I.e. women can start computing companies, and hire women. Women do not need permission from men to do this, nor do they need favor from men.
In my career, I have worked for the same woman boss through several companies. I can't imagine having a stronger, better person to work for.
Yet of course I see what everyone else here reports : that there are very few female engineers/developers.
The women in tech pipeline is a leaky, toxic pipeline that results in talented women being driven out of the industry.
Of course many women are not that interested in programming. This is obviously true. Because the women who DO get into programming are quickly driven out by the toxic culture. If I were a woman I wouldn't want to be in the tech industry either.
It is a waste of time to focus on widening the top of the funnel, which leads to the toxic pipeline, and will result in most of them leaving anyway. We should focus more on making the industry less sucky for the women who are already here.
Once the toxic pipeline is fixed, THEN women will start being more interested in programming and tech.
We need some sort of exit poll data for people leaving the tech industry if that exists. We've seen the data for women giving up after receiving fewer rejections than men, but to my knowledge any accusations of toxicity are purely anecdotal.
This isn't something that is controversial. There is lots of research into this.
https://medium.com/tech-diversity-files/the-real-reason-wome...
http://news.mit.edu/2016/why-do-women-leave-engineering-0615
Are just two, actually published research attempts that I found with a 2 minute google search.
I'd be very interested to see some evidence of this. How many women leave, at what stage in their career path do they leave, where do they go after they've left, and how do you know that their unfair treatment is responsible?
This isn't something that is controversial. There is lots of research into this.
https://medium.com/tech-diversity-files/the-real-reason-wome...
http://news.mit.edu/2016/why-do-women-leave-engineering-0615
http://alltogether.swe.org/2016/04/real-reason-women-leave-s...
Are just a couple, actually published research attempts that I found with a 2 minute google search.
Steeped in a culture of sexism accusations, it's not surprising that you'd hear reports of sexism from women leaving the industry.
A man doing the exact same thing (and many men do leave tech) would say their boss was an asshole, or they hated the hours, or whatever. Women are prodded and trained to interpret exactly the same circumstances as sexism.
Of course this doesn't mean there isn't sexism. But it does mean that you can't just "figure out the reason that they left by asking them".
He has an unfalsifiable belief.
He asks for evidence, someone gives him clear evidence, well the evidence must be fake.
Assignments just don't drop in your lap, you have to go get them. Praise doesn't just materialize, you have to make sure that the right people know what you did--sometimes with a baseball bat. Everybody fights to get "fast-tracked", although I don't really know what that means anymore outside of large companies.
I knew lots of people at IBM, both male and female, who felt shortchanged and I asked them: "So, what did you do to go get on a better project next time?" Generally the answer was nothing. Several of the co-ops complained that they were just doing menial tasks: "Did you ask to do something more important? Did you demonstrate that you could do something more important? Did you complete the menial task well or not?" Generally the answer to all of these were not.
If you don't complete the menial task well, you're not getting something more important--and sometimes a menial task is important. I have often had the conversation with an intern/co-op "Look, the task sucks. But someone has to do it. It's either you or me, and you're lower on the totem pole right now." If you don't do a good job, you're not getting anything better.
And if I'm doing something interesting and important, I'll be DAMNED if I'm letting somebody take it from me.
You have to offend some people if you want to get ahead. And you may have to leave if things don't fall your way. That's corporate life.
And same sex harassment is probably worse. Ever seen someone whip out his junk at a workplace? Happened 3 times in my life.
One of the primary differences is that a man rarely feels physically threatened in a situation. If I'm working at 8PM with a colleague and nobody is in the office, I'm probably not worried about my female colleague physically assaulting me. The reverse, however, is not true.
The whole ecosystem is hugely weighted toward men making decisions.
But, since you asked: I will now say that there are biases in our industry that perhaps those of us not subject to them do not see. Those biases adversely impact the ability of women (and some people of color) to rise to positions of influence in the tech industry. I don't believe this is a controversial assertion (despite all of my comments to this effect being voted down). I consider the matter well-known to anyone who's willing to listen to the people it affects.
I can follow a chain of logic that goes something like:
- there's a lack of gender diversity in tech, in that there are disproportionately fewer women.
- this is a problem we should solve
- given that there's more men in tech, they're somehow to blame
Is this an accurate representation of how you get to "I don't see how it is the fault of men"?
I don't see (most) people blaming men as intentionally causing this problem. I see plenty of people, men and women, at trying to figure out how to understand the disproportionate lack of women and do something about it. Similarly, I don't see it as the responsibility of women to do this on their own.
If I've completely misinterpreted your comment, it wouldn't be the first time. I don't mean to put words in your mouth. Please do elaborate and correct me if and where I've misunderstood.
I view this as an unfortunate sexist and patronizing attitude, and is ultimately a destructive one.
Women do not need the aid, approval, or encouragement from men to succeed in tech. This applies to everyone else, too. There's never been a time of more opportunity for everyone in the US.
If people need excuses for failure, there's an endless list of them. There is no fixing that (like how my coming up with a few thousand to start a business was dismissed.) Successful people don't look for excuses and don't make excuses. They go out and get things done.
This thread is about men being the gatekeepers of financing. The parent article says:
> Men have the power to help fix those things, but they also should have the courage to cede the stage to women more often, to fight the stupid bias that keeps women from excelling in the field. It may take proactive behavior, like choosing a women over a man when growing your team, just because, or promoting women more freely.
Perhaps we're talking past each other.
Furthermore, VC funds are hardly the only source of funding. Friends and family are traditional sources of startup capital, and loaning money to businesses is a traditional business for banks.
Have you ever founded a tech startup funded exclusively by friends and family? Have you ever tried to get a loan from a bank for a tech startup?
Yes. Started my tech company with a 4 figure loan from a family member. Am now independently wealthy. I was told I would fail every step of the way from just about everyone.
> bank
No. Never needed to. Never needed any other outside capital.
My aunt got a loan from a bank to start her own successful business. (She was told that women couldn't get loans to start businesses. She was quite a firecracker.)
Congratulations for being born into a family that could support you economically.
> No. Never needed to. Never needed any other outside capital.
That was lucky. Banks don't loan to tech startups. Unless you have assets to put up as collateral (say, your house that you have significant equity in), you will not be able to obtain a loan from a bank to start a tech company. The SBA does enable a limited number of loans for businesses, but they are almost exclusively of the brick and mortar kinda. I have never met a software company founder who could get a loan from a bank to start their company.
If you don't already have money, your ability to get money from a bank will be extremely limited.
The barriers you are talking about are in your mind. People who want to get things done are not dissuaded by such things. People with your attitude always assume other peoples' success was a cakewalk, full of people showering them with praise and money at every turn. It's just not so. To start a business, you have to get out and hustle. If you're so easily discouraged because you can't raise $5000 or some professor dumped on you, you aren't cut out for business and have nobody to blame but yourself.
(Wasn't it Steve Jobs who sold his car to fund his startup? his company was successful before any investors would give him a nickel. I can't imagine Jobs quitting for any of the reasons you give.)
Just remember the story of Douglas Bader, who had both legs amputated, and was told he was going to die of his wounds, then told he'd never walk again, etc. He went on to become a fighter pilot for the RAF, even though the RAF discriminated against legless men, shot down many Luftwaffe fighters, was shot down himself, escaped from German POW camps 3 times, married the woman of his dreams, etc.
There's never been a time of greater opportunity in tech in the US.
So, you believe that assertion applies to women in tech, since that is who we're talking about?
Do women need permission, encouragement, and money from men in order to succeed? Nope. Suggesting otherwise is patronizing and taints the success of those who do succeed.
Women have started companies in the US for 200+ years. The idea that somehow they can't start tech companies, and run them as they see fit, is ludicrous.
Choosing to put money into a house instead of a startup is a choice people make, and not the fault of somebody else.
And even leaving aside companies - it doesn't cost anything to contribute to FOSS projects.
The fact that you were able to start your own company and succeed is a mixture of your upbringing, your standing in society as much as your intelligence and access to capital.
It's a common fallacy to think that just working harder or having the grit to strike out is the only factor. I would suggest that line of thinking would lead to some form of survivorship bias.