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<p>Elliot Brennan:
<br>> All things being equal, it is only reasonable to
<br>> believe that women would be equally represented.
<br>> As this appear not to be the case, then it speaks
<br>> to itself that something is occurring which
<br>> inhibits or restricts equality of opportunity and
<br>> interest.
<br>
<br>Might women just not enjoy computing?  That's something which would inhibit them, but not a problem.  Parity is not a requirement.
<br>
<br>
<br> That alone is of concern to anyone who
<br>> believes in equality of opportunity. There is no
<br>> need to consider this bad. If one considers that
<br>> women are statistically as smart as men, then the
<br>> concern would be that a large group of highly
<br>> intelligent people are unrepresented and that this
<br>> is not in the best interests of the IT field.
<br>>
<br>>  > Certainly we need no more
<br>> > programmers of little ability who are only in it
<br>> > for the money; not even if they are women.
<br>> >
<br>>
<br>> Can't agree with you more.
<br>>
<br>> > I suspect that people with appropriate talent and
<br>> > desire will find their way into the profession
<br>> > regardless of encouragement.
<br>>
<br>> This would appear to not be the case. The dominant
<br>> cultural values may well be changing. However this
<br>> does not mean they are ineffective or irrelevant.
<br>> There are multiple examples giving evidence to the
<br>> existing biases, these include female-dominated
<br>> industries which pay less when compared to
<br>> male-dominated industries of similar
<br>> skill/education levels and those areas in which
<br>> skill and intelligence rather than physical
<br>> prowess are required and yet there are few women -
<br>> IT would appear to be one of them.
<br>>
<br>> The questions of 'why not?' is an obvious one and
<br>> beliefs around what women will 'enjoy' or are
<br>> attracted towards are evidence alone that there is
<br>> a cultural bias.  There is on evidence of a
<br>> 'natural' inclination of such a high order as IT
<br>> or Teaching.
<br>>
<br>> Without wishing to spend too long on the subject,
<br>> cultural bias is not merely something one group
<br>> imposes on another, but includes the
<br>> internalisation of these biases by all groups. The
<br>> internalisation and expression of cultural beliefs
<br>> is one of the major  mechanisms of the
<br>> reproduction of these beliefs.
<br>>
<br>> People from a poor
<br>> > socio-economic background might need a gentle
<br>> > nudge but not, generally speaking, young 21st
<br>> > century women.  I'd rather see young people
<br>> > encouraged into a healthy hacking culture,
<br>> > regardless of sex, than to give scarce resources
<br>> > to the purpose of attracting women who might
<br>> > better enjoy working elsewhere.
<br>>
<br>> ...and here we have an example. It presupposes
<br>> that women will enjoy working somewhere else. It
<br>> also presupposes that women will be encouraged to
<br>> enter a field they don't like - how many men does
<br>> this happen to? People are usually attracted to
<br>> what they believe best suits their internalised
<br>> perception of an area they should work in. Few men
<br>> become pole dancers.
<br>>
<br>> I do not say this > to pre-judge the Ada
<br>> Initiative's outcomes, merely
<br>> > to express a concern.
<br>>
<br>> Ditto.
<br>>
<br>> Though I would generally support those projects
<br>> which aim to increase the population of those
<br>> groups which are under-represented, as long as the
<br>> money is well spent/gifted/donated etc, I'm not
<br>> familiar enough with LA history or policies to
<br>> express a view based on such.
<br>>
<br>> I agree that monies need to be spent wisely and
<br>> that it should be clear what any money is spent on
<br>> and why.
<br>>
<br>>
<br>> Regards,
<br>>
<br>> Patrick
<br>>
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