Discussion on:

Group offers help for women in the tech sector

I am sure of two responses: 1. Some men will berate me for betraying my gender. To them I answer, "You're part of the problem." 2. Some women will berate me for daring to suggest that there are any substantive differences between men and women. To them I answer, "Just because we are EQUAL doesn't mean we are THE SAME." That said, I believe that the entire business world could use quite a few more women. To the extent that you really do bring a different background, perspective, and attitude, weneed it. Perhaps you could stave off the next Enron. To the extent that you do the same things we do just as well or better, the low representation of women in business means we surely have a lot of men with average qualifications doing jobs that could have gone to women with exceptional qualifications. Perhaps you could stave off the next Arthur Andersen.

When you consider, the 'whistleblower' in the Enron case was, indeed, a woman, I share your optimism. We do, indeed, need more exceptional women.

winyan

I agree with every word! Our society only gains strength through diversity (gender as well as ethnicity, race, age, etc.), especially in the workplace. At the risk of also being accused of betraying my gender, we could use some balance to all those testosterone-laced tendencies we have (you know the ones I'm talking about, guys The women I've worked with - even those who think they can only survive or excel by acting like men - are often easier to work with than men.

I agree with both of the previous coments, and would like to add that if, humanity in all IT fields could focus the energy being wasted in sterotyping, gender slamming and racial profiling
perhaps technology could benfit and prosper.

The thing that most keeps me from joining "women's" groups is that they turn into man bashing groups. Let's talk about what makes women able to do the job. We've heard all that other stuff too many times.

I found this almost offensive. As a woman in the tech sector, I don't feel that I need an "atmosphere where women can let down their guards and bare their souls". That's the kind of feel good crap that makes men feel that women are less capable and need hand-holding and "sensitivity".

i think u r right . all we need is that men forget that we r women and only deal with us as coworkers. i think this will make it easier.

you wrote:
"all we need is that men forget that we r women and only deal with us as coworkers."

totally agreed. But obviously they don't.

I don't want to "bash men" and I don't want to hear endless horror stories about how badly women get treated even though I know the stories are true. It's just not helpful.

And someone commented that joining an org makes women look like they need "hand holding" I have news "4 u": Everyone needs hand holding and it's women who generally miss out on it. Don't eschew support because you think it will make you look weak. Men already have the support of being the dominant culture.

I'd join a women's organization that, instead of moaning and groaning, just talked tech.

I don't need to bare my soul at work - I've got friends for that. I have a little trouble with men when I start a new job, but all's well after they see my work. I think we should put our energy into the extra work instead of commiserating. Tech is a great field for women.

I work in IT in higher ed and feel respected for the job I do and the things I know. I have felt neither coddled nor discriminated against because I'm a woman. I've been told that in higher ed we need more women as role models for our female students making decisions to enter traditionally technical fields; I'm fine with that, but I'd like to think that I'd be a fine role model for any student - male or female.

Usually tech jobs are, for lack of a better word, anti-social jobs. How many women car mechanics do you see? Not many because it is an technical position. My point is that I think technical jobs, by nature, are usually more appealing to men because they require a intimate understanding of a subject that is usually dry (usually a turnoff for women) and these jobs don't require that you bare your soul about how to fix a computer or design an application. From my experience, women seem to likethe more socialable jobs.

The reason you don't see many women auto mechanics is that the position requires alot of upper body strength which, men are predominatley noted for. Beside the fact most women don't want to have their hands permanetly stained with grease and their cuticals of nails destroyed from exposure to harsh hand cleaners. It does not mean that women are not capable of understanding the job or that all women seek social jobs. It also does not mean that all women want to bear their souls at work, I agree with a previous comment made that all this feel good crap needs to left elsewhere. Most women in IT just want respect for their abilities, just because our physical strengths do not match does not mean our mental capacity is lacking.

Comments like yours are exactly why women get frustrated with men. I am not at work to socialize or "bear my soul". I'm here to do a job and do it well. I love technology. To me the subject matter isn't dry, it's challenging and exciting. I'm in this field because I want to be constantly learning.

Quit trying to categorize people and realize that there is diversity among both women and men. I work with a group that is almost all male and some of these guys are more emotionally needy than any women I've ever met. Their constant need for ego stroking is ridiculous. There are also men that I work with who love what they do and are quite confident without the need to be cocky. If we would stop worrying about the differences and just start using each other's strengths, all of our careers and companies would have more success!

I am the lone local tech support person for my district of a records management company. I replaced a man who played the "I can't tell you how to fix it, I need to fix it" game. There is a corporate IT department in another state who can't come downeverytime when have RAM loose in a PC. However, my boss is female and has been highly resistant to the idea of me doing any first tier technical support after she hired me to do just that. Why?

Come to find out, she's just as old fashioned as themen, thinking that moving PCs and fixing them is MEN'S WORK. How are we supposed to compete effectively for IT positions when half the older female population is very much of the "women should stick to customer service/clerical/administrative assistant positions" attitude? The only thing that has helped me out was a network changeover which I worked with 3 men to complete in the district and they had such high praise for my work, she couldn't ignore that I was actual good at what I do. This doesn't stop her from complaining, though.