Too Few Women in Tech? Stop Telling People How They Should Feel About It | Hacker News Reader

Too Few Women in Tech? Stop Telling People How They Should Feel About It

seattle20.com

3 pointsmc5 comments

>> I thought, when juxtaposed with the response I got from Nancy Xiao, a recent high-school grad and TeachStreet intern. “I’ve come to realize one of my bigger challenges is not having a technical background,” she says. “Just because a woman doesn’t speak Ruby doesn’t mean she’s incapable.”

If I'm looking for a partner to start a business, then I am looking someone with skills to execute. So, if no skills in the area then no startup. Their are many skills that could be used in a startup, but I am loathe to let anyone manage developers who wasn't a developer. Sure, maybe there are some examples, but from most of my experience it just leads to problems.

Heck, I would partner with a dragon if it had the right skills (and obey the local laws) - any legal, can-go-to-sleep-at-night way to the money is fine.

My favorite part of the article: "When I encounter a woman I find relatable succeeding in tech, I hunt her down and I interrogate her. I’m desperate for examples of how to do this, how to carve out a path for myself in this world as myself,..."

Translation: "I'm desperate to follow in someone else's footsteps while carving out a path for myself. And that person needs to have breasts!"

Strangely, she seems to think her problem is that she can't find someone to follow, rather than the fact that she is desperately trying to be a follower.

I read this statement quite differently: the sample size is small, so the author makes an extra effort to learn from the experiences of others that she views as role models (i.e., successful women in tech). Not everyone who seeks advice is by definition an acolyte. The approach of collecting as much potentially relevant data as possible, culling out what is helpful/inspiring etc., and using it to inform future actions seems like a sensible approach to me.

Good grief! She should take the female out of the question. Find a personable developer with a decade or two of experience, so that he has some perspective. Ask away. Most likely he would be willing to spend the necessary time to answer her questions. And follow the trail. If he is in corporate development, but she is interested in startups, ask him to recommend a friend. There are many paid paths from photoshop or page layout to hardcore developer. All it needs is intelligence and a willingness to work hard.

EDIT: So I posted before I read the article :-) If she wanted to be on the Sr. management track, she should have gone to a smaller company, where ability would have been recognized without being on the basketball team, or learn to play basketball. If you want to fasttrack, go where the track is fast.

She could also learn about tech, which she seems to think that women seeking management positions in tech companies should not have to do.

(At least one tech company also thought they could hire a non-techie woman as CEO. Hopefully the rest of us can learn from HP's mistake.)

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