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Lots of human groups are underrepresented in technology (africans, older people, latinos etc). Why are feminists the only ones that always make it to the frontp

by return0 13y ago

Lots of human groups are underrepresented in technology (africans, older people, latinos etc). Why are feminists the only ones that always make it to the frontpage (even superficial pieces like this one)?

jaibot 13y ago
Hypothesis one: Women are a majority of the population; Their absence is more surprising, and the number of people interested in changing it is higher. Hypothesis two: There is a perception that the absence of women in tech is more a function of tech culture than broader socioeconomic issues (e.g. There's no racial equivalent of "Code Like a Pornstar") Hypothesis Three: It's possible that the female gap is bigger than that of other groups.
scarmig 13y ago
Why do people instantly put up ideological blinders at the first mention of feminism in response to an interesting article? I mean, do you find anything at all objectionable in what it says? Please share! Or a subtlety that it leaves out? Totally! I agree with you that racial issues are underemphasized in technical communities, and in the same way we should use feminism as a framework for achieving the organizational and social goal of equality, we should try to do the same for race.
- return0 13y ago
  I find it objectionable that blindly applying feminist recipes in IT will have any effect. Feminism is not a framework but a set of ideologies, and even if we assume it is, applying it out of context, it is just stupid (e.g. a company claiming it is 'pro choice' in order to attract women). Most IT jobs are in countries where feminism already works for decades. Clearly you need something more than feminism to achieve total equality.
bcj 13y ago
I would hazard to guess that is related to two factors: women are the largest group that are underrepresented; and it is harder to explain women's underrepresentation as a result of socio-economic factors. No matter where you live, you can expect women to represent ~50% of the population. That makes it very easy to notice if there is a discrepancy, even if you work in a tiny office. To tell whether an ethnic/age group is, you first need to know the prevalence, then you need to have enough people that a discrepency is noticeable. With a number of groups you can explain why a group is underrepresented by looking at socio-economic factors like their average income, access to technology, access to schooling, etc. For any socio-economic group, there should be (roughly) the same number of men and women in that group, so it can't be used as an explanation of the under-representation of women. EDIT: I didn't notice that jailbot had already said what I said, but in a less wordy fashion.

by return0 13y ago

jaibot 13y ago

Hypothesis one: Women are a majority of the population; Their absence is more surprising, and the number of people interested in changing it is higher. Hypothesis two: There is a perception that the absence of women in tech is more a function of tech culture than broader socioeconomic issues (e.g. There's no racial equivalent of "Code Like a Pornstar") Hypothesis Three: It's possible that the female gap is bigger than that of other groups.

scarmig 13y ago

Why do people instantly put up ideological blinders at the first mention of feminism in response to an interesting article? I mean, do you find anything at all objectionable in what it says? Please share! Or a subtlety that it leaves out? Totally! I agree with you that racial issues are underemphasized in technical communities, and in the same way we should use feminism as a framework for achieving the organizational and social goal of equality, we should try to do the same for race.

return0 13y ago
I find it objectionable that blindly applying feminist recipes in IT will have any effect. Feminism is not a framework but a set of ideologies, and even if we assume it is, applying it out of context, it is just stupid (e.g. a company claiming it is 'pro choice' in order to attract women). Most IT jobs are in countries where feminism already works for decades. Clearly you need something more than feminism to achieve total equality.

bcj 13y ago

I would hazard to guess that is related to two factors: women are the largest group that are underrepresented; and it is harder to explain women's underrepresentation as a result of socio-economic factors. No matter where you live, you can expect women to represent ~50% of the population. That makes it very easy to notice if there is a discrepancy, even if you work in a tiny office. To tell whether an ethnic/age group is, you first need to know the prevalence, then you need to have enough people that a discrepency is noticeable. With a number of groups you can explain why a group is underrepresented by looking at socio-economic factors like their average income, access to technology, access to schooling, etc. For any socio-economic group, there should be (roughly) the same number of men and women in that group, so it can't be used as an explanation of the under-representation of women. EDIT: I didn't notice that jailbot had already said what I said, but in a less wordy fashion.