Comments on: Why don't women go into Computer Science? http://blog.webfoot.com/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/ Mon, 23 May 2011 05:42:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Best Webfoot Forward » Gender and programming http://blog.webfoot.com/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/comment-page-1/#comment-332 Best Webfoot Forward » Gender and programming Wed, 20 May 2009 19:44:52 +0000 http://www.webfoot.com/blog/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/#comment-332 [...] shown that women are — in general — more risk averse than men are.  (I’ve also commented on this.)  She said that her research found that risk-averse people (most women and some men) are [...] [...] shown that women are — in general — more risk averse than men are.  (I’ve also commented on this.)  She said that her research found that risk-averse people (most women and some men) are [...]

]]> By: jeffp http://blog.webfoot.com/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/comment-page-1/#comment-331 jeffp Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:42:45 +0000 http://www.webfoot.com/blog/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/#comment-331 I think I read the same article that prompted some of this - the one about men taking more risks. I'm not at all sure I buy that theory, though it is interesting. But even if you do buy it, I have to ask what it is that would cause fewer women to enter CS as a field. I don't think it is clear that kids are aware of how rapidly the guts of the high tech world roll over. In addition, well before they're ten, girls want to do girlish things and boys want to do boyish things. Society may program kids in various ways, and there are all kinds of possible reasons for that. And there may be an element of risk taking behavior that comes more easily to men for some reason, but I don't know that I see engineering as inherently more risky than anything else, and I really have a hard time seeing that kids would see it that way, and they'd have to do so to make the decision to go into (or not) engineering, right? I think I read the same article that prompted some of this – the one about men taking more risks. I’m not at all sure I buy that theory, though it is interesting. But even if you do buy it, I have to ask what it is that would cause fewer women to enter CS as a field. I don’t think it is clear that kids are aware of how rapidly the guts of the high tech world roll over. In addition, well before they’re ten, girls want to do girlish things and boys want to do boyish things.

Society may program kids in various ways, and there are all kinds of possible reasons for that. And there may be an element of risk taking behavior that comes more easily to men for some reason, but I don’t know that I see engineering as inherently more risky than anything else, and I really have a hard time seeing that kids would see it that way, and they’d have to do so to make the decision to go into (or not) engineering, right?

]]> By: ducky http://blog.webfoot.com/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/comment-page-1/#comment-330 ducky Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:02:08 +0000 http://www.webfoot.com/blog/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/#comment-330 LOL! :-D LOL! :-D

]]> By: lahosken http://blog.webfoot.com/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/comment-page-1/#comment-329 lahosken Tue, 16 Oct 2007 04:06:36 +0000 http://www.webfoot.com/blog/2007/10/15/why-dont-women-go-into-computer-science/#comment-329 OK, if it's too difficult to make CS appear less risky, maybe we can make veterinary science look _more_ risky. Like, OMG I can't believe a vet has to take responsibility for the life of a sheep. There are so many things that can kill a sheep, it would be terrible to have to keep track of all of them. There are more of them than there are of you. If I mess up some pointer arithmetic maybe it's going to take a little longer to generate a billing report for some customer. But at least I'm not responsible for the lives of anyone's livestock. OK, if it’s too difficult to make CS appear less risky, maybe we can make veterinary science look _more_ risky. Like, OMG I can’t believe a vet has to take responsibility for the life of a sheep. There are so many things that can kill a sheep, it would be terrible to have to keep track of all of them. There are more of them than there are of you. If I mess up some pointer arithmetic maybe it’s going to take a little longer to generate a billing report for some customer. But at least I’m not responsible for the lives of anyone’s livestock.

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