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Reading this article, the thought occurred to me that perhaps it's the "building stuff" part of computing that women aren't as interested in, as opposed to the

Reading this article, the thought occurred to me that perhaps it's the "building stuff" part of computing that women aren't as interested in, as opposed to the "math" part, which is the typical culprit. So, did a bit of googling and found this article: http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/ArchWomen.html http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/ArchWomen.html Interestingly, via the table at the end of that article, the two professional occupations which had even less participation from women than computing are: Architects, and Civil Engineers.

rimantas 16y ago
I once tried to comment with a thought (not mine, don't remember the source) that men are more into "stuff" and women are more into relationships, but was downvoted instantly.
- Isamu 16y ago
  You might get a bit more agreement if you claimed women are more broadly interested in people issues.
ig1 16y ago
But other fields which involve making things like Fashion and Design do have more female participation.
- die_sekte 16y ago
  In Comp Sci, Architecture and Civ Eng you basically have to make it stable, make it work and—least & last—make it pretty. Fashion and Design have slightly different priorities. I wonder what kind of gender ratio UX, UI and IA have.
  - qq66 16y ago
    In fashion and design you DEFINITELY need to be buttoned up and make things work. Ever dealt with a poorly constructed shoe, backpack, or bedframe?
    - yummyfajitas 16y ago
      Ever dealt with a poorly constructed shoe... Most women I know are quite happy to do so provided it is sufficiently fashionable.
araneae 16y ago
Agreed! I've always thought that it's an innate-ish lack of affinity towards machines that's partially responsible. Human infant females show a toy bias away from toys modeling machines, and even female baby primates of other species prefer soft toys (interestingly, the infant male rhesus monkeys show no preference between the "boy" and "girl" toys; but the females actually show a preference away from trucks and other mechanical toys.) You need to both have an affinity for machines and mathematical thinking.

rimantas 16y ago

I once tried to comment with a thought (not mine, don't remember the source) that men are more into "stuff" and women are more into relationships, but was downvoted instantly.

Isamu 16y ago
You might get a bit more agreement if you claimed women are more broadly interested in people issues.

ig1 16y ago

But other fields which involve making things like Fashion and Design do have more female participation.

die_sekte 16y ago
In Comp Sci, Architecture and Civ Eng you basically have to make it stable, make it work and—least & last—make it pretty. Fashion and Design have slightly different priorities. I wonder what kind of gender ratio UX, UI and IA have.
- qq66 16y ago
  In fashion and design you DEFINITELY need to be buttoned up and make things work. Ever dealt with a poorly constructed shoe, backpack, or bedframe?
  - yummyfajitas 16y ago
    Ever dealt with a poorly constructed shoe... Most women I know are quite happy to do so provided it is sufficiently fashionable.

araneae 16y ago

Agreed! I've always thought that it's an innate-ish lack of affinity towards machines that's partially responsible. Human infant females show a toy bias away from toys modeling machines, and even female baby primates of other species prefer soft toys (interestingly, the infant male rhesus monkeys show no preference between the "boy" and "girl" toys; but the females actually show a preference away from trucks and other mechanical toys.) You need to both have an affinity for machines and mathematical thinking.