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I started programming when I was about 11. I did it on my own at home, and also at school, where our classroom had an Apple II computer. At school, I was joined

by tjr 13y ago

I started programming when I was about 11. I did it on my own at home, and also at school, where our classroom had an Apple II computer. At school, I was joined by (especially) two others strongly interested in programming, one boy and one girl. Looking back, I could not identify anything whatsoever that would have made our programming activities especially appealing to either boys or girls, nor especially undesirable to either boys or girls. Really, I had the impression that pretty much everyone else -- boys, girls, and teachers -- thought our interest in programming was kind of strange, and being a boy (or a girl) had nothing to do with it. An anecdote, of course, and I have no idea how, or if, it fits into the bigger picture.

gamegoblin 13y ago
It's definitely hard to see. That's part of the problem. But if you look at the number if programmers under age 18, I suspect the gap will be even wider than > 18. Something about society is pushing young women away from it. Some of my suspicions: 1. The internet is generally more hostile to girls. If you stumble into the wrong chat room or forum, you get "show your tits". When I started programming, I got on the internet for help and met some amazing friends who helped me become a better programmer. I absolutely hate when gender topics come up on HN because I generally like this website, but gender topics tend to bring the assholes out of the woodwork. I got a female CS student friend of mine reading HN regularly, but when she ran into one of these sorts of threads she was appalled. And rightfully so. And HN isn't nearly as bad as the internet at large. 2. It's tied to video games being male majority. I played computer video games a lot more than any girls I knew as a kid. This exposure to computers (and config files, etc) set the stage for programming. The video game realm is making a lot of progress in getting girls playing (I think more or consoles than PC, but the general trend is up everywhere), and I've seen this positively influence girls' predispositions towards programming. 3. There is a positive feedback loop in social circles, particularly in formative years (middle school). Kids encourage the status quo. So it's hard for a kid to develop hobbies outside of their clique. I think this relates to the gender problem because girls at that age tend to be even more exclusive than boys (at least in my experience and everyone I've asked). But those are just suspicions and the real problem could be more fundamental.

by tjr 13y ago

gamegoblin 13y ago

It's definitely hard to see. That's part of the problem. But if you look at the number if programmers under age 18, I suspect the gap will be even wider than > 18. Something about society is pushing young women away from it. Some of my suspicions: 1. The internet is generally more hostile to girls. If you stumble into the wrong chat room or forum, you get "show your tits". When I started programming, I got on the internet for help and met some amazing friends who helped me become a better programmer. I absolutely hate when gender topics come up on HN because I generally like this website, but gender topics tend to bring the assholes out of the woodwork. I got a female CS student friend of mine reading HN regularly, but when she ran into one of these sorts of threads she was appalled. And rightfully so. And HN isn't nearly as bad as the internet at large. 2. It's tied to video games being male majority. I played computer video games a lot more than any girls I knew as a kid. This exposure to computers (and config files, etc) set the stage for programming. The video game realm is making a lot of progress in getting girls playing (I think more or consoles than PC, but the general trend is up everywhere), and I've seen this positively influence girls' predispositions towards programming. 3. There is a positive feedback loop in social circles, particularly in formative years (middle school). Kids encourage the status quo. So it's hard for a kid to develop hobbies outside of their clique. I think this relates to the gender problem because girls at that age tend to be even more exclusive than boys (at least in my experience and everyone I've asked). But those are just suspicions and the real problem could be more fundamental.