The talk “Gender and Social Media Panel: Being Female in a Virtual World” was sponsored by Douglass Residential College and the Department of Library and Information Sciences.
I also found a good portion of what is covered in the article to be true to my experiences in the past 23 years. This quote stuck out to me:
"For this reason, Vertesi said feminism’s role in technology should be to make women’s work in these fields visible and reward them for it."
To me it has always come down to this. If we don't make women in these fields more visible, we won't attract girls and young women into the professions. We need to be the role models for the next generation.
Embedded Link
Panel explores gender roles in technology
There are many successful women in the fields of science and
technology — but they are rarely seen or heard. This was one theme
of last night’s “Gender and Social Media Panel: Being Female in a
Virtua…
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Thanks for sharing such a relevant and timely article.
No offense to anybody. What i don't understand is why do we have such institutions and organizations? Do women really need this? I have heard about special rights and privileges given to women in certain fields.Eg:Senior Lady Citizens get 20 % discount more than male ones in train fares in our area. Heard about Women Empowerment. Didn't hear about male empowerment that much.
Regarding this post, do we need to highlighting women? How in the world can anybody link professions, fields, scientific and social contribution to future generation with their gender? We, as humans have continuously evolved and progressed with time. What has that got to do with gender? Never heard about " Being Male in Virtual World". Why?
Because males have always been empowered by society. Here's a document that does a good job explaining the relevance of female empowerment worldide: United Nations Guidelines on Women's Empowerment – http://www.un.org/popin/unfpa/taskforce/guide/iatfwemp.gdl.html
An extract from the post: “Technology and all these engineering fields are portrayed as male-dominated, but there are women behind the scenes,” Chaudhry said. What in the world makes people think those as male dominated? If women choose Comp. and IT and not Mechanical / Electrical/ Civil, who is portraying what?
nice won i love what i see in u ladies so what is new today on the street of the world
Male empowerment is built into most cultures, and that makes it invisible. It's still very real and needs to be consciously countered through empowering other groups, such as women. It's very hard to see something like that for yourself, when you are the beneficiary of it. It's very similar to white people being unable to see how many cultures benefit them and disenfranchise non-white people without their doing a thing to gain those benefits.
Gender dimension of Science and Technology -Though it IS a prevailing topic and many organizations are aimed at this, but I wonder who in the world first came up with this topic.
OK, color me cynical, but I'm starting to think +Mayank Singh isn't really trying to learn anything here.
/plonk
It's starting to taste like spam to me.
+Cindy Brown With all due respect, i still appreciate your attitude and your opinion!
All men who have achieved great things
have been great dreamers.
Another quote: "Sometimes, being in classes with mostly males who have been around these fields for a while can get discouraging, she said." What in the world was she thinking? What can get discouraging? Is there any other thing matters more than skills and experience? gender????
+DON HILLARY I don't know what's that supposed to mean. If that is for me, I take it positively and your opinion is respected too!
+Mayank Singh , I encourage you to read the UN article I linked to earlier. That's a good starting point for a discussion. Another option, if you are concerned that men's rights and empowerment are not getting the attention you think they deserve, would be to make some posts on your own G+ account about men's rights issues to initiate the dialogue you seem to be wanting.
+Cathryn English I am not at all concerned that way. The point I am trying to make is "Do we need to make Gender based discussions?"
She said the work in computer science and technology that women do is comparable to the work men do, but it is often degraded.
I'm not sure what she means by this — does someone have an example? The historical context of women being "computers" (i.e. tabulaters) and then "receding" into programming doesn't seem like a good example. Going from a number-adder to a programmer is certainly a positive progression.
I agree that we need to encourage more women to enter technology fields. Do women in technology at this moment feel their contributions are being denigrated?
Thanks for posting +Lynette Young !
I think the fact that you keep calling women "dear" makes it obvious that the answer is yes.
+Cathryn English I didn't know that spam is supposed to be gender biased. It generally refers to bulk , random/commercial messages containing links aimed at phishing or improving search engine ranking.
thanks for understanding. i understand the point she is talking about is not superpose to be the men all the time if i tried to understand her the more?
+Brian Titus They get overlooked, undervalued, and in many cases even attributed to the work of male colleagues.
A classic example is Rosalind Franklin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin) who is only one of many, many, many such women.
+Cathryn English Although that doesn't make much sense to me, I still respect your opinion, assumption and attitude. IF we google male empowerment and female empowerment, the difference in no. of results is around 1.5 million!
Spam can be one of two things. Posting or email of unrelated topics at high volumes. It can also refer to an individual posting pretty much the same thing over and over regardless of the commentary the person gets.
+Brian Titus , a recent and public example was the Best Buy commercial that first aired during the Super Bowl. The ad showed various contributors to the tech world, but did not include one female innovator. The flight attendant, however, was a woman. I watched the ad during the game with a large room of people. Almost all the women noticed the lack of females in the ad, but the men didn't. That's just an every day example of the perceived lack of female presence in the science and technology fields, as well as the assumption that the person serving drinks to these accomplished men on the plane will be female.
People may say the ad is innocuous, but as a woman with a daughter the trend becomes obvious when I see it every day, especially in the media. While no one in the ad is saying, "We are not going to recognize women in the technology field," young women are given a default idea of men dominating and controlling the field, and will therefore have a hard time identifying with the career and education options associated with the field.
Here's a list of female innovators who could have been featured in the ad: http://jezebel.com/women-inventors/
i now understand what Cathryn is talking about but we have held about them and we have been giving them the chance to express themselves but most time they just don't want to be a way from their family .
This is the most depressing thread I have seen on G+.
+Lynette Young Just had a decent ( inspite of one lady accusing as spam& calling me cynical and me still saying that I appreciate and respect their opinion) interaction with some ladies regarding your post. Some ladies have now deleted their comments after mentioning it was one of the most depressing thread for them. You just need to tell me whether or not I can comment on your posts which I did respectfully to share my opinion.
+DON HILLARY , you never stop to think that your attitude, multiplied by many men, isn't a complete turn off? Why should I have to deal with someone like you, who has already decided what I'll probably do?
But I'll bet you cant' even entertain that concept. +Cathryn English and I have been pretty clear in pointing out how it works, but you still step right back into that "ah, the little wimmen, they just loooove that kitchen…" mindset.
Men are blind. They need to stay home with the children while we work.
+Christine Cavalier Dear! I appreciate your assumption and your attitude . Contributing your effort to this society and the world on the whole has nothing to do with gender.
not at tall that is not what am talking about my dear don't get me wrong okay CINDY BROWN
+DON HILLARY , I am not your dear. Don't yammer about respect and then fucking call me your dear.
+DON HILLARY : +Cindy Brown and +Cathryn English ' comments appear to be deleted .
+Cindy Brown Thanks for the reply. I'm more interested to understand some first hand experiences, perhaps from people on this very thread. It's very depressing to think that female technology professionals in today's workforce would still be treated like something out of Mad Men.
+Cathryn English that's definitely a good example of the cultural bias, which is also part of the discussion in the article. Despicable. Again, my question was more about women in technology right now and their experiences in the workplace. Are they (still) being treated as 2nd class employees? That is definitely upsetting to contemplate.
+Brian Titus , yes they are.
Jezebel (as pointed out by one of the guests on this post), I believe is a women blog, and not a neutral one. As far as that ad goes, nobody can presume what happened in the selection process that they had to undergo unless the concerned authorities publicly reveal .
I've never been in the tech field, but I think women in many fields are treated and perceived differently than men. However, I do not think this treatment is intentional, and often it is not even recognized as sexism by the people who are doing it. It may not be blatant like it was in the sixties (as depicted in Mad Men) but when we think of each other differently as a result of ingrained stereotypes, it can cause a rift in the workplace.
My husband, however, does work in the field of technology. While he has a number of female colleagues, he has been disappointed when some of them have been ridiculed and called sexist names (not to their faces, but once they are not present) after disagreeing on project specs or pushing for an idea in a way that is the norm in the industry. And, on the topic of the article, when meeting with clients my husband has come home many a time frustrated that a group of client representatives spoke only to him, both in person and on the phone, and all but ignored his female project partner – even when took an assistant role on certain projects. Sometimes even when a woman is in charge and leading a meeting, others will almost always address the males in the room. Obviously this is my husband's personal experience within one company, but I have no doubt it happens elsewhere, too.
And again, it's not that any of these men have decided they want to treat their female colleagues differently; it's simply an outcome of ingrained attitudes and stereotypes. That's why open discussion is important. People can learn about how their subtle behavioral choices affect others, and how small changes can make a big impact in the success of everyone in their workplaces.
….and hence the need for the conference referenced in the OP… /sigh/
I think you're right +Cathryn English, there is still sexism in the workplace in general, and your husband's experiences with female colleagues seem to indicate that it's no better in the technology field. You would hope that the explosion of the internet and related technologies would be something of a leveler (on the internet nobody knows you're a [woman])* but I guess there is still a lot of work to be done. :-/
*http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Internet_dog.jpg
Along those lines, many, many, many women can relate the differences in their online experiences when they publicly identify as female versus obscuring their gender.
+Brian Titus I worked as a sys admin for a number of years and I can tell you, it's awful for women. The size of my breasts and other women's breasts were a frequent topic of discussion. I was put into service roles my male colleagues were not, even though they were my equals. I earned less than they did too. I will never, ever encourage my daughter to enter the hardware or software admin field. Ever. It's the worst environment for women I've encountered in my entire, varied career.
To others on this thread: perhaps it is a cultural misunderstanding, but do not call western women "dear". It is considered very offensive. Western men know not to do this. It would be the same as calling you a baby. It is very offensive to us and is enough to get you blocked.
+Cindy Brown absolutely. Actually, that's a great example… when we reach a point where we don't see that kind of behavior anymore, we would hope that it has also vanished from the workplace. Hmm, can't say I'm too hopeful, unfortunately.
+Christine Cavalier Yikes, that's awful.
I always seem to put posts up that attract trolls when I'm walking out the door for work. Thanks to everyone that left intelligent, insightful, and well articulated comments. The rest….well…..not so much (grin).
The topic of discussion in office depends on person to person .Not everybody is decent and as such some colleagues might get uncomfortable. That applies to all irrespective of their gender .
+Lynette Young What with some guests on your post accusing men to be blind are offended by "dear"? "Dear" is also used for addressing a person in a friendly manner. It totally depends on the attitude of person what meaning he or she deduces. Inspite of some ladies on this post accusing me as "spam" and "cynical", I still talked decently and appreciated their attitude and respected their opinion! Do Google + policies restrict us from using that word?
Did a lot of hangouts discussing pros and cons of Google+ .. Apparently missed the point where Google+ restricts users of different cultures from social interaction by commenting on a common post or offending somebody calling you names by addressing them "dear" .
+Lynette Young Dear if you used the word "trolls" for me, I still respect your opinion. I am wondering what do you think of those using indecent language (cynical, spam..)and deleting their comments. Simply tell me not to write on your posts if you don't want me to. I am a teacher and have been teaching school , college students, 30 , 40 yr olds. I am a decent person.
I block trolls. Just an FYI.
+Mayank Singh thanks dear but I did not dear. I have been away from my desk all day working and have not deleted one comment from this thread. Perhaps Google flagged you as a spammer and deleted your comments? I see them all here. They have pretty good technology for finding it. My opinion of a decent person, dear, may be different from yours.
I block trolls too.
And that's why whatsisface isn't seeing our comments.
+Lynette Young I was talking about people deleting their own comments like many did here already , after they realized that comments containing abuses don't look good , especially when the other person is still polite with them. None of my comments appear to be deleted. I didn't accuse you of deleting any comments. Google is not foolish enough to flag spam simply due to using "dear" while addressing somebody. Everybody has his own views and opinion and yours is respected too.
We , at +Tech Computers & Data Recovery constantly strive to abide by the TOC & rules necessary . Regarding that on Google+, we urge users to view the community standards .
1.Spam, Malware and Phishing
We don't allow transmission of malware, viruses, or anything that may disrupt service or harm others. Spam is also prohibited and may include: product advertisements, link spam and links to commercial pornography. Malicious scripts and password phishing scams are not allowed either.
2.Hate Speech
We don't allow the promotion of hatred toward groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity.
We also urge users to google "Spam" and find its correct meaning. Majority of users here appear to get only the "unsolicited" part. The appropriate solution for those getting offended by my comments would be uncircle (if already circled) us or block us so that we are prohibited from viewing or commenting on their posts and mentioning their name on Google+, or DELETE our comments.
Funny thing is that you all put so much effort into something so trivial! I'm 50 and call all sorts of women, dear. It's how I was brought up, I'm ex-military,I'm ADHD and my mum is a Brit, so it comes out as "dear" unless it's a "Yes, Ma'am"! Just in case you are in a country that is not a Police State (and, no, the US is a Police State, you know, Patriot Act, yada yada, and is monitoring most text and post messages on Google), there is a thing called Freedom of Speech and whatshisname was using it. And with that in my hot little hands, this is the part where I tell you to erase the L from your forehead and get a life, it's way too short for this sh%te.