Re: Is programming gender biased?

Scott Moore wrote On 11/07/05 11:19,:
> gds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote On 11/04/05 19:00,:
>
>>Scott Moore <samiamsansspam@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>gds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote On 11/04/05 16:20,:
>>>
>>>
>>>>My general opinion: most females (and blacks) who have the aptitude
>>>>for programming are turned off by other aspects of the profession.
>>>>Add to that recent downsizing, offshoring, etc., makes for even less
>>>>reason for them to enter the profession.
>>>
>>>What aspects ?
>>
>>
>>For some examples, see studies from Jane Margolis at UCLA:
>>http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/pages/margolis.html
>>

"We refer to this orientation as "computing for a purpose", and it is one of the most
significant differences we see in incoming male and female majors. About 44% (14/32)
of our sample of female students situate their interest in computer science within a
larger framework, tying computing to other arenas that give meaning to their computer
science work, while only 9% of the male students describe their orientation towards
computer science in this way. In this paper we examine the nature of these two
different attachments and discuss the necessary innovations for computer science
education (curriculum, pedagogy, and culture) if greater numbers of potentially
interested women are to be attracted to and engaged with the field."

That certainly sounds correct. If its the case, then it needs to be countered, not
adapted to, IMHO. The mathematical sciences, pure research and other matters
would not be able to stand up to such a test of usefulness. In fact, most pure
research is carried out with distain for real world uses.

Certainly "computing for a cause" sounds practical, but in common practice it
means programmers who tolerate, not enjoy, their work.

.

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