Re:Men In Tech
by georgieporgie on Monday May 14, 2012 @01:34AM
(#3969628)
You can't have it both ways.
You aren't getting it.
If our level of sexism and sexist behavior is the same as the rest of society, then social skills are irrelevant.
What? That makes no sense.
If lower social skills magnify existing sexism, then either our level of bad behavior should be much higher or our level of sexism would have to be lower.
Depending on your definition, the level of "bad" behavior in the tech industry is much higher than other industries!
I believe I do get your point; I just disagree with it. I think it's a convenient way to shift blame to a small subset of people rather than the much larger group that benefits from endemic sexism.
I also disagree with your assertion that sexist behavior is particularly worse in our industry than any other, but if you have evidence on the point I'd love to see it.
I think the reason it comes up here is that it's a field that attracts smart, idealistic people who are unlikely to be consciously sexist (but still have a lot of bad behaviors and unconscious attitudes). Another factor is that the low ratio of women makes it easier for sexist and misogynistic subcultures and workplaces to exist.