3 ms·

Women in Tech need to stop whining

• madmaze 16y ago
  I am sure that there are many women that would disagree, but I, male, agree. I am active in both computer science and astronomy and have connections to many other science fields. I agree there are not enough women in technology, but I dont think that has to do with the lack of opportunity, there are just as many as for males. I would even go as far as saying that many places would prefer a female over a male addition to their teams, because most of our teams are 90-100% male. I believe women can bring a different view point to the table as well as fresh energy. I can see the issue of women feeling uncomfortable entering a male-dominated field, but that does not mean that there are no/less opportunities.
• limedaring 16y ago
  I'm not going to disagree with you that there are tons of fantastic opportunities — I'm working on my own startup as well and haven't (yet) run into any problems because I'm a woman. However, think of the startup world: a guy who's new to it, a bit unsure, etc, might attend some meetups, and see a room full of guys — a situation he's probably comfortable with. But a take woman who wants to break into the startup world — in the same situation, is more likely to be discouraged by this because they're entering a room full of "others" and not people like her. Yeah, if she feels uncomfortable you can tell her to just get over it, and a few will. But it stands that it's a lot harder to just jump into a new man-dominated field for a woman than a man. So those women-only events are still doing good — providing a more comfortable environment for those women and giving them confidence to then jump wholeheartedly into the regular 99% men world of startups.
  • mediamum 16y ago
    You raise a very good point, and it does sometimes feel like sheep being invited to a wolf party. ;) However, I think it prepares us well for the realities of startup life. Sure we have that male-dominated thing to get over, but if we're prepared to do it, we stand out even more than any male will. Don't you think? But then I guess some women will say you need to do that much better a job as a woman to get the same recognition as a man - but I don't know if that's actually true in startups simply because there are so few women willing to fully commit and go the distance.
    • limedaring 16y ago
      Good points as well. :) Myself, I used to be painfully shy. I was meeting someone for the first time the other day and they said that they take me to be super outgoing and confident, but this was a transformation over about 4 years — 2 years of avoiding "scary" situations, then realizing the problem and then two years of actively trying to change my demeanor. I'd like to say that those programs would have sped up this process of feeling confident and comfortable — just because someone is shy right now, doesn't mean they can't cut it as a startup founder, just means they might need help to get to that point. Those that get over that hump of being awkward and feeling like sheep in a wolf party phase definitely will stand out more to men, and I think in a good way — more recognition from blogs and the such (since they love profiling someone who's "different"), and people might be more interested in meeting with a woman founder than a man (again, the "different" thing leading to curiosity). I think guys notice this and get rather annoyed too, since it looks like preferencial treatment, but for those women who are intimidated by the male startup culture, those people are great role models.
      • mediamum 16y ago
        And that's really interesting - do you think you need to be 'outgoing' or at least appear that way, to be a good startup founder? Every single person I know, including my PhD advisor and my startup co-founders, thinks I'm extremely outgoing. But I hate cocktail parties and so on. I force myself to go and connect with people. I'm far more comfortable behind a screen unless I know people already. :)