(Hi. Woman here.) Well, yes. Like anything, if it was a known, lifelong passion, then I’d/women would already be doing it. However, programming is something that sounds interesting, could be fun and I bet I’d be good at it but having been in tech for a few years, the barrier for entry seems pretty insurmountable. The dev teams I’ve worked with have been exclusively male (I’m in marketing) and the culture of shouting and condescension seems like more of a barrier to me than a lost desire to pursue my passions. That said…this seems like a first step in addressing the situation.
There is no barriers to entry for programming. All the good tools are free, there's free hosting, there's free learning materials. You can get a full working product out the door without spending a dime.
...the culture of shouting and condescension seems like more of a barrier...
You seem to be confusing a barrier (something that impedes your movement, regardless of your choices) from a preference (something that makes you more likely to make a certain choice).
I don't think there's a confusion. As far as I'm aware, women consistently express a preference against the aggressive and disrespectful communication style that's common to many software projects, meaning that this style functions as an effective barrier to women (and men who don't like overt conflict much either) joining these projects.
I don't think nitpicking the semantics adds much here.
Women disliking the communication style of software people is not a barrier. It's a preference. Women could join if they wanted to, they just don't want to.
It's not a semantic difference - the difference is whether women are prevented from performing some activity or whether they choose not to perform it.
Similarly, I don't like banking environments very much. There is no barrier preventing me from working at Citi, I just never applied for a job there.
Thanks Kris, these are the scenarios that should change. Would love to chat more about your interest/experience with what we're doing - you can reach me at d@hackstaracademy.com
Comments
(Hi. Woman here.) Well, yes. Like anything, if it was a known, lifelong passion, then I’d/women would already be doing it. However, programming is something that sounds interesting, could be fun and I bet I’d be good at it but having been in tech for a few years, the barrier for entry seems pretty insurmountable. The dev teams I’ve worked with have been exclusively male (I’m in marketing) and the culture of shouting and condescension seems like more of a barrier to me than a lost desire to pursue my passions. That said…this seems like a first step in addressing the situation.
It sounds like you have only worked with arseholes. We need less arseholes in the industry, and more civil, caring, and talented engineers.
I've worked with very good engineers, of both sexes.
There is no barriers to entry for programming. All the good tools are free, there's free hosting, there's free learning materials. You can get a full working product out the door without spending a dime.
...the culture of shouting and condescension seems like more of a barrier...
You seem to be confusing a barrier (something that impedes your movement, regardless of your choices) from a preference (something that makes you more likely to make a certain choice).
I don't think there's a confusion. As far as I'm aware, women consistently express a preference against the aggressive and disrespectful communication style that's common to many software projects, meaning that this style functions as an effective barrier to women (and men who don't like overt conflict much either) joining these projects.
I don't think nitpicking the semantics adds much here.
Women disliking the communication style of software people is not a barrier. It's a preference. Women could join if they wanted to, they just don't want to.
It's not a semantic difference - the difference is whether women are prevented from performing some activity or whether they choose not to perform it.
Similarly, I don't like banking environments very much. There is no barrier preventing me from working at Citi, I just never applied for a job there.
Thanks Kris, these are the scenarios that should change. Would love to chat more about your interest/experience with what we're doing - you can reach me at d@hackstaracademy.com