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>Is it at all possible that the perspective of someone who writes books like that comes off as recruiterish? This was my first thought as well. As soon as she

>Is it at all possible that the perspective of someone who writes books like that comes off as recruiterish? This was my first thought as well. As soon as she identified herself, I immediately understood how someone could write her off as a recruiter, based entirely on her body of public works. There are many people in the world that will judge someone by the books they wrote and immediately have an image in their mind about the author. It would be hard to overcome this inclination that certain people have within the space of an hour and it doesn't help when someone is especially suspicious because of your gender (Obviously this is the not-ok part). I'm more apt to believe that Gayle Laakmann McDowell has a slightly skewed viewpoint of being taken as a recruiter more often than the average female engineer. This is not to say that female engineers do not have legitimate concerns. I think its helpful to look at the specific facts of this situation to understand the frustration Gayle Laakmann McDowell experiences.

vadman 12y ago
I actually went to college with Gayle - she was a TA* in one of my harder, more rigorous classes. I never got to know her personally, but I find it hard to believe that you can talk to her for an entire hour and not figure out that her knowledge and understanding are way beyond those of a recruiter, even a smart one. Says more about the listener, IMO. Personal anecdote, take it for what it's worth. *TA = teaching assistant, older students hand-picked by professors to conduct help sessions for the current year's crop, as well as grade homeworks/exams. I.e. you need to do well in a class to qualify.
gaylemcd 12y ago
Oh, I'm sure I get mistake for a recruiter more than the average female engineer. That's not really the point. The point is that gender adds difficulty in establishing technical credibility. A different female programmer might have trouble with a different aspect of this. For example, Chloe Alpert said how investor have trouble believing that she's the dev (https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509071535098052609 https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509071535098052609) and how some other people were confused that she was the dev (https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509069378575695872 https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509069378575695872). She might have more trouble than other female devs because she's cofounded a business with a man. Does that mean that the whole gender doesn't matter? No. In other words, my experience might be that people lump me in as a recruiter specifically. Someone else might be assumed to be the non-technical cofounder. Someone else might get assumed to be a marketer. Or a designer. Or whatever. Point is - gender bias is real.

vadman 12y ago

I actually went to college with Gayle - she was a TA* in one of my harder, more rigorous classes. I never got to know her personally, but I find it hard to believe that you can talk to her for an entire hour and not figure out that her knowledge and understanding are way beyond those of a recruiter, even a smart one. Says more about the listener, IMO. Personal anecdote, take it for what it's worth. *TA = teaching assistant, older students hand-picked by professors to conduct help sessions for the current year's crop, as well as grade homeworks/exams. I.e. you need to do well in a class to qualify.

gaylemcd 12y ago

Oh, I'm sure I get mistake for a recruiter more than the average female engineer. That's not really the point. The point is that gender adds difficulty in establishing technical credibility. A different female programmer might have trouble with a different aspect of this. For example, Chloe Alpert said how investor have trouble believing that she's the dev (https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509071535098052609 https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509071535098052609) and how some other people were confused that she was the dev (https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509069378575695872 https://twitter.com/chloealpert/status/509069378575695872). She might have more trouble than other female devs because she's cofounded a business with a man. Does that mean that the whole gender doesn't matter? No. In other words, my experience might be that people lump me in as a recruiter specifically. Someone else might be assumed to be the non-technical cofounder. Someone else might get assumed to be a marketer. Or a designer. Or whatever. Point is - gender bias is real.