There was a study done recently about how women and men apply for jobs.
Men will look at the require rs for a job posting as a “suggestion”, and apply if the title looks interesting.
Women will read the posting, all the requirements, and not apply if they don’t match everything listed.
Of course, this is a sweeping generalization,
but it speaks to a possible greater difference between the two genders; unless the woman is sure that she can do the job on day one, she won’t go for it.
In college, I was often the only woman in any of my science, engineering, math or computer classes. I was surrounded by men who were completely supportive of me and treated me as one of “them” – after I passed the same ritual of initiation that was required of any of them (IIRC I majorly kicked their collective heinies in Mortal Kombat.)
In K-8 I was often the only (not just female, seriously just only) person in these classes, and I was surrounded again by peers who supported me as “the smart one.” Sure they poked fun sometimes, but we round-robined on that – no one was immune to being picked on in school.
Something that I have in common with a lot of other successful women in STEM though is that I went to private school. In the small class, uniformed environment, teachers were able to focus on each student and students were free to be supportive of each other and learn to utilize each other’s strengths.
In my case, if I were applying for a job, I’d jump right in and figure it out later.
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-pervasive-myths-about-computer-science-that-discourage-women-from-entering-the-field
Originally Posted On: 2015-01-30