made the relevant points about over-sensitization and the relative nature of offensiveness. Ultimately, it's up to you to figure out to what extent you are willing to be conscious of the effect you have on those around you.
Comments
I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on genetics; FWIW, I know that (1) the % of women programmers has gone down since the 50s and (2) in Israel, where I grew up, the % of women programmers is substantially higher. As an exercise, though, I'd like to accept your point and explore its repercussions.
Even if women are and will remain a minority for whatever reason, that doesn't mean we should be dicks to our colleagues. My intuition is that most damage being done is not malicious; I don't think programmers as a community are mean-spirited or misogynistic.
Tess has already made the relevant points about over-sensitization and the relative nature of offensiveness. Ultimately, it's up to you to figure out to what extent you are willing to be conscious of the effect you have on those around you.
Well said. Thank you.