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I'm a female designer/dev. I got my diploma in design & then I went back & got my bachelor in CS (Maths). Some here have mentioned interest & I agree. I think

I'm a female designer/dev. I got my diploma in design & then I went back & got my bachelor in CS (Maths). Some here have mentioned interest & I agree. I think being a dev in general is a pretty lonely world. Multiply that by about 100 if you're a female dev. This is the same for anything STEM-related. I was the only girl in my high school physics class of 40+ boys, then 20 girls in 400 for CS & most dropped out by the end. I think you have to have some kind of underlying "geekiness" that makes you prefer looking at a screen vs anything else. Most females that I know either A) don't know what a startup is at all or B) would love to learn to code, but shake it off as something they could never do. In the case of B), it would really only take one male/female to invite them to a meetup, hackathon, coworking session (or whatever) & perhaps that would be enough. I guess what I'm trying to say is, work out a way to make "tech" seem like something other than what non-tech females probably think it is - White men, incapable of non-awkward conversation, playing WoW on a Friday night in a dim-lit room.

marquis 12y ago
Also female dev here - I think we all have our unique story about how we stayed in tech against the odds, rather than going with the flow. It might be helpful if we could, as women still working in the industry, compile a proper set of documents about the challenges we faced. It might help if there were just more details out there rather than the few stories we pass along when a post like this comes up. Definitely easier now for the kids though - I've met 9 year old girls lately who are rocking python/robot dev and if they can stay in all-girl schools through secondary school (or have a very female-supported CS dept if mixed) they'll have good chance of staying in STEM. I also have to say, because this is fairly recent for me, I've become less and less of a dev myself and more management and I'm having a blast. My years of dev has really gelled with the demands on product development and I very much enjoy the dynamics of running a team - something I never thought I'd find interesting. So it's something quite new for me, and as I know it's more common to see women building a career in management rather than thank of themselves as part of the coding team but I can see clearly how having more dev experience just makes you all the stronger. Might be a compelling argument for those going through school with their eye on an executive position for their future.

marquis 12y ago

Also female dev here - I think we all have our unique story about how we stayed in tech against the odds, rather than going with the flow. It might be helpful if we could, as women still working in the industry, compile a proper set of documents about the challenges we faced. It might help if there were just more details out there rather than the few stories we pass along when a post like this comes up. Definitely easier now for the kids though - I've met 9 year old girls lately who are rocking python/robot dev and if they can stay in all-girl schools through secondary school (or have a very female-supported CS dept if mixed) they'll have good chance of staying in STEM. I also have to say, because this is fairly recent for me, I've become less and less of a dev myself and more management and I'm having a blast. My years of dev has really gelled with the demands on product development and I very much enjoy the dynamics of running a team - something I never thought I'd find interesting. So it's something quite new for me, and as I know it's more common to see women building a career in management rather than thank of themselves as part of the coding team but I can see clearly how having more dev experience just makes you all the stronger. Might be a compelling argument for those going through school with their eye on an executive position for their future.