496 lines
18 KiB
HTML
496 lines
18 KiB
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>Why are there so few women in Linux?</TITLE
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CLASS="sect1"
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><H1
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CLASS="sect1"
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><A
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NAME="AEN106">2. Why are there so few women in Linux?</H1
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><P
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>Women stay out of Linux for many of the same reasons they stay
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out of computing in general, plus a few reasons specific to Linux.
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Many excellent books and research papers have investigated this topic
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in depth, but we can only summarize the top reasons why women avoid
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computing as a whole. We'll also debunk some common theories about
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why women stay out of computing in general.</P
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><P
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>Three good overall resources for the topic of women in computing
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are:</P
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><P
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>"Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing" by Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher</P
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><P
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> <A
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HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262133989"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262133989 </A
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></P
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><P
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>Women in Computing Keyword List</P
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><P
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> <A
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HREF="http://women.acm.org/search/key_list.php"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://women.acm.org/search/key_list.php </A
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></P
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><P
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>(Some of the papers referred to by this list are available online, but not all.) </P
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><P
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>"Why Are There So Few Female Computer Scientists" by Dr. Ellen Spertus</P
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><P
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><A
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HREF="http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/ellens/Gender/pap/pap.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/ellens/Gender/pap/pap.html </A
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></P
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><P
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>Let's start by examining two of the most common explanations for
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why there are so few women in computing: "Women just aren't interested
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in computers," and "Women aren't as smart as men." The problem with
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the statement, "Women just aren't interested in computers," is that it
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doesn't actually say anything. It's equivalent to answering the
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question, "Why is the sky blue?" with "The sky just is blue." The
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implicit argument here is that women are genetically predetermined
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from conception to not be interested in computers. Very few people
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are willing to say exactly that in so many words, but that is the
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message behind the "just aren't" theory. If you are unwilling to
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accept that women's lack of interest in computing is genetically
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predetermined (and I hope you aren't willing to accept it), you need
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to start exploring what environmental causes are involved.</P
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><P
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>A more explicit version of this theory is that "Women aren't as
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smart as men," or any of the usual corollaries--women aren't as good
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at some skill as men are, usually mathematics, spatial reasoning, or
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logic. <I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>Newsweek</I
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> regularly trumpets studies
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finding gender-related mental differences while ignoring the (far more
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common) studies which find no difference at all. Frequently, other
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researchers are unable to duplicate the results or find flaws in the
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original researchers' methods, but those stories tend to get much
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less press. These studies also make no attempt to control for
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differences in the upbringing of men and women. For example, studies
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frequently show that women have better developed linguistic capability
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in some way. This is taken as proof, at least by the press, that
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women are genetically predisposed to be more verbal than men. But at
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the same time, studies also show that young women are rewarded more
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than young men for verbalization. The sheer existence of physical
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differences between male and female brains (an idea still in dispute)
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is not in and of itself proof that men and women are born with
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differences in mental capacity. We still need to separate out what
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differences are caused by genetics, and which are caused by the
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environment. As a result, if you ask the experts, the only consensus
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on gender-related mental differences is that there is no consensus.
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This is an area of ongoing research, where results will continue to be
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hotly debated for decades or centuries. (My personal opinion is that
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men and women do have some innate, genetically based differences which
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result in tendencies towards different behaviors, but I won't guess
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what they are or how strongly they influence behavior. Human beings
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are extremely adaptable creatures, so I suspect the genetic
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differences are minor compared to differences in environment.)
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</P
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><P
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> Something else to keep in mind is that similar arguments have been
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made about many other fields when women first began joining them, from
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medical science to education. For example, women couldn't be doctors
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because they weren't physically strong enough to set broken bones,
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would faint at the sight of blood, or didn't have the proper bedside
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manner. Those arguments were abandoned when women turned out to be
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just as good doctors and teachers as men were. Maybe men will turn
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out to be better at computer science than women, but history does not
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support that hypothesis.</P
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><P
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>A good reference for the general topic of measuring differences
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between human groups and the motivation behind those measurements is
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<I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>The Mismeasure of Man</I
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> by Steven Jay Gould.
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Scientists have been "proving" differences in the brains and bodies of
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groups of humans for centuries, although in hindsight both their
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methods and their results were flawed. For example, Stephen Jay Gould
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reviews the methods of one scientist measuring skull capacity in men
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and women of different races (and by implication, brain size and
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intelligence). The scientist originally measured the volume of the
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skulls by packing them with linseed, which is somewhat compressible,
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and confirmed his hypothesis that white men tended to have larger
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skulls. When he later remeasured the volume of the skulls with
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incompressible lead shot, he discovered that much of the differences
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in volume between the skulls disappeared. He had been subconsciously
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stuffing the skulls belonging to white males with more linseed than
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the skulls belonging to women or non-white men. Keep this story in
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mind when you read studies claiming to find that some brain structure
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is a different size in men and women.</P
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><P
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>Now that we've addressed some common misconceptions about women
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and computing, let's look at the real reasons why women stay out of
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Linux and computing. I personally believe that the tendencies and
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behaviors I'm about to describe are the result of the way most women
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are raised, in other words, they are the result of gender
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socialization. I'm not claiming that women are born less confident,
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or anything else, I'm just observing general tendencies in women and
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pointing out how Linux culture discourages people with those
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tendencies. Many of the reasons I'm about to list also apply to
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other underrepresented groups in computing or science.</P
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN127">2.1. Women are less confident</H2
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><P
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>Women severely underestimate their abilities in many areas, but
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especially with respect to computers. One study about this topic is
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<I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>Undergraduate Women in Computer Science: Experience,
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Motivation, and Culture</I
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>: <A
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HREF="http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~gendergap/papers/sigcse97/sigcse97.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~gendergap/papers/sigcse97/sigcse97.html
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</A
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></P
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><P
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>For example, while 53% of the male computer science freshman
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rated themselves as highly prepared for their CS courses, 0% of the
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female CS freshman rated themselves similarly. But at the end of the
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year, 6 out the 7 female students interviewed had either an A or B
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average. Objective ratings (such as grade point averages or quality
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and speed of programming) don't agree with most women's
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self-estimation. I personally encountered this phenomenon: Despite
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plenty of objective evidence to the contrary, including grades, time
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spent on assignments, and high placement in a programming contest, I
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still didn't consider myself to be at the top of my class in college.
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Looking back objectively, it seems clear to me that I was performing
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as well or better than many of the far more confident men in my
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class.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN133">2.2. Women have fewer opportunities for friendship or
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mentoring</H2
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><P
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>Like any other discipline, computer science is easier to learn
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when you have friends and mentors to ask questions of and form a
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community with. However, for various reasons, men usually tend to
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mentor and become friends with other men. When the gender imbalance
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is as large as it is in computer science, women find themselves with
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few or no other women to share their interests with. While women have
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male friends and mentors, it's often harder and more difficult for
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women to find a community and then to fit in with it. Many women
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leave the field who would have stayed if they had been male.</P
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><P
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>It's true that this is a feedback loop, fewer women in computing
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leads to fewer women in computing. It's important to understand that
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this feedback loop causes women to leave computing who wouldn't have
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left if, all other things being equal, they had been men. This is
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important because male classmates often assume their female
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counterparts leave the field because they "just aren't good enough."
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Women's low self-estimation contributes to this false
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impression.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN137">2.3. Women are discouraged from an early age</H2
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><P
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>Societal pressure for women to avoid computing begins at an
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extremely early age. Preschoolers already have conceptions about
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which jobs are men's jobs, and which jobs are women's. An excellent
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review of studies documenting gender role socialization from an early
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age can be found in Dr. Ellen Spertus's excellent "Why are There so
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Few Female Computer Scientists?" paper: <A
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HREF="http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/ellens/Gender/pap/node6.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/ellens/Gender/pap/node6.html</A
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></P
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><P
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>Once you realize that men and women are treated differently
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from, practically, birth, it becomes hard to claim that any woman
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hasn't experienced discrimination. Sure, if you're lucky, no one ever
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explicitly told you that you couldn't work with computers because you
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were a girl, but every time you raised your voice, an adult told you
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to quiet down, while the boy next to you continued to shriek. This is
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a handicap later on in life, when being loud and insistent is the only
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way to get your opinion heard--for example, on the linux-kernel
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mailing list.</P
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><P
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>The most striking example of a subtle bias against computing for
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women is that, in the U.S. at least, the family computer is more
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likely to be kept in a boy's room than in a girl's room. Margolis and
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Fisher give several telling examples of this trend and its effects on
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pages 22-24 of <I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>Unlocking the Clubhouse</I
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>.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN144">2.4. Computing perceived as non-social</H2
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><P
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>Working with computers is perceived to be a solitary occupation
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involving little or no day-to-day human contact. Since women are
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socialized to be more friendly, helpful, and generally more interested
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in human interaction than men, computing tends to be less attractive
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to women. I want to stress that computing is only perceived to be a
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non-social activity. While it is possible for a programmer to be
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relatively successful while being actively anti-social and programming
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does tend to attract people less comfortable with human interaction,
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computing is as social as you make it. During college, I spent most
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of my computer time in a computer lab at the school with several of my
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best friends. And recently, I changed jobs specifically in order to
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have more day-to-day contact with other programmers. For me,
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programming by myself is less fun or creative than it is when I have
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people around to talk to about my program.</P
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><P
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> Oddly, many occupations which are arguably less social than computing
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are still very attractive to women. Writing, either fiction or
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non-fiction, is a good example of a field that requires many hours of
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solitary concentration to be successful. Perhaps the answer to the
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paradox lies in the perception of individual writers as still being
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interested in social interaction, and just not having much opportunity
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for it.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN148">2.5. Lack of female role models</H2
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><P
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>Women in computing do exist, but most people aren't lucky enough
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to meet a female computer scientist. Women are socialized to be
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modest and avoid self-promotion, which makes them even less visible
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than they might otherwise be. Mothers and female schoolteachers
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regularly protest that they don't know anything about computers. As a
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result, girls grow up without examples of women who are either
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competent or confident with computers. I encourage all women in
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computing to be as visible as possible--accept all interviews, take
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credit publicly--even when you don't want to. You may be embarrassed,
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but by allowing yourself to be publicized or promoted, you might
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change a young girl's life.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN151">2.6. Games, classes aimed towards men</H2
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><P
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>We all know that most computer games are written by and for men.
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They feature non-stop gore and women with unrealistically huge
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breasts, but hey, if that's the market, what's the problem?</P
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><P
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>The best way I know how to illustrate the problem with the
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computer game industry is to tell a story from a Salon.com article
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(<A
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HREF="http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/05/22/e3_2001/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/05/22/e3_2001/
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</A
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>) about the 2001 E3 gaming convention:</P
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><P
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>
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"A creative director for a leading development team cheerfully
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described to me how its Q.A. team made a prostitute sport a game's
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logo on her body during a combination gonzo video/gangbang session."
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</P
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><P
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>This was only one of many similar stories and events at the
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conference. How can an industry that views company-sponsored
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gangbangs as somehow appropriate *not* be driving women out of the
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computing arena in droves?</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN158">2.7. Advertising, media say computers are for men</H2
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><P
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>The next time you see a computer ad featuring a person, pay
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attention to that person's gender. Most likely, the person is a man.
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Frequently, when I do see women in a computer ad, they're wearing
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freakish makeup and some form of colorful skintight vinyl, or else
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they're acting dumb and helpless and waiting for the man to show them
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how to use the computer. Often, they don't appear to actually be
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using the computer and are just sort of decoratively posed near it.
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Movies and TV shows are no better. When a woman is depicted as a
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programmer, often more screen time is spent admiring her shapely body
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and kissable lips than demonstrating her competence as a programmer.
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Notable example: Angelina Jolie in "Hackers."</P
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><P
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>Men and women are constantly bombarded with media images which
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say: "Men use computers, women don't." It's difficult to overcome
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daily indoctrination of this sort.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN162">2.8. Life-work balance more important to women</H2
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><P
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>Being good at computing is considered to be an activity that
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requires spending nearly all your waking hours either using a computer
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or learning about them. While this is another misperception, women
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generally are less willing to obsess on one topic, preferring to lead
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a more balanced life. Women often believe that if they enter
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computing, they will inexorably lose that balance, and avoid the field
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altogether instead. During college, I was personally very proud of
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not spending my leisure time playing computer games because it refuted
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the programmer stereotype of being at the computer all day, every
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day.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN165">2.9. Reasons women avoid Linux specifically</H2
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><P
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>Linux development is more competitive and fierce than most areas
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of programming. Often, the only reward (or the major reward) for
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writing code is status and the approval of your peers. Far more
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often, the "reward" is a scathing flame, or worse yet, no response at
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all. Since women are socialized to not be competitive and avoid
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conflict, and since they have low self-confidence to begin with, Linux
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and open source in general are even more difficult than most areas of
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computing for women to get and stay involved in.</P
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>Introduction</TD
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