Re:Confessions of a Failed Female Coder
by hackinthebochs on Saturday October 07, 2017 @03:23PM
(#15425252)
You're probably just not representative of the typical woman. In any discussion of how to improve gender representation in CS there's always some women that chime in to say they were drawn to the field for the same reasons that men were. I think you and people like you are better represented by the 15% of women that do go into CS despite whatever keeps other women out. Unfortunately, programs to make CS appeal to girls will almost certainly ignore people like you.
This is the part I am unconvinced about - that "collaboration" is the issue at all. It seems like an easy go-to based on older assumptions. But plenty of woman I know I think would love tech but know nothing about it - but rather than what I feel are misconceptions that they would not enjoy it or could not meaningfully contribute.
There were subjects I was required to take such as EE which did not interest me whatsoever. But with CS, I was genuinely enthused and a "lack of collaborative work" was certainly not stopping me personally. (If anything, I really liked solo work) I think what could have helped me was simply a bit more humor and light heartedness in my classes. College moved fast for me and I would have benefited from more opportunities to ask "dumb" questions in a friendly setting. I wonder how else they could address "perfectionism and a fear of failure".