After reading, I really want to experience Hacker School sometime in the near future.
I checked out the application, though, and noticed something that's pretty odd, if not downright disrespectful. At the bottom of the application there's a lone checkbox labeled "I'm a Woman". Given the behavior of the following checkbox, it's clear that the point of this box is to indicate that financial aid is available for female applicants. Regardless, the presence of a field labeled as such, given that it seems to suggest that the default gender of a hacker is male, is pretty jarring.
I get it, but surely a couple of radio buttons labeled "Boy" and "Girl" could do the job just as well as the checkbox.
I see your point, but as an 'un-graduate', I've never been part of a less-sexist community. I'd also point out that being forced to choose between boy and girl, as opposed to having the option to identify as a woman, is difficult for some. Hacker School has had some awesome transgenders!
Regardless of whether that is a good point, this sure seems to be an instance where everybody being less pedantic about such things would be more of a win.
I hear you, and you make a good point. "Boy" and "Girl" are maybe not the solution, but perhaps, "I qualify for a Hacker School Grant" or some similar option would be. I think that intent is important here, and I don't believe their intent was to suggest the default gender of a hacker is male.
Comments
After reading, I really want to experience Hacker School sometime in the near future.
I checked out the application, though, and noticed something that's pretty odd, if not downright disrespectful. At the bottom of the application there's a lone checkbox labeled "I'm a Woman". Given the behavior of the following checkbox, it's clear that the point of this box is to indicate that financial aid is available for female applicants. Regardless, the presence of a field labeled as such, given that it seems to suggest that the default gender of a hacker is male, is pretty jarring.
I get it, but surely a couple of radio buttons labeled "Boy" and "Girl" could do the job just as well as the checkbox.
I see your point, but as an 'un-graduate', I've never been part of a less-sexist community. I'd also point out that being forced to choose between boy and girl, as opposed to having the option to identify as a woman, is difficult for some. Hacker School has had some awesome transgenders!
And apply. It's beyond amazing.
Regardless of whether that is a good point, this sure seems to be an instance where everybody being less pedantic about such things would be more of a win.
I hear you, and you make a good point. "Boy" and "Girl" are maybe not the solution, but perhaps, "I qualify for a Hacker School Grant" or some similar option would be. I think that intent is important here, and I don't believe their intent was to suggest the default gender of a hacker is male.
I was a bit bummed to find out that financial assistance is only available to women. I wonder why that is.