Yes.
When I was in college, I was one of a very few women in my classes – which was actually pretty normal to me, and I didn “t think anything of.
Until I went to join the Society of Women Engineers.
I thought, hey, I “m a woman, I “m an engineer, I should join this club.
For the short time I was a member, everything I did was scrutinized. I was made to feel ashamed if I wasn “t *the best* at what I did.
I was made to feel different, because I didn “t look like everyone else in my class.
I was honestly made to feel ostracized – when no one was doing it, and I certainly hadn “t ever been.
I “d never felt anything like that before.
No man had ever made me feel weird, or different, or less than – they “d just treated me as another person who was interested in tech and knew what they were doing.
I abruptly left and refused to join any more societies like that – anything that seeks to create an elitist mindset where its “us against them” is definitely not for me.
It could have simply been a bad chapter, or a bad management team at the time. I sincerely hope it was.
It soured me on joining anything like that again – for life.
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/For-all-women-in-computer-science-Was-there-any-moment-during-your-studies-career-when-you-felt-uncomfortable-for-being-a-female
Originally Posted On: 2016-09-19