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The primary cause of the gap is unknown and may very well not be sexism. And stating that does not make me sexist. If you believe it does, then you are not usi

The primary cause of the gap is unknown and may very well not be sexism. And stating that does not make me sexist. If you believe it does, then you are not using reason to arrive at that conclusion. It is a logical fallacy.

cmiles74 9y ago
I'm not here to name call (although I am certainly prone to name calling). If we take a look at the recent spate of articles covering sexism and harassment in the workplace at companies in the field, it is clear that there is a problem. If someone were at the point in their lives where they were choosing a field in which to place their career, they may very well choose one where their gender would be less of an issue. That causes a gender gap.
- chongli 9y ago
  If we take a look at the recent spate of articles covering sexism and harassment in the workplace at companies in the field, it is clear that there is a problem. It's clear as day to everyone that there is a problem. It is not clear that the problem is sexism. In my view, the problem is economic inequality which is ratcheting social pressures up to a fever pitch. Many people see their quality of life slipping away and the intellectual class fighting for their chance to tighten the screws. Social entropy is increasing dramatically and the social contract is in dire peril.
  - matthewbauer 9y ago
    I don't think you can shoehorn this into "economic anxiety". Sexism doesn't magically increase during recessions.
    - vanattab 9y ago
      >Sexism doesn't magically increase during recessions. I am not so sure about that. I would not be at all surprised if racial resentment increases during times of economic turmoil. My understanding is that during tough economic times industries like alcohol/gambling preform far better then the market as a whole. I would not be surprised at all if scapegoating of "outgroups" (both black and white) incresses during economic tough times. See Nazi Germany circa 1930s.
  - mistermann 9y ago
    > In my view, the problem is economic inequality which is ratcheting social pressures up to a fever pitch. This is something I haven't read before regarding this debate, I think it makes a lot of sense - if the economic consequences weren't so significant, people on both sides would likely be far less passionate about this topic.
berdario 9y ago
The gender gap in IT is definitely caused by sexism. You might argue that the gender gap in other industries has other reasons, but for IT the case is already closed. There are a bunch of bunch of different ways in which sexism is enacted, maybe different sexisms altogether, but at its very core is: discrimination based on gender, uncorrelated with any relevant objective metrics. It's the western society since the 80s that is out of line: if you look to the past, or look elsewhere past some borders, you'll see that obstacles that are preventing more women to get in IT don't necessarily have to be there.
- deleted 9y ago
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cmiles74 9y ago

I'm not here to name call (although I am certainly prone to name calling). If we take a look at the recent spate of articles covering sexism and harassment in the workplace at companies in the field, it is clear that there is a problem. If someone were at the point in their lives where they were choosing a field in which to place their career, they may very well choose one where their gender would be less of an issue. That causes a gender gap.

chongli 9y ago
If we take a look at the recent spate of articles covering sexism and harassment in the workplace at companies in the field, it is clear that there is a problem. It's clear as day to everyone that there is a problem. It is not clear that the problem is sexism. In my view, the problem is economic inequality which is ratcheting social pressures up to a fever pitch. Many people see their quality of life slipping away and the intellectual class fighting for their chance to tighten the screws. Social entropy is increasing dramatically and the social contract is in dire peril.
- matthewbauer 9y ago
  I don't think you can shoehorn this into "economic anxiety". Sexism doesn't magically increase during recessions.
  - vanattab 9y ago
    >Sexism doesn't magically increase during recessions. I am not so sure about that. I would not be at all surprised if racial resentment increases during times of economic turmoil. My understanding is that during tough economic times industries like alcohol/gambling preform far better then the market as a whole. I would not be surprised at all if scapegoating of "outgroups" (both black and white) incresses during economic tough times. See Nazi Germany circa 1930s.
- mistermann 9y ago
  > In my view, the problem is economic inequality which is ratcheting social pressures up to a fever pitch. This is something I haven't read before regarding this debate, I think it makes a lot of sense - if the economic consequences weren't so significant, people on both sides would likely be far less passionate about this topic.

berdario 9y ago

The gender gap in IT is definitely caused by sexism. You might argue that the gender gap in other industries has other reasons, but for IT the case is already closed. There are a bunch of bunch of different ways in which sexism is enacted, maybe different sexisms altogether, but at its very core is: discrimination based on gender, uncorrelated with any relevant objective metrics. It's the western society since the 80s that is out of line: if you look to the past, or look elsewhere past some borders, you'll see that obstacles that are preventing more women to get in IT don't necessarily have to be there.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]