Re:Node.js and the Road Ahead
by spion on Friday January 17, 2014 @07:25AM
(#7075392)
> That's actually a problem with things like
> "Girls Who Code" or whatever it's called:
> while getting girls coding, it also introduces
> the idea that girls don't code, and that when
> they do, it's "novel". Anyway, I don't have a
> solution for that (and I'm not opposed to those
> efforts in any way), it's just something to
> keep in mind.
You make a valid point. But there is some research that suggests that limiting membership to certain groups does make members of that group more likely to participate[1][3]. It sounds counter-intuitive to me, but the research and examples are there.
I agree that in an ideal world, we would simply find the idea of "girls who code" equally weird as the idea of "girls who breathe"
But the unfortunate truth is, there is a gender gap in programming. Its very real - we all know the stats. There is a reason for this gap, and it very likely has something to do with our society, culture, and us. I don't know about you, but I'd like to find out more about what those reasons are, and if there is something I can do to change that, I would. Why not? It would be great!
The one thing I disagree about is that angry attacks or lynch mobs are a good strategy to go about this. Most male programmers are highly intelligent individuals - if the reasoning behind an idea is explained to them in a calm and logical manner, I believe they will be very likely to accept the explanation. In contrast, if the explanation or actions are interpreted as a personal attack, they may feel threatened and will be more likely to just attempt to defend themselves. Because they would be afraid of being personally accused, shamed and socially cast out.
Even ideas such as privilege blindness can be explained in this manner - articles such as [2] and [3] are good examples (I'd guess that the pattern is that a personal story is more likely to produce good results)
I agree that in an ideal world, we would simply find the idea of "girls who code" equally weird as the idea of "girls who breathe"
But the unfortunate truth is, there is a gender gap in programming. Its very real - we all know the stats. There is a reason for this gap, and it very likely has something to do with our society, culture, and us. I don't know about you, but I'd like to find out more about what those reasons are, and if there is something I can do to change that, I would. Why not? It would be great!
The one thing I disagree about is that angry attacks or lynch mobs are a good strategy to go about this. Most male programmers are highly intelligent individuals - if the reasoning behind an idea is explained to them in a calm and logical manner, I believe they will be very likely to accept the explanation. In contrast, if the explanation or actions are interpreted as a personal attack, they may feel threatened and will be more likely to just attempt to defend themselves. Because they would be afraid of being personally accused, shamed and socially cast out.
Even ideas such as privilege blindness can be explained in this manner - articles such as [2] and [3] are good examples (I'd guess that the pattern is that a personal story is more likely to produce good results)
[1]: http://www.singlesexschools.org/evidence.html
[2]: http://pgbovine.net/tech-privilege.htm
[3]: https://medium.com/tales-from-the-front/cc9ed433ec3c