Coding. It’s techy. It’s difficult. It’s an obscure concept. And you don’t need a penis to do it.
The non-profit trailblazer Girls Who Code is slowly de-bunking the male-computer-wizard stereotype that dominates the tech world.
They are doing this for a reason – the industry needs to catch up.
A 2016 report by the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT) uncovered the following stats:
In 2015, women held 57% of all professional occupations, yet they held only 25% of all computing occupations.
Latinas and Black women hold only 1% and 3% of these jobs, respectively.
Even fewer women are found in software development and technology leadership.
88% of all information technology patents (from 1980–2010) are invented by male-only invention teams while only 2% are invented by female-only invention teams.
The latest project from Girls Who Code is a video series that makes clear the absolute ridiculousness of sexual discrimination in the industry.
The first video in the series, Why Can’t Girls Code, is a wonderfully sarcastic and brilliantly scathing list of all the reasons being a female might inhibit a person from coding effectively (think long eyelashes, cleavage and ovulation for a start).
Gender imbalance in the tech world needs to change for obvious reasons – equality, sexism, discrimination, injustice, all come to mind – but also for the progression of the industry itself.
“Such patterns are especially troubling given ample evidence of the critical benefits diversity brings to innovation, problem-solving, and creativity,” the NCWIT report states.
You think Siri, on-line gaming, The Google Algorithm, and interactive maps are impressive?
Wait till you see what women can come up with.
Top Comments
Why is it that when males dominate a profession it's because of discrimination, yet when females dominate them (day care, kindergarten and primary teachers, nurses, retail workers, hospitality workers) it's because males choose not to work in them?
Why is the solution to all perceived discrimination "diversity legislation" and "affirmative action"? Don't woman realise that men and women alike who made it by their own skill and effort hold the beneficiaries of such programs in contempt?
You could just as easily write an article on girls can't dig sewers or girls can't collect rubbish and reach the same dishonest conclusion it's due to systemic sexism instead of a general disinterest in doing that kind of work.
Come to think of it, why don't we hear from feminists about the gender inequality in jobs like long haul trucking, riot police, sewer maintenance or airport baggage handling? Why is it only about board positions or high paying roles that are very competitive to get?
Dare I suggest if you offer a woman a career choice in a creative field like fashion design or music she may of her own free will be more interested in that than in sitting in front of a computer all day typing lines of code? And that isn't some huge patriarchy tricking her into submission, but rather her pursuing her own interests?