3 ms·

is it really true that women don't get promoted in engineering as much? that's a honest question, the only few I've met did not aspire for higher and higher pos

is it really true that women don't get promoted in engineering as much? that's a honest question, the only few I've met did not aspire for higher and higher positions intensively, rather enjoyed what they were doing (that could be said about most of the guys too). I am all for equal situations for both genders, but my assumption was that we already +-have it in western societies, thus such a move would make guys actually in a disadvantage and thus be unfair. IT is not a very cool job to non/tech people outside few top companies like facebook or google, somewhere along accountants maybe. naturally, more ambitious ones will go for jobs like lawyers (if they have no heart :)) or medicine as my fiancee did. IT is just not that sexi. another point - if you are in your 40s, it's hard to be just developer. people move up to architecture or management, which I consider both boring as hell - endless conf calls, producing never-ending stream of powerpoints etc. not exactly why creative people came into IT in first place. I admit other branches of engineering might look differently, no clue about it.

sp332 10y ago
http://i.imgur.com/reUNxYu.png http://i.imgur.com/reUNxYu.png Definitely something odd going on in computer science.
- douche 10y ago
  The inflection point is right about when consumer PCs (personal computers in general, not wintel specifically) became a thing. What are consumer PCs used for, when they aren't being used productively? Gaming, and kids who like games trying to learn how to make their own games (particularly in the pre-web 2.0 era... Web 2.0, remember that?). And ultimately, who was the main consumer of PC gaming? 12-25 year old boys and men. Then you've got a decline in the wake of the Dot-Com bust. One has to wonder if the gains in the other fields of study cannibalized high-aptitude women who might have gone into CS.
bigger_cheese 10y ago
>I admit other branches of engineering might look differently, no clue about it. I'm a materials engineer I work at a large scale industrial plant (1000+ employees). Our diversity statistics are probably even bleaker than amongst software/IT type engineers. There are woman in engineering management positions at my work. Not a lot -the number probably reflects the overall workforce makeup. I'd estimate my workplace is greater than 95% male. Some areas of the company are much more diverse than engineering, notably HR, Accounting/Finance and relevant to this topic our IT department. My Sister is a mechanical engineer she works in government planning. Previous to this role she worked at a power plant. According to her the public sector much more diverse than private.

sp332 10y ago

http://i.imgur.com/reUNxYu.png http://i.imgur.com/reUNxYu.png Definitely something odd going on in computer science.

douche 10y ago
The inflection point is right about when consumer PCs (personal computers in general, not wintel specifically) became a thing. What are consumer PCs used for, when they aren't being used productively? Gaming, and kids who like games trying to learn how to make their own games (particularly in the pre-web 2.0 era... Web 2.0, remember that?). And ultimately, who was the main consumer of PC gaming? 12-25 year old boys and men. Then you've got a decline in the wake of the Dot-Com bust. One has to wonder if the gains in the other fields of study cannibalized high-aptitude women who might have gone into CS.

bigger_cheese 10y ago

>I admit other branches of engineering might look differently, no clue about it. I'm a materials engineer I work at a large scale industrial plant (1000+ employees). Our diversity statistics are probably even bleaker than amongst software/IT type engineers. There are woman in engineering management positions at my work. Not a lot -the number probably reflects the overall workforce makeup. I'd estimate my workplace is greater than 95% male. Some areas of the company are much more diverse than engineering, notably HR, Accounting/Finance and relevant to this topic our IT department. My Sister is a mechanical engineer she works in government planning. Previous to this role she worked at a power plant. According to her the public sector much more diverse than private.