3 ms·

Just a side note: I think this is specific to some countries. In India, for example, I do see a lot of women entering the programming field. http://www.techrep

by sn41 10y ago

Just a side note: I think this is specific to some countries. In India, for example, I do see a lot of women entering the programming field. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/it-gender-gap-where-are-the-female-programmers/ http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/software-engineer/it-gender... has a link to an older ACM article on this.

aaron695 10y ago
Best reason I've heard is as women get more choices in life they choose careers they want to do over careers based on income and jobs.
- gozur88 10y ago
  That's the only thing I can see that explains the data. It's not that women (as a statistical group) can't code; it's that they don't want to, and when they feel financially secure they don't.
geebee 10y ago
This is interesting. One possibility, though, is that there are fewer career choices if you don't currently hold US or EU citizenship. India's domestic market and opportunities are growing, but the monetary value of an education still does depend heavily on access to international labor markets, especially in the US and perhaps Europe. Law, medicine, nursing, and various other fields may be attractive, but they aren't nearly as open as technology to people who don't have a current right to live and work in the US. Programming isn't locked down by regulatory bodies (which in many ways are cartels backed by government), whereas the US government has gone a step further to open programming and technology to international workers through the creation of specialized visa programs. Although there is a greater cultural emphasis on STEM education outside the US, my guess that this is still partly a response to the relative difficulty in accessing international labor markets. Studying STEM is more favorable if you're looking outside your borders, whereas law, medicine, whereas the more tightly regulated "professions" are more attractive if you're generally looking inside your borders.

by sn41 10y ago

aaron695 10y ago

Best reason I've heard is as women get more choices in life they choose careers they want to do over careers based on income and jobs.

gozur88 10y ago
That's the only thing I can see that explains the data. It's not that women (as a statistical group) can't code; it's that they don't want to, and when they feel financially secure they don't.

geebee 10y ago

This is interesting. One possibility, though, is that there are fewer career choices if you don't currently hold US or EU citizenship. India's domestic market and opportunities are growing, but the monetary value of an education still does depend heavily on access to international labor markets, especially in the US and perhaps Europe. Law, medicine, nursing, and various other fields may be attractive, but they aren't nearly as open as technology to people who don't have a current right to live and work in the US. Programming isn't locked down by regulatory bodies (which in many ways are cartels backed by government), whereas the US government has gone a step further to open programming and technology to international workers through the creation of specialized visa programs. Although there is a greater cultural emphasis on STEM education outside the US, my guess that this is still partly a response to the relative difficulty in accessing international labor markets. Studying STEM is more favorable if you're looking outside your borders, whereas law, medicine, whereas the more tightly regulated "professions" are more attractive if you're generally looking inside your borders.