“Send Susanne to the meeting wearing a mini skirt, that will seal the deal.” I’ve been told stuff like this many times. Along with tons of blonde jokes and jokes about women. Some of it is funny, I’ve got a sense of humor and I don’t take myself very seriously.
I’m surrounded by men on a daily basis and I like that. I love my coworkers. We have a lot of fun, a very casual tone and lots of laughs. I find it easy to get along with men. But I’ve experienced some unwanted things while working in this industry. And yes, I’m a girl, not a woman. I don’t know how to adult yet.
Thanks for teaching me
People I meet at tech seminars will sometimes mention stuff like: big data, UX, IOT or solar technology. And then they start mansplaining. As if there’s no way a girl can know this or be interested in technology. I just nod my head and say something like
“Thanks, bro!”
Are you the receptionist?
When some people see the ID card around my neck and notice the name of the company, they ask me if I’m a receptionist there. Like that’s the only job a girl could have in that kind of company. If a male coworker and I go to a meeting with potential new clients, many of them will direct all their questions to him, and not to both of us.
Here’s two situations that I find especially annoying:
Situation one:
I was volunteering at the local library. They offered free help with computers and technical issues. I was the IT person that would help the visitors. I was the only volunteer and I walked over to a man that had waited for a minute or two.
Me: “Hi there. Are you here for the computer help?”
Man: “Yep. When is HE going to be here to help me?”
Me: I don’t know what guy you’re waiting for, but I ‘m the volunteer and I’m here to help you. What seems to be the problem with your computer?”
Man: “I’m not sure you know how to fix this though. It’s a real complex problem.”
He looked at me with a disappointed look and he must’ve thought I was the guy’s secretary. To his surprise, I had fixed the computer within a few minutes. He didn’t thank me, he just walked away. Luckily, all the other people that showed up to get help were super sweet and thankful.
Woo-hoo! Look at me, winning an award at work - in spite of being a girl!! Luckily, my company doesn't mind that I'm a girl.
Situation two:
I posted some pictures of me and a friend, who’s also a girl, here on Steemit. The post wasn't about anything related to technology. One of the replies on the post was something like this:
“I love how completely non-tech people are using Steemit now. Welcome”
This was a friendly and nice comment, he meant well. But it’s just funny that he's assuming that neither of us have a background from technology. I’ve been working as a system responsible in an IT company and spent my spare time fixing peoples computers. I work with digital marketing, I’m in the process of learning more about programming. I’m interested in crypto currency and I’m currently reading a book about solar energy. My friend is a web editor and she is very skilled on the old personal computer. Why would he just assume that my friend and I weren’t tech people?
The post wasn't about technology, but would he write the same on a post where two boys went on a hike?
I’m sure he’d be surprised if he checked my browser history and found out this is my most visited website.
I’m not a feminist.
I'm pro-equality.
I’m sick of being underestimated, just because I’m not a boy.
I met a male nurse that told me that a female patient said this to me: “Please send in a woman instead, they care more about patients and men are assholes.” Being an asshole or a non-tech person has nothing to do with your gender. It has to do with the way you’re raised and what you’re interested in.
Here’s the song of the day, a Norwegian band this time.
My next post will not be angry, I promise.
Peace out!
Susanne
Oh damn! I never expected such an innocent comment of mine may inspire you to write such a response. For those who dont know what @susanne is talking about, I'm quoting my comment below with source...
Source: https://steemit.com/travel/@susanne/behind-the-scenes-pictures-from-making-a-steemit-post-feat-laivi#@moonguy/re-susanne-behind-the-scenes-pictures-from-making-a-steemit-post-feat-laivi-20160814t191840744z
Trust me, I have absolutely nothing against ladies or their intelligence. It is just the case that being involved with bitcoin for so long, I have seen very few women in the crypto economy. As a BitcoinTalk veteran, I have seen long drawn threads like...
Still, instead of using the word non-tech, I should have used non-crypto.
Steem is changing this scenario pretty fast. Ladies from all walks like modelling, traveler, house-wife, writer all are on board at Steem. I just wanted to share the cheer with you...
Hello, again @moonguy. I never thought you had anything against women :) I did write "This was a friendly and nice comment, he meant well." So I know that you did mean any harm. Non-crypto would have been a very accurate description for my friend and I. :) Your comment was just an example to prove a point.
In any case, I think, u never like my comments. Because, I never see any upvote from u. :-/
I'd say @susanne is rather an intelligent woman. The article from where the comment was quoted, made her $102.34. Whereas the article she has prepared now has already made her over $1,828.65. It is the person and not the gender that matters. And she has proven her worth ;-)
Ah, I can relate to your stories. I worked in male-dominated industries, too many actually! The sheer ignorance is mind-boggling. You would almost think we live in a different century! I was a science and tech writer before coming to Steemit, and men are always so surprised......they can't quite believe that I know what IoT, neural networks, and the like are! I don't talk about this very much but it is important to vent occasionally. Science and technology is actually much easier to navigate than sexism and ignorance. That's my two cents.
Science and tech writer? That sounds fun! It felt nice to get this off my chest.
Susanne,
Great writeup and glad to see you on here.
I've personally met very few women who are naturally inclined to technology. Not to say they're not 'inclined to learning or understanding' technology, simply that they don't care about it 'as long as the internet works'. :)
Thank you for the nice words. Actually, my friends @svk convinved me to join Steemit. I think coding should be taught in elemtary school! I have a couple of girlfriends that are into tech as well, but not many. :)
I reached the realization at the age of 30 that being able to code for this generation will be my generations equivalent of being able to type.
Good on ya! Keep writing here. Followed :)
Having just spent 3 months working in an IT company, turns out I am the only one in the place who can actually touch type! How this happens, I don't know.
I like ur post, keep it up
So true. I wish I had taken up some classes at school. I wouldn't feel so ignorant now.
Ha - I learned to code in BASIC on a TRS-80 before elementary school. I like that idea of learning it in elementary school. Now am getting back into it because it looks like an occupation that is rewarding, and kind of fun.
Actually the data points to the fact that young girls are just as interested in science and technology. But as societal norms are ingested, they lose interest based on that influence. It's society that is determining the outcome.
Really.
Because when I was growing up - and all my IT/tech guy-friends have had this experience - all the girls ostracized us and made fun of us geeks, and not a single one showed any interest in the technology and what made it tick.
This was before being in tech was cool (and profitable).
I have asked other guys around the world and they went through the same.
Now that tech is cool (and profitable), a different narrative developed.
Why do you think that is?
Well said stellabelle. When I was young,I was taught a lot of sexist BS. I had to grow up to unlearn it.
You're trying to blame men for why they treat women a certain way, but it's not the man's fault at all. If you want someone to blame, look no further than your fellow women. The cold hard truth is, there's an overabundance of bimbos who are obsessed with things like fashion, shoes, instagram, etc.
Unless you feel like going to teach other women to not be bimbos and having a giant portion of women act like this, then people will always stereotype women in such a manner. That's not going to happen anytime soon, because being a bimbo with good lucks and an IQ of 2 is the path of least resistance for reproduction in natural selection, so nature cranks them out on a never ending assembly line.
But don't let me stop you from trying to partake in the leftist narrative of blame the white man for everything possible.
Even if every other woman in the world was a bimbo who cared only about fashion, shoes, and instagram, she'd still deserve to be treated as an individual and not pre-judged based on her gender. I wonder if you would tell a black person that the reason they are pre-judged is that there are so many other black people who abandon their children or commit crimes.
Yup. Also, there's not more stupid women than stupid men. In fact, there are more men below the first standard deviation in IQ than women. Variance in men is greater, the average IQ is the same. Women do better in school.
This myth of stupid women is perpetrated by the patriarchy, some women act dumber than they are to fit the stereotype.
It depends on what and how you are being taught. Women are more submissive to authority, so you can put them in any type of class and they're more likely to willingly be brainwashed by whoever is speaking to them. A lot of grades are based around telling the teacher what they subjectively want to hear. Things like math where it's not just subjective brainwashing and regurgitation of whatever the teacher wants to hear seem to be dominated by males though.
Right, they have to be treated equally because are times that woman are more wiser and intelligent than man. The instinct of a woman is different from a man instinct, they have their own way of handling things and situation that man could not do. Yeah, there are those who only knew fashion and beauty but has no brain but it makes no difference because such qualities also existed on men.
Wisdom has nothing to do with gender, race or culture. But deviating from the norms of these categories can be a very socially risky business. I am male but I get into all kinds of trouble because of my anti-authoritarian attitude and faith in reason, and more superficially, my somewhat effeminite manner and appearance.
For the feminists here, this is nothing to do with 'patriarchy'. This man vs woman thing is one of the oldest divide and conquer tactics ever employed. Old vs Young is another one. Gay vs Straight, the list is endless, and meaningless. Individuals might be categorisable but we are as unique as the structure of snowflakes and more than the numbers of even a short 256 bit cryptographic key. This collectivist mentality does nothing but damage people and ultimately hurt everyone.
You're implying that stereotypes are NOT useful for surviving the natural selection process, when this type of learned behavior is EXTREMELY useful in natural selection. You're trying to claim up is down. It's not.
Quite the reverse, I understand that these things are very useful. That's why it's so important to make this moral point. As a society, we don't want to make one person's life miserable because of the choices and actions of people who happen to share their skin color or gender. Even where that is to our benefit. We make the moral choice to give up the benefits of stereotyping because we consider the costs to be unacceptable, largely because they disproportionately fall on completely innocent people.
I don't think you know who you're dealing with here. You used the word "we" constantly. There is no we. When you use the word "we" in this manner, you're implying you're the moral authority or father figure of some imaginary collective and everyone else needs to conform to your behavior. There is no we and there is no collective.
This is a common leftist trick to try and indoctrinate people into Marxism. This stuff might work against feeble minded children, but I'm not some guy off the movie idiocracy you can beat with such primitive tricks.
Let's talk about the reason you use this propaganda. You have the last name Katz, an Ashkenazi Jewish name. Jews have evolved to use collectivism as a group evolutionary strategy. It's a well documented characteristic:
http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Jewish_group_evolutionary_strategy
The other fact is that you push Marxist collectivism because you see homogeneous civilizations as a threat to your minority demographic. Your motivations are entirely selfish. You're literally trying to brainwash people to benefit yourself. None of it is real. It's all fake, self serving propaganda.
The "we" you speak of is actually "you" and your interests, not mine or anyone else's. So while you are masquerading as some type of white knight out to help all of humanity, your behavior is entirely selfish in nature.
I'm not blaming men, and as you can see in the end, I also speak on behalf of men that are treated in a similar manner. It's all our faults. Not men, not women. We're all responsible for this.
Back in the day when I was a full-time stay-at-home dad, I sometimes had women compliment me on knowing how to change a nappy (diaper) as if it was some kind of miracle, or, in a situation where I could offer assistance, they'd say something like, "You're a man, what would you know about children?" The fact is, there are skills that aren't apparent just by looking, so assumptions based on most likely probability are perhaps almost inevitable.
It might not necessarily be the fault of the individual man,but it is a result of a sexist society.
A sexist society is arguably a result of biological realities. By which I mean that the fundamental differentiation between male and female humans is that females are the ones who grow and give birth to babies and males are the ones who merely create them. This has given rise to many less than equitable interpretations of a woman's 'place' in society.
not sure the word bimbo is appropriate in this conversation.
@susanne. You are flagging anyone who gives you any criticism in the comment section. They are not abusing you, simply challenging you. This is a really, REALLY uncool use of the flagging system.
I'm a female in IT too. I haven't had those experiences yet, but I can tell you that I get a long with the men a lot more than the women!
Hopefully, you won't have to! Most IT people just appreciate having some girls around :)
There are lots of woman who like to stick with men, nothing malicious but pure friendship.
I think it is completely natural to not expect women in IT/Engineering for a variety of reasons, and how folks allow themselves to be bothered (even a little) by others having perfectly natural responses is odd to me. First, as you're aware, this is an overwhelmingly male dominated subject matter. That alone should be enough to be unbothered by assumptions regarding being a woman in IT. Secondly, lets ask why that is? I believe it is because women typically pick more personally rewarding careers partly because women are more in touch with their emotions and have better developed social intelligence compared to men. In contrast, men overwhelmingly select their career based on a combination of "What makes the most money" and "Am I able to do this task successfully", because at the end of the day men get jobs to gain resources to attract a mate. At the end of the day, thats the underlying motivation behind anything any man does really...
Take pleasure in being dismissed or treated differently, not pain. I'm a pretty successful entrepreneur having started an IT Engineering firm. I'm young, and young looking for my age at that. When I go to the bank and get in the business services line I relish in showing up unshowered, unshaved, and wearing ratty shorts and an old t-shirt just because I enjoy the assumptions people make regarding that. lol I may be weird though
I totally agree with many of your arguments here actually. And it doesn't ruin my life, it's just annoying. But do you think it's okay for the guy I was helping to say "I'm not sure you can fix this, being a girl and all?"
Oh I know it's not ruining your life... You'd have switched careers if it was. What I'm saying is don't even let it annoy you. Im saying learn to embrace it. Love it. I've always done my best when someone or many believed I couldn't. Use others' doubt as fuel for your own internal fire. That's really all you can do with it anyway... Or let it annoy you
He might not have shown it, but you might have just changed his life :-D Good work!
For me its not okay, she was under estimating you.
Weird or not, your mind-set is just like those who justify paying women less for the same job by saying that, after all, men need more money because they have to support their family. My husband and I were actually refused the opportunity to rent a house because "there must be something wrong with her husband that he doesn't work." IT may be male-dominated but it's not because it should be.
I have experienced first-hand what you are talking about. I have a BS in IT with a concentration in Software Development. I have been a programmer, and a Technical Writer for companies such as Google and Microsoft. Sounds good, right?
Not really. Or maybe I should say, "Yes, and no."
I have been programming since 1983 yet get paid less than men who weren't even born in 1983. I have been lucky enough to work for Google and Microsoft, yet my Google manager told me that he didn't think I was "technical enough" to work for Google even though I know more programming languages than he does.
I am often the only woman in a group, and, as you say, I get along fine with my male companions, and have a great deal in common with them. Yet there is still a disconnect for some reason between my abilities and the perception that people have of who I am and what I am capable of doing.
I try not to be a complainer, but you are right. It is still uncomfortable to join a group and be asked to act as the secretary and take notes.
We have a long way to go before the entire Earth is full of androgynous people with the same haircut wearing identical gray jumpsuits and filling whatever roles they want to.
When people see me, a dude, they assume I'm not a cheerleader and my cooking is mediocre. Solely because I'm a dude. (I'm not actually a cheerleader, but I cook awesomely.) When my daughter has a badass hairdo, they assume my wife did it. And when I tell them I'm the hair expert, that makes me less of a man, not more.
If you choose to work in a primarily male-occupied field doing a typically male-done job, that just comes with the territory. Every job has pros and cons, and being a woman in a male field is just one of the cons (or a pro in a few cases). Since you're a smart girl who can handle herself in the IT universe, you probably weighed the pros and cons of this career and decided that the pros far outweigh crap like this.
Sure, in many, many years, society will reach this neutered androgynous state where there are no such thing as gender norms, and sex-based discrimination and expectations don't exist, but that's a long ways off. In the mean time, doesn't collecting decent paychecks and being an IT badass outweigh dealing with a relatively small number of assholes compared to the number you'd have to deal with if you were an actual receptionist?
"The post wasn't about technology, but would he write the same on a post where two boys went on a hike?"
Maybe. Most of us computer nerds avoid sunlight... ;)
Ha ha ha, funny because it's true!
For us here in our country we are amazed and praise woman who do the work of a man.
So "I'm not a feminist" but I'm still gonna link to the Wikipedia article on "mansplaining" because this is not propaganda and you're not idiots!
Don't you know I have the Wikipedia URL committed to memory and I didn't have to go and get the link and copy it into my markup just in case somebody didn't know what I meant; I mean it's not that important. Oh yeah and of course I assume everybody who is going to read this knows what "big data, UX, IOT or solar technology" are so I don't need to do the same for any of them.
Seriously?
I work mostly in a male dominated field as well, and my attitude towards anyone is the same; do you know your shit? good, do it.
I've met many skilled and unskilled people, of all genders. I really only care about their abilities. If they can't do the job they get sent home, regardless of other factors!
Yeah, and it pissed me off that men are depicted as bumbling idiots on TV as well. Everyone judges everyone else by appearance, perceived class, whatever. We as humans make millions of assumptions based on our prior experience. It is natural.
In reality, there are differences in people, things, everything. Sometimes we can those differences just by seeing them.
Modern society seems bent on making everything equal. The brains and bodies of different gendered people are different. Some people are smarter than others, some people are stronger than others. You can't make them equal. I am tall. You can't hold me to the same rules as a short person. I cannot do gymnastics for example.
Now, with gender in IT. There are few female IT people. I like just about everyone on steemit works in IT. I have worked at various companies. Male IT workers outnumber female IT workers 100 to 1. Easy.
So, maybe lighten up on someone who assumes you are not the IT guy. I bet I worked at a nail salon and I sat down to do someone's nails their response would be very similar to what you experience.
Well, about 99% of people in tech are male, so it's not unreasonable to assume a girl isn't in tech.
That's a valid point @trev :)
@susanne I've written a response to your post here:
https://steemit.com/life/@kato/the-crap-i-put-up-with-as-a-woman-in-crypto-because-you-say-you-re-not-a-feminist
Best,
Kat
I have now responded on your well-written post. Thank you
Thank you a lot for sharing with us
You're welcome!
My girl-friends get this a lot too in Romania. But, a lot of companies realized that women are actually BETTER employees so....:)
I don't know how to adult yet either. :p
I'm afraid I'll never learn..
I think there is a misconception that at the workplace men join a fraternity or a secret order, which sole purpose is to ostracize women. Not quite. At the workplace, men compete with each other. This competition could be obvious or hidden. When a woman comes to a workplace, she stops being a woman and becomes a competitor that can potentially outperform a man and jeopardize his job and his and his family well-being. Once a woman becomes such a competitor, a man would try to find her weak spots and attack those spots. In other words, he’d act exactly as he would act against another man. So be good and eventually, men would respect and fear you, like they do Marissa Mayer, just like they would respect and fear another male competitor.
Some jobs though are more designed for men. It’s not that a woman can’t become a car mechanic. However, does she really want to smell like gasoline and oil and have dirty finger nails? If you do then by all means.
Another one is a fireman. As far as I know, in order to become a fireman, one has to pass a strength test which is to run for 100 yards carrying a 200 pounds load on your shoulders. This is a tough test and not every man can endure this. Therefore, not every man can work as a fireman. However, this test shouldn’t be adjusted to say 100 pounds be fairer for women. In a real situation, a fireman or a firewoman for that matter would have to carry a person from a burning house. Changes are such person can be 200 pounds, wink, wink.
IT is no picnic to start with. Only needed when something isn't working right and people are peeved right off.
That's a good point, right there!
I had a supervisor that was a woman on a health IT project 2 years ago. The least stressful gig I've had.
Yes, woman are easy to handle compared to men. Im handling a team of officers in the office and feel more comfortable with women than with a men. Although I don't find it hard enough to handle men but there's a difference.
Thank you for sharing. You said that you're not a feminist, but it's all the day-to-day shit like this I see that finally pushed me to embrace the label (albeit with a long list of qualifications haha)
Ha ha, I totally get it. And you're welcome!
I hate preconceptions like you mentioned. I hope people will start thinking more open, and they get rid of the stereotypes.
I agree. I'm sure a lot of men get similar responses when they're choosing a job in a field dominated by women.
IT-Network Specialist here, glad to see this post!!! When I was going for all my CompTIA certs, there was actually a fairly even mix (maybe 60/40) between men and women, especially for A+, and as I recall the women had an easier time of it then men. It saddens me to see sexism in a field where women and men are on equal footing talent wise. As far as creative thought and thinking "outside the box" women may have the advantage, and their male counterparts would do well to remember that going forward!!!!
Hi! And thank you. That's cool to hear. I think there's sexism in most fields, unfortunately. And it's just as bad for men in fields that are female dominated.
Just think of the poor guys trying to cut it in the school kitchen with the lunch ladies! ;-)
Sexism only exist on people who insecure.
I love this post. I started as a computer "user consultant" in 1987 and as the only woman in a department of 27 men, I heard all of the things you have mentioned and more! Thanks for sharing and bringing back some memories and laughs.
Wow, how did you like it? You're welcome :)
It's interesting that in little pockets of our lives, we encounter people who still exhibit backward thinking. I was watching the TV show Masters of Sex the other day. (For those not familiar, it's a TV show about the famous sex study team of William Masters and Virginia Johnson.) Though it's a fictionalized TV series, it accurately captures the sexist, misogynistic, and dismissive attitudes toward women in the 1950s and 60s. See, also, Mad Men. You'd think that today, with all of our evolved and enlightened thinking, we'd be better than that. But we're not. These attitudes creep up in small but potent ways.
Yes, this is very interesting indeed. And yes, you'd really think that it would be so much better today.
I often have similar experiences working in Commercial Real Estate. The worst is that condescending tone used when they think you don't understand something. Brush it off...they're just jealous they don't have beauty AND brains :)
Oh, I can imagine. I'm thankful for the fact that most people doesn't care about gender, age or skin color :)
That does stink that people tend to judge and form opinions based on your sex or how you look. However, there is also great power in "being able to seal a deal by wearing a mini skirt". Sometimes I wish I had that power ;)
Ha ha ha!! But have you every tried? I have an extra pair.
Ha! I have not... Although I do think I have the legs for it... ;)
I also recently graduated and we had a few girls in our class. They generally did know way less at the beginning but eventually they became top students.
That's cool to hear! Thanks for sharing.
I am a bitcoin trader and I always suggest to the girls I meet who are interested in bitcoin that they can to exceptionally well as a crypto-currency trader as they have secret weapons. This gives them an unfair advantage in the game. 95% of the people in crypto are men and most guys would rather talk to a girl than a guy. So get out there and rock and roll the bones...Get busy!
We have so many secret weapons, you don't even know :)
Hi Susanne,
As an IT manager for the past 10 plus years I'm more of managing people now instead of a techie, although I still consider myself one. I have no doubt in my mind that your knowledge can blow me out of the water! I've only interviewed a small number of women for any jobs I've had opened and would gladly throw them in the mix if they have the skills I'm looking for! But with the location I work in I'm lucky to find anybody that is qualified. Keep up the good work! There are always bad with the good out there.
Thank you @arnoldz61 :) I think any office should have a mix of age, gender and backgrounds. Thanks for sharing.
Hell yeah, people should stop stereotyping. Although, My wife works in tech and she couldn't care less how it works, to her it's all about making sure that the people who knows tech knows what the people who don't, want them to make it do for them.
That aside... you have an unfair advantage, you can play dumb and figure out much quicker who knows their stuff and who doesn't, and make connections with the right people, they wouldn't see you coming.
I agree with you @wish :)
Thanks for a really good article.It did not sound angy to me. All you are saying is true.I consider my self a feminist,although I´m a person with a penis. I hesitate to call myself a man,because as Simone de Beavoir wrote: "You are not born a woman,you become one" I think this is true,and applies to men as well. Gender is a social construction!
These are some wise words @kooshikoo! Thank you.
There seem to be a lot fewer women than interested in technology-bitcoins-programming- so I understand it to an extent. I think men (especially techy) assume they are smarter than most women and don't like feeling less intelligent than them. I hope that the growth of Steemit will allow others to let go of their stereotypes. I enjoyed your post and think that it's awesome to a girl that is so techy. My boyfriend is too and I have learned so much about making websites, cryptocurrency, Steemit :), and more from him. Although I have a lot to learn, I have always been inherently good with computers but I have a lot to learn. I enjoy working on my blog and researching daily but maybe one day I'll learn more about coding...
I always hated it when I'd show up and a female receptionist would say something along the lines of "We need a tech, not a sales rep."
I actually understand most of your points here @susanne since I've been working with all IT male in my office. They are awesome, and we have no bosses at all. So IT is more flexible. What I can see here is they see me as a weird person in the office since the other girls do work in the next doors (marketing, and admin for the office, and accounting, whatsoever) But being with engineers are wonderful even though I rarely see me on mini-skirt then. Sometimes, the other girls ask if i can wear it, i tell the truth that I love to be in Jeans, and T-shirt in a work day. flexible. It depends on the job characteristic, and also which fit different people.
As a saiyan on steem I feel your pain. I get ignored however because I am not even human. People don't recognize that the Prince of all Saiyans is vastly superior to them.
Major props to you being a strong, independent woman in IT. I'm so glad you wrote this! My husband is in the IT field, and he has never had a female coworker that wasn't a receptionist. It's time to change that!
I agree :) I wan't more female coworkers as well.
I often am mistaken at shops for a waiter as I like to weak white shirts. But that's no big deal for me.
Don't be afraid of being called a feminist, it only means you believe women should have equality. I'm a feminist. It's a loaded word nowadays. Feminists have gained voting rights, self-body-governance, equal pay laws and heaps more. Let's respect that tradition and clasp hands with these brave men and women who have stood up for equality.
Yes, @susanne, unfortunately so many people judge us from their point of view, sometimes it`s a pity. My wife is also sometimes raises such questions such as why do they think that women are bad drivers or can not park, why woman should stay at home with children, and can not be a good specialist and work, because when the baby does not need breastfeeding both parents are equal in child care, and so on. although my wife is also not a feminist, etc. unfortunately these questions are always around and it sometimes they hurt, I hope this will change in time (my wife asks me to say hello to you)))
In my former job, which I have had to ditch because the abuse I got from management and his gaggle of yes-men got too much and threats of pay-docking started getting thrown around, there is this absolutely gorgeous, vivacious lass from South Africa who didn't even start out thinking she was into this IT thing at all, and rapidly went from first line to second line, and talking about things that I didn't know about, and handling all kinds of problems that I would have been a bit lost at first dealing with.
I suffer from a problem in this business also - I am not 'professional' I write a lot of words and tend to be much too honest, apparently, to be a professional at these things. It is perhaps an equal impediment as it is for you as a woman in IT. Back in 2003 I had a girlfriend who was an avid geek, and she was a beautiful blonde as well. I personally don't see or make judgements like some of the epic blunders that you have mentioned in this article, whenever I have seen women in IT. I don't make judgements. I know that women in IT learn pretty fast to be humble and I don't expect them to show off their knowledge the same way as men in IT tend to do.
Things will change over time. In some cultures there is less of this blinkered idiocy than others, like in Russia and many slavic countries, a lot of man-dominated technical fields have a lot of women involved, mathematicians, engineers, logistics specialists, managers, and so on.
One day the average human won't be such a damned ignorant fool as they are now. Hopefully it won't be after we are dead.
Errrr, I do not see the problem. All the comments, situations you talk about are a reflection on the person making them...not you !!
This post inspired me to write an entry about my feelings on gender politics and my journey to feminism. https://steemit.com/feminism/@sethlinson/why-i-became-a-feminist-and-why-you-don-t-have-to
why is this trending?
As a professional in IT as a male for 16+ years, I've only worked with 2 females in IT. So, I could imagine the bias. Even some employers have gone to say to not hire female IT staff when I was looking for hires as we would have to deal with emotions, or even pay more to share hotel rooms when we're doing overnight projects. I think more women should be in IT.
Do you know how many customers asked to talk to my associate? (female of course). I got to the point to where I need to 'work' the society system. I made her the 'face' of our business and I just would sell from the back end. Worked for both of us - point being "Because I'm A Girl" should work in your favor..work it girl!! (and I mean all due respect)
This post has been linked to from another place on Steem.
Learn more about linkback bot v0.3
Upvote if you want the bot to continue posting linkbacks for your posts. Flag if otherwise. Built by @ontofractal
You fool!!! What do you want? Work in normal conditions. Have a job due to the fact that meet the criteria of the society. Would be born in another country and in another family only dreamed of. But she still want more! You need at least a year without money and work to leave - then you will understand!