"The
most damaging phrase in the language is: We've always done it this
way."
I
took a trip out to Minneapolis for the 2013 Grace Hopper Conference.
I didn't really know what to expect. I thought it would be much like
any other career fair but scaled upward a few times over because
companies like Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, EA, (just to name a
few) would all be there.
What
I walked into instead was so much more.
The
celebration started off with keynote speakers Sheryl Sandberg
(Facebook's COO) , Maria Klawe (Harvey Mudd's President)
and Telle Whitney (CEO and president of the Anita Borg
Institute). During the keynote I sat and listened to these
empowering women speak about how they wanted to alter the stereotypes
set in place and fight the adversities women face in life and
especially in the workplace. Currently women obtain 57% of all
undergraduate degrees but only 18% of those degrees are held in
Computer and Information Sciences.
There
are several theories about why women avoid majoring in computer
sciences. According to men and women inside the industry, these
include:
- The “male computer nerd” factor, which makes women feel uncomfortable.
- A boys’ club environment that often puts women in an “unwelcome minority” territory.
- The suggestion that men in the IT field too often take credit for their female colleagues’ ideas or work.
- The belief that time away from the CS world (i.e., maternity leave) can be “career suicide” for a woman in a field that requires constant updating.
Women
like Dr. Klawe are working hard to change these notions, starting
with Harvey Mudd College.
As
these women listed off these things I started to reflect on my own
life and realized they were right. I was used to being different and
wasn't much of a conformist so those things didn't stray me from my goal. If I were looking into this field as another high school girl, however, I wouldn't be very interested in Computer Science if it was portrayed the same way.
Women
face the most adversities in the workplace and in their daily lives but work the hardest.
Little boys are raised to be leaders while little girls are raised to
take a submissive role. When children are playing and a little girl
is telling another little boy or girl what to do we immediately say
to her “stop being bossy” , but if a little boy were to
do the same thing not once would anyone even think to call him
“bossy”. As we get older it doesn't get any better. Let's take a
look at the workplace. If a women attains success she'll says “ I
couldn't have done it without...”, “I'm just grateful that I was
given the opportunity...” Now let's look at men. They'll say “I
worked harder”, “I deserved it”... sound familiar?
It's
hard to hear these things and not make a change or feel differently. This conference has given me much more than interviews
and networking opportunities. It has given me the drive and desire to
let other girls know computer science isn't just for men, it isn't
boring, and we can be just as good as they are at computing if not
better. I will forever treasure this great experience. I've bonded with many women in computer science who share the same passion for technology and drive to succeed. I will not only leave with the connections that I've made, but with a new
outlook on technology and a newly ignited flame for computer
science.
Grace
Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
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