After my
social media was bombarded with the story of Engineer Barbie and her
helplessness in computer programming, USA Article,
I began to think about the lack of representation of females in the tech
industry. According to the following article about Google Investing $50 Million
to Close the Gender Gap, Google-Girls in Tech only 17% of Google tech employees
are women and only 12% of computer science degrees go to women. There are many
reasons for this disparity, including lack of encouragement and role models. And then once women get the job Silicon Valley companies offer money for women to freeze their eggs so that reproducing doesn't get in the way of work. NPR-Egg Freezing.What kind of message is this sending
to girls and young women about how they are valued and perceived? I don’t see
how women would feel welcomed and inspired in this industry. I recently spoke
with a few male friends in the technology field. They not only confirmed the
lack of female presence at their workplaces but also gave examples of biases
that some tech programmers and developers feel about women in similar
positions. Apparently, women have to continually prove themselves just as
capable as men in these situations despite skill set and experience.
As a women
getting into teaching technology I am concerned about chauvinism for myself and
the students I teach. As an educator I would love to see more learning games,
online activities and experiences geared towards school age girls. I have found
two programs geared for girls and technology, Techbridge http://www.techbridgegirls.org/ and Girls Who Code http://girlswhocode.com/ . I think this is an excellent step
in the right direction for equality in the technology field. I also, think that
perceptions of who, what, and how the tech industry operates needs to change in
order for girls and women to become a part of the tech culture.
