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Remove vulgarities.

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Signed-off-by: Nicolás Ortega Froysa <nicolas@ortegas.org>
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Nicolás A. Ortega Froysa
2023-12-15 09:55:39 +01:00
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blog/posts/0069-getting-more-women-in-technology.html
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<p>So, since we know that the percentage of women in the field of computer science was rising up until the mid-80s, when it lagged behind the rest of the STEM fields where women went on to represent nearly 50% of the field, what happened there? Well, as the NPR article above pointed out, a major change took place in computing during that time in which computers went from being a professional tool to do fast calculations and simulations, to being a household electronic device, but more importantly, a gaming station for kids, specifically being placed in the "boy's toys" section in supermarkets. It is speculated that this may have been a major influence on the percentage of women in tech today. Had it been put in the "girl's toys" section, the tech field might have been taken over by women and we'd be wondering how to get more men into the field!</p>
<p>Now, simply because you play with something (in this case, a boy plays with a computer) doesn't mean you gain an interest in how it works underneath and start to tinker with it. However, it does increase your chances of obtaining these interests. This may be anecdotal, but I can say that many of the people I know in my degree joined because they play video-games in their free time and they wanted to be a part of that, and I don't doubt that such is the case of most people in tech (if not video-games, something else). Hell, it's what got me into computers (as well as the 90s movie <i>Hackers</i>, which I now look back on in shame due to how unrealistic it is).</p>
<p>Now, simply because you play with something (in this case, a boy plays with a computer) doesn't mean you gain an interest in how it works underneath and start to tinker with it. However, it does increase your chances of obtaining these interests. This may be anecdotal, but I can say that many of the people I know in my degree joined because they play video-games in their free time and they wanted to be a part of that, and I don't doubt that such is the case of most people in tech (if not video-games, something else). It's what got me into computers (as well as the 90s movie <i>Hackers</i>, which I now look back on in shame due to how unrealistic it is).</p>
<p>Knowing this, it seems quite evident to me that we should not be trying to attract more women into the field when it's already too late for them and they've already developed a personality, likes & dislikes, but earlier in their development when they're children. Therefore, the first and most important responsibility falls down to the parents (as in most cases). Parents should introduce their girls to computers and even computer games. The parents (especially the mother, who serves as the female role model) should also take a little interest in tech (or simply the sciences) to encourage this behavior. When the girl is old enough, teach her to use a program like <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu/" target="_blank" >Scratch</a>, a software from MIT that helps children learn the basics of logic and programming while making fun games. Maybe when they're a teenager do some family projects with a <a href="https://www.raspberrypi.org/" target="_blank" >Raspberry Pi</a> or a <a href="https://www.pine64.org/" target="_blank" >Pine64</a>.</p>