__/ [ Oliver Wong ] on Wednesday 26 July 2006 16:39 \__
>
> "Roy Schestowitz" <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1252701.P2xz4QioYZ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>> As my sister studied computer science, I am aware of the
>> perils that often stand in her ways. The following is a very
>> popular recent article.
>>
>>
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/12/18/in_computer_science_a_growing_gender_gap/?page=1
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | Women shunning a field once seen as welcoming
>> |
>> | As a young high school teacher in 1982, Diane Souvaine leapt into
>> | graduate school for computer science having taken only one class in
>> | the subject...
>> `----
>
> Thanks for the interesting article. I think there's a lot of unresolved
> and controversial questions about why there aren't as many women as men in
> computer science, and until we figured out the "why", we can hardly start
> to think about how to solve this problem (or if it is indeed even a
> problem!) Given how controversial this topic can get, I'm too cowardly to
> take the first step any deeper into these issues. So I'll leave it at that
> for now.
Like you, I try not to speak about it all that often. One
small verbal slip and you'll be attacked for ambiguity that
can be perceived as discriminatory or stereotypical.
>> Now, I'm not in favor of giving /advantage/ to anyone who is
>> not a middle-aged white male. However, there often needs to
>> be some encouragement. It's rare to see women in some
>> mailing lists I'm subsribed to (Web- and design-oriented
>> fields seem to attract more of them) and I think the
>> ambiguity in text often leads to misinterpretation (sexism,
>> elitism and so forth). I, for one, am extremely happy when I
>> see women posters. Everyone benefits from equality,
>> diversity and a discussion with augmented point of views.
>
> I think most people feel the way you do, Roy. There was this female
> poster in a comp.lang.java.* group, and eventually the topic of a thread
> shifted to what it was like being one of the only women in the groups. I
> can't find the original post in google groups, but she essentially said she
> was generally treated very well, and she suspects in fact that she was
> receiving preferential treatment, being one of the rare female posters, and
> nobody wanted her to leave.
I can think of similar examples in the search engines and
webmasters newsgroups (the primary ones). The ladies receive
a lot of attention. Same in some mailing lists. Then again,
there opinion is often discredited or looked at with
suspicion and prejudice. There tends to be this mixture of
those who are adamant sexists and those are liberal-minded.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Seeing bad movies only encourages them"
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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