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"But telling groups of marginalized peoples (like women and especially women of color), against whom the societal cards are already very much stacked, that simp

"But telling groups of marginalized peoples (like women and especially women of color), against whom the societal cards are already very much stacked, that simply 'believing in themselves' is the secret to getting what they want out of life is not only preposterous, it’s disingenuous, it’s poisonous—you could go so far as to call it traitorous. This type of thinking implies that the problem lies within us, the marginalized, the oppressed, within our attitudes, and not the fault of the inherently sexist, racist, and classist society we must struggle to thrive within." I absolutely abhor this line of reasoning. The solution to the author's problem quite literally DID lie within herself, and the self-actualization was something she was entirely in control of. The article is literally about how her own perception of what it meant to be an engineer prior to learning to code was what was ultimately holding her back, and not any actual external variables. What is even more insane is if you give consideration to the resources/events she explicitly mentions which are set up specifically to encourage women to code, it makes that line of reasoning even more infuriating to me. EDIT: And on another note: I have worked with exactly 8x more "women of color" than I have with white women, because in India and Pakistan, women are substantially more likely to go into software engineering. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when I read things like this.

j45 9y ago
All areas of the world are not the same in terms of having access to or knowing of possibilities. There may be valid experiences that you or I can't imagine and valid folks this article will help. The issue is far beyond becoming informed for one's self - the reality is students higher on a socio-economic scale organically have more support and mentors around them. Children do not pick the families and environments they are born into. It's true living in a marginalized group you do have to believe in and support yourself a lot more and likely differently than others. Ones hard work also goes towards the basic necessities with a lot more of your attention and effort before pushing towards higher, life transforming goals. This advice to pursue software development as a way to transform and improve one's life doesn't only apply to women, but a lot of children would benefit from this message.
supreme_sublime 9y ago
She also mentions "exposure", but people are exposed to software all the time. My interest started with being curious of how things were built and how I could do so myself. I didn't know anyone who was a coder either. I got lucky and found someone who was willing to help teach me web development, but I learned a lot of basic concepts and had written scripts on my own. I knew I was interested in building things that made people's lives better. Maybe it was implicit but I never thought "I've seen white guys on TV coding, so I can do it!" My parents actively discouraged me from spending time on the computer and worked against me to do so. My friends would make fun of me when I'd show them a little thing I made. I had essentially no encouragement until I actually got a job doing it, but I had spent hundreds (if not thousands) of hours on it before that point. I have no problem with women being programmers, I work with a few on a daily basis. Women in the west have tremendous choice in how they want to live their lives. Your examples of India and Pakistan just illustrates that point. Women are fully capable, but how many would still have gone into programming if it weren't economically necessary for them to do so? The simple truth is, most women simply aren't interested in it. That's okay too, people should stop trying to impose how they would like the world to be. Recognize how it is and work inside those parameters. All that said, I definitely appreciate the proactive approach with all the linked resources. I see way too many "women in tech" articles that say we should encourage women, and don't do something so basic as helping give women (or anyone for that matter) a starting point. I'll probably bookmark this article and send those links to people when they tell me they are potentially interested in learning.

j45 9y ago

All areas of the world are not the same in terms of having access to or knowing of possibilities. There may be valid experiences that you or I can't imagine and valid folks this article will help. The issue is far beyond becoming informed for one's self - the reality is students higher on a socio-economic scale organically have more support and mentors around them. Children do not pick the families and environments they are born into. It's true living in a marginalized group you do have to believe in and support yourself a lot more and likely differently than others. Ones hard work also goes towards the basic necessities with a lot more of your attention and effort before pushing towards higher, life transforming goals. This advice to pursue software development as a way to transform and improve one's life doesn't only apply to women, but a lot of children would benefit from this message.

supreme_sublime 9y ago

She also mentions "exposure", but people are exposed to software all the time. My interest started with being curious of how things were built and how I could do so myself. I didn't know anyone who was a coder either. I got lucky and found someone who was willing to help teach me web development, but I learned a lot of basic concepts and had written scripts on my own. I knew I was interested in building things that made people's lives better. Maybe it was implicit but I never thought "I've seen white guys on TV coding, so I can do it!" My parents actively discouraged me from spending time on the computer and worked against me to do so. My friends would make fun of me when I'd show them a little thing I made. I had essentially no encouragement until I actually got a job doing it, but I had spent hundreds (if not thousands) of hours on it before that point. I have no problem with women being programmers, I work with a few on a daily basis. Women in the west have tremendous choice in how they want to live their lives. Your examples of India and Pakistan just illustrates that point. Women are fully capable, but how many would still have gone into programming if it weren't economically necessary for them to do so? The simple truth is, most women simply aren't interested in it. That's okay too, people should stop trying to impose how they would like the world to be. Recognize how it is and work inside those parameters. All that said, I definitely appreciate the proactive approach with all the linked resources. I see way too many "women in tech" articles that say we should encourage women, and don't do something so basic as helping give women (or anyone for that matter) a starting point. I'll probably bookmark this article and send those links to people when they tell me they are potentially interested in learning.