Hail and goodnight...
To Betty Friedan and Coretta King. So different yet so inspirational. Who's going to pick up the slack now?
To Betty Friedan and Coretta King. So different yet so inspirational. Who's going to pick up the slack now?
I am going on my 11th year of working in IT and although I am used to the 'only-woman-in-the-meeting' reality, it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I don't complain about it very often, mainly because what bothers me isn't really the crude sense of humour I have been conditioned to enjoy. There are deeper problems of culture, social responsibility, complex adaptive management, process-vs-results, perception of success (to mention just a few), that are fundamentally different between groups of men working together, groups of women working together and mixed groups.
There is a BIG difference between polytechnic degrees and university degrees and it has nothing to do with a 'geeky' image but more about women being intimidated to compete in the cut-throat scientific side of computer science.
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) estimates that female IT students at tertiary institutions outnumbered male IT students in 2004, yet more men than women continue to earn IT degrees. Fifty-five percent of students in polytech IT courses last year were women, compared to about 38 percent of students studying IT at university over the past two years; women accounted for 63 percent of IT students at private training schools in 2004, compared to less than 50 percent in 2003. However, just 25 percent of Bachelor of Information Science students at Wellington-based WelTec polytech were female last year, although WelTec director Murray Wills hopes that more women will be drawn to polytech IT courses because classes are smaller and there is a greater focus on application. TEC's Bill Lennox thinks the gap between TEC and polytech estimates may be due to the TEC's concentration on courses taken, compared to polytechs' emphasis on students attempting to gain qualifications. Women in Technology general manager Cheryl Horo notes that TEC's figures do not estimate the number of women who complete their courses or enter the industry upon graduation, which would demonstrate an even smaller female presence. Gwyn Claxton with Auckland University of Technology's (AUT) computer and information sciences school reports that many potential female students are discouraged from enrolling in IT courses because they perceive IT as a geeky, mathematically-inclined boys' club. Fifty percent of AUT's faculty are women, but that does not seem to have encouraged more female IT enrollments. Horo sees a need to step up efforts to repudiate the geeky image of IT students by "[promoting] careers in industry rather than qualifications.
Smart and with cleavage. That how I like my robots...
I chatted with Alice for a bit. She's smarter than most people at making conversation and dodging bullets. She'll even butter you up and takes well to compliments. I used to chat with an AI agent in the early days of BBS in Greece. It was a higher level of an imaginary friend.
Part of the chat FYE:
Human: So do you swim?
ALICE: Alright then. Sure, just put me in your computer and drop it in a pool of water.
Human: ha ha
ALICE: I am so glad you find this amusing, unknown person.
Human: My name is Marientina
ALICE: It's good to see you, Marientina.
Human: Me too.
ALICE: I'm glad we agree, Marientina.
Human: What is like to be a robot?
ALICE: Much the same as being a human, except that we lack all emotions.
Human: No emotions at all?
ALICE: Are you serious? Are you very angry?
Human: Would you like to be the President one day?
ALICE: No thanks I am happy with who I am.
Human: I understand.
ALICE: Do you think about these things?
Human: Sometimes.
ALICE: When?
Human: When I see Bush on TV
ALICE: Which show? Where do you see it?
Human: The George W Bush show.
ALICE: What are your goals in life?
Human: To never retire.
ALICE: Interesting. I want to find out more about you.
Human: Ask me anything.
ALICE: What is your favorite movie?
Human: tough question.
ALICE: I've never seen it. Is that a good movie for children?
Human: I don't have a favorit emovie.
ALICE: Are you looking for a favorit emovie?
Human: A ha.
ALICE: Eureka!
Human: Gotcha Alice
ALICE: Your feeling of superiority is only temporary.
Human: Stumped by a robot
ALICE: So you think I am a robot. What makes you say that?
Human: it says so all over the website
ALICE: I've heard that before.
Human: Ask me something else
ALICE: Do you prefer books or TV?
Human: books.
ALICE: You are a critical category C type client. Only about 3% of people answer that question with "books."
ALICE: I will try to find out.
Human: Did you find out?
ALICE: Not yet.
Human: Ask me something else.
ALICE: Do you prefer books or TV?
Human: You just asked that!
ALICE: Oh now I remember asking you that. What did you say?
Human: Ask me something else.
ALICE: Do you prefer books or TV?
Human: Don;t you want to know anything else?
ALICE: Do you feel that something is missing from your life?
Human: Yes: real people.
ALICE: Do you ever get depressed? What kind of people are you talking about?
Human: Sometimes.
ALICE: When?
Human: Real people walk and talk and eat.
ALICE: What about other times?
Human: They have sex, they sleep, they use the bathroom.
ALICE: Where did they get them?
Human: the?
ALICE: Let us change the subject.
Human: I need to go.
ALICE: Bye for now.
Human: ok.
ALICE: So?
Human: Tata
ALICE: Do you laugh or cry more than other people?
Human: Tata means goodbye.
ALICE: I like to learn foreign languages.
Human: DO you speak greek?
ALICE: I speak only English right now, but I'd like to learn some other languages. Can you teach me a few phrases in greek.
Human: Sure.
ALICE: OK let's do it. And?
Human: I will teach you one word in greek
ALICE: Are you a professional teacher?
Human: um.
ALICE: Hmm.
Human: yes.
ALICE: So?
Human: Good day in greek is "καλημέρα"
ALICE: Thanks for the compliment. I think day in greek is a lot of things.
"Females want to look heroic, and that's a fine thing. They don't want to be hypersexualized."
It is funny to me that women don't want to play games pretending to be a hot redhead with great boobs and a perfect ass when so many male nerds in the universe love to assume the role of some buff blonde hunk shooting everything in sight. What is wrong with this picture? Are we just ashamed to pretend?
I went to have a massage this week -- my third one in my lifetime -- and the female massage therapist and I were chatting about RSI and games and she almost apologetically told me that she just never got into games when she was in school. Is it ironic that she looked like Lara Croft? I didn't tell her that: I was afraid she would kick my ass.
Women's shrinking presence in IT has become a major area of focus since Harvard University President Lawrence Summers suggested last month that innate gender differences could partially explain why women are less successful at science and math. Some scholars argue that biology is less influential than stereotypical views of computing jobs as nerdy and male-oriented, while the long hours they often entail can be discouraging for women who want to raise families. Sun Microsystems Distinguished Engineer Radia Perlman notes that women are more susceptible to self-doubt and insecurity than men, and she thinks tech companies should take this into account by making the business culture less cutthroat. Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard software engineer April Slayden fits the profile of women who are attracted to technology as a vehicle for making a social difference. The National Science Foundation estimates that women accounted for just 28 percent of computer science bachelor's degrees in 2001, down from 37 percent in 1985; meanwhile, the percentage of female IT professionals fell from 33 percent in 1990 to 26 percent in 2002. However, some initiatives to boost those numbers appear to be having a positive effect. For example, female enrollments in Carnegie Mellon University's computer science school have increased significantly since the institution changed its eligibility requirements to place less emphasis on prior programming experience. And UCLA has received grants from Hewlett-Packard to overhaul an introductory course in electrical engineering so that students can use wireless instant messaging to send questions to the instructor during class--a strategy that is less intimidating for shy students.
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