“It's time to stop thinking of computer programming as a specialty subject. Schools should respect it as a fundamental skill.”
—Why High Schools Should Treat Computer Programming Like Algebra - Jordan Weissmann - The Atlantic
I’ve been a female programmer for years. Being a female in this field is a fight. Being good with tits (more importantly without a dick) isn’t good enough, you have to be fucking great and you have to continue to be the best at all the new technologies. While you’re fighting to stay on top you have to laugh off every single come on and sexist joke in a sea of nerds.
I did all of this, and I was fucking awesome at it. I could roll with the boys like I had dick.
You know what you can’t fucking fight? You know what makes someone with passion about their profession decide they want to walk away? A single man, a man that decides he can separate you from the team and enjoy his bro club. A man who decides to not give you any work for months and then blows you off when you question him about it. It also helps to have a buddy in HR covering that shit up when you complain to them about it - you know, literally not filing anything. When you complain to higher ups they claim it’s your skill set despite you kicking ass at every test they throw at you. To the point they stop ‘grading’ them to keep the cover up and discrimination alive.
Even after HR and the boss man were fired I was still given poor reviews, because a year in the corner not being allowed to be involved in the decisions of new technology brought in puts you a year behind everyone else.
Of course you get chosen for the layoffs. And you don’t care.
You also lose your passion for the code, the standard, and the industry.
Why aren’t more women in tech?
I just have you one big fucking hint. I’ll go to the admin side, where my tits will be appreciated.
“If you grew up and went to school in the United States, you were educated in a system that has eight times as many high-school football teams as high schools that teach advanced placement computer-science classes. ”
—“Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won’t Hire You” via The Wall Street Journal
Despite some quibbles with this op-ed piece, the fact is that our education system is not adapting fast enough to a world that is relying more and more on technology. In order to succeed, students are going to need a more sophisticated understanding of how technology works and the hands-on knowledge to manipulate technology for some purpose.
