Why are there so few girls in programming?
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Most of the other girls who were with me (usually 2 or 3) were Indian/Pakistani (is it Pakistani or Pakistanian?) My alma matter has a large Indian student population. Most of the girls are engineering of some kind. I hired on Indian female grad student at my last job and she was just the nicest. But I have a question, why do so many Indian students come to the US for engineering? Are the universities in India considered subpar? I'm curious.
leckey wrote:
is it Pakistani or Pakistanian?)
I think Pakistani.
leckey wrote:
why do so many Indian students come to the US for engineering? Are the universities in India considered subpar?
There many reasons. Number of engineering students in India is very high. And very small percentage of these students come to US for higher education, and most of them generally goes to well reputed US schools. Now there are some excellent engineering schools in India, but many many new government and private eng. colleges are opening every year too. And most of them are not very subpar with these US universities. Another reason is for the students who wants to immigrate to US and get a good job, getting a US degree is the best choice. Ankita
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Okay, I'm a girl and I like programming. I'm not very good at it yet, but I do like it. I've done research on women in science and the number of girls going into "computer" (whether programming, IT, etc.) keeps dropping significantly every year. For those of you with a formal education I'm curious how many girls you had in classes, how they acted (shy? open for discussion?), ethnic diversity (we had a few foreign girls but i was the only "white" girl in most of my classes.) But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers? Other girls please give your feedback!
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Okay, I'm a girl and I like programming. I'm not very good at it yet, but I do like it. I've done research on women in science and the number of girls going into "computer" (whether programming, IT, etc.) keeps dropping significantly every year. For those of you with a formal education I'm curious how many girls you had in classes, how they acted (shy? open for discussion?), ethnic diversity (we had a few foreign girls but i was the only "white" girl in most of my classes.) But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers? Other girls please give your feedback!
leckey wrote:
I'm curious how many girls you had in classes
In my course (in Australia) there were about 8 chicks in about 100 students - not many, and about 7 of those would have been asian.
leckey wrote:
But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers?
probably because there aren't many girls in programming - i mean, it probably seems daunting to step into what is predominantly a male domain and i guess most feel like they won't be taken seriously. Personally, i'd love to see more chicks in programming!;) nicko
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leckey wrote:
Okay, I'm a girl and I like programming.
Sorry, i don't buy it. Hardly any girls like programming, everyone knows that - but plenty of programmers like to play fast and lose with the sex of their online personas. I suspect you are merely one of the latter... :suss:
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leckey wrote:
I'm curious how many girls you had in classes
In my course (in Australia) there were about 8 chicks in about 100 students - not many, and about 7 of those would have been asian.
leckey wrote:
But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers?
probably because there aren't many girls in programming - i mean, it probably seems daunting to step into what is predominantly a male domain and i guess most feel like they won't be taken seriously. Personally, i'd love to see more chicks in programming!;) nicko
nicko wrote:
Personally, i'd love to see more chicks in programming
Me too. Beautiful, hot chicks. :rolleyes: --- With best regards, A Manchester United Fan The Genius of a true fool is that he can mess up a foolproof plan!
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leckey wrote:
For those of you with a formal education I'm curious how many girls you had in classes, how they acted (shy? open for discussion?), ethnic diversity (we had a few foreign girls but i was the only "white" girl in most of my classes.)
Very few girls in my classes (in the U.S., btw). For the most part, they were shy, and the majority were foreign. I recall only two "white" girls in all of my classes.
leckey wrote:
But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers?
I really have no idea why, but I would like to know, too. Jon Sagara When I grow up, I'm changing my name to Joe Kickass! My Site | My Blog | My Articles
Jon Sagara wrote:
I recall only two "white" girls in all of my classes.
How do those Color.White girls look like? Best regards, Paul. Jesus Christ is LOVE! Please tell somebody.
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Jon Sagara wrote:
I recall only two "white" girls in all of my classes.
How do those Color.White girls look like? Best regards, Paul. Jesus Christ is LOVE! Please tell somebody.
like Color.FromArgb(255, 255, 255) ;P rara avis in terris
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Okay, I'm a girl and I like programming. I'm not very good at it yet, but I do like it. I've done research on women in science and the number of girls going into "computer" (whether programming, IT, etc.) keeps dropping significantly every year. For those of you with a formal education I'm curious how many girls you had in classes, how they acted (shy? open for discussion?), ethnic diversity (we had a few foreign girls but i was the only "white" girl in most of my classes.) But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers? Other girls please give your feedback!
I was in class with 1 girl that I remember. To me it just doesn't seem like most of the girls I know have a natural bent towards science or engineering those who do seem quite good at it though.
"You have an arrow in your butt!" - Fiona:cool:
Welcome to CP in your language. Post the unicode version in My CP Blog [ ^ ] now.People who don't understand how awesome Firefox is have never used CPhog[^]CPhog. The act of using CPhog (Firefox)[^] alone doesn't make Firefox cool. It opens your eyes to the possibilities and then you start looking for other things like CPhog (Firefox)[^] and your eyes are suddenly open to all sorts of useful things all through Firefox. - (Self Quote)
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Okay, I'm a girl and I like programming. I'm not very good at it yet, but I do like it. I've done research on women in science and the number of girls going into "computer" (whether programming, IT, etc.) keeps dropping significantly every year. For those of you with a formal education I'm curious how many girls you had in classes, how they acted (shy? open for discussion?), ethnic diversity (we had a few foreign girls but i was the only "white" girl in most of my classes.) But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers? Other girls please give your feedback!
The other day I had a manager tell me that they were going to hire a young woman that had previously worked at the company. She finished her masters and was lured away to become a consultant but can't live with the travel. The reason they want to hire her back is that they can offer her a lower rate because they believe she is less qualified. From her work that I reviewed I can say she is as qualified as any other programmer working on the projects. I am not saying this is common but if young women believe that they are going to paid less and not respected it could scare them away from the occupation.
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leckey wrote:
For those of you with a formal education I'm curious how many girls you had in classes, how they acted (shy? open for discussion?), ethnic diversity (we had a few foreign girls but i was the only "white" girl in most of my classes.)
Very few girls in my classes (in the U.S., btw). For the most part, they were shy, and the majority were foreign. I recall only two "white" girls in all of my classes.
leckey wrote:
But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers?
I really have no idea why, but I would like to know, too. Jon Sagara When I grow up, I'm changing my name to Joe Kickass! My Site | My Blog | My Articles
Dang, the one girl in my classes was attractive and confident. Had I been single I'd have been trolling in *that* water...
"You have an arrow in your butt!" - Fiona:cool:
Welcome to CP in your language. Post the unicode version in My CP Blog [ ^ ] now.People who don't understand how awesome Firefox is have never used CPhog[^]CPhog. The act of using CPhog (Firefox)[^] alone doesn't make Firefox cool. It opens your eyes to the possibilities and then you start looking for other things like CPhog (Firefox)[^] and your eyes are suddenly open to all sorts of useful things all through Firefox. - (Self Quote)
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leckey wrote:
not trying to be desperate for attention!
On a site that's 99.99% guys? That's tough to believe. Jeremy Falcon
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I was in class with 1 girl that I remember. To me it just doesn't seem like most of the girls I know have a natural bent towards science or engineering those who do seem quite good at it though.
"You have an arrow in your butt!" - Fiona:cool:
Welcome to CP in your language. Post the unicode version in My CP Blog [ ^ ] now.People who don't understand how awesome Firefox is have never used CPhog[^]CPhog. The act of using CPhog (Firefox)[^] alone doesn't make Firefox cool. It opens your eyes to the possibilities and then you start looking for other things like CPhog (Firefox)[^] and your eyes are suddenly open to all sorts of useful things all through Firefox. - (Self Quote)
code-frog wrote:
To me it just doesn't seem like most of the girls I know have a natural bent towards science or engineering those who do seem quite good at it though.
All other factors aside (like someone doesn't want an education), I'd wager most women tend to prefer an emotionally fulfilling job over a logically fulfilling one. Granted there are exceptions, but I don't think the reason it's mainly guys is some big accident. Jeremy Falcon
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I did my undergrad in computer engineering from India and had very few girls compared to guys in my class. I guess there were around 14-15 in the class of 50-54. Then I came to USA for my MS in computer science. And guess what, probably less percent of girls then undergrad and almost all of them were foreign students. I rarely saw an american girl in computer science or electrical eng. classes. Ankita
The numbers are even worse in electrical engineering I remember when I was in school there were 65 guys an 2 to 4 girls in most of my core EE classes. John
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code-frog wrote:
To me it just doesn't seem like most of the girls I know have a natural bent towards science or engineering those who do seem quite good at it though.
All other factors aside (like someone doesn't want an education), I'd wager most women tend to prefer an emotionally fulfilling job over a logically fulfilling one. Granted there are exceptions, but I don't think the reason it's mainly guys is some big accident. Jeremy Falcon
Yeah and I don't mean this off-color at all but this question to me seems just like asking "Why don't women want to be topless dancers?" Some do and many don't. "Why don't women want to fly F-16's?" Some do many don't. I think a really good question would be how many of you got into computer programming because you played tons of video games and that was what piqued your curiousity to make an in-road? Or more generically... "What led you into programming as a field of study?" I think for most of us *something* did. For me it was a total accident. I started out as a mechanical engineer because I love to build things. But ME school bored me stiff. As I was going through it though I had to take a C programming class and the counselor told me not to do it he said do something else C programming is too hard. I looked at him and said what can be so hard about it? He said, don't do it. I said, sign me up. I got an A, changed majors and never looked back. Them were the days. I'll never forget my first program either. "Given any amount of money output how many quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies represent the amount. You have to use the maximum number of each currency before dropping into a lower currency value." I loved that class and still have the book. K & R BABY!!!
"You have an arrow in your butt!" - Fiona:cool:
Welcome to CP in your language. Post the unicode version in My CP Blog [ ^ ] now.People who don't understand how awesome Firefox is have never used CPhog[^]CPhog. The act of using CPhog (Firefox)[^] alone doesn't make Firefox cool. It opens your eyes to the possibilities and then you start looking for other things like CPhog (Firefox)[^]
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Okay, I'm a girl and I like programming. I'm not very good at it yet, but I do like it. I've done research on women in science and the number of girls going into "computer" (whether programming, IT, etc.) keeps dropping significantly every year. For those of you with a formal education I'm curious how many girls you had in classes, how they acted (shy? open for discussion?), ethnic diversity (we had a few foreign girls but i was the only "white" girl in most of my classes.) But why do you think so few girls go into programming/computers? Other girls please give your feedback!
leckey wrote:
Okay, I'm a girl and I like programming. I'm not very good at it yet, but I do like it. I've done research on women in science and the number of girls going into "computer" (whether programming, IT, etc.) keeps dropping significantly every year.
I think interest is the key more than anything. I recently did a presentation for high school students to introduce them to my work. Ironically it was the ladies in the group that were more interested in my job. Either the ladies faked it really well (possible) or were more interested in virtual terrain rendering systems. The math and physics neither intimidated nor interested them, whereas the young men were more interest in direct application of math and physics and less interested in the overall global application. But part again is encouragement. Women are discouraged from IT careers by A) overzealous male IT students B) social stereotypes of adults C)social stereotypes of peers. Either you have to be very stubborn and want to fight your way through to get the career you want (and even males don't like to do this), or are lucky not to get the stigma of IT to affect your career choice. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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The numbers are even worse in electrical engineering I remember when I was in school there were 65 guys an 2 to 4 girls in most of my core EE classes. John
They could reverse that easily. If the core of the class was to build a digital thermometer controlled curling iron it would swing sharply the other direction.:laugh: I was in class with a lot of EE's and we had to design a home security system. That was fun. Some parts were tough but by and large it was fun. I was paired up with one EE that could wire just about anything up in his head before he even pulled out a bread board to design the component.
"You have an arrow in your butt!" - Fiona:cool:
Welcome to CP in your language. Post the unicode version in My CP Blog [ ^ ] now.People who don't understand how awesome Firefox is have never used CPhog[^]CPhog. The act of using CPhog (Firefox)[^] alone doesn't make Firefox cool. It opens your eyes to the possibilities and then you start looking for other things like CPhog (Firefox)[^] and your eyes are suddenly open to all sorts of useful things all through Firefox. - (Self Quote)
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The other day I had a manager tell me that they were going to hire a young woman that had previously worked at the company. She finished her masters and was lured away to become a consultant but can't live with the travel. The reason they want to hire her back is that they can offer her a lower rate because they believe she is less qualified. From her work that I reviewed I can say she is as qualified as any other programmer working on the projects. I am not saying this is common but if young women believe that they are going to paid less and not respected it could scare them away from the occupation.
sexualy discrimination tends to happen. though School wise and knowledge wise there is no reason a woman can't be a good programmer. I don't know of any tech or programmer that would dismiss a Lady from coming into the field. If anything I thin we'd be more shocked ( considering the ungoddly high ammounts of testosterone.). To bad really. Divercity in the work place is a rather cool thing. :) Weather sexual, racial, or view point. My favourite quote is always goina be "There is more then one way to skin a cat." :) :cool::rose: ///////////////// Thus spake the master programmer: ``A well-written program is its own heaven; a poorly-written program is its own hell.''
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Yeah and I don't mean this off-color at all but this question to me seems just like asking "Why don't women want to be topless dancers?" Some do and many don't. "Why don't women want to fly F-16's?" Some do many don't. I think a really good question would be how many of you got into computer programming because you played tons of video games and that was what piqued your curiousity to make an in-road? Or more generically... "What led you into programming as a field of study?" I think for most of us *something* did. For me it was a total accident. I started out as a mechanical engineer because I love to build things. But ME school bored me stiff. As I was going through it though I had to take a C programming class and the counselor told me not to do it he said do something else C programming is too hard. I looked at him and said what can be so hard about it? He said, don't do it. I said, sign me up. I got an A, changed majors and never looked back. Them were the days. I'll never forget my first program either. "Given any amount of money output how many quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies represent the amount. You have to use the maximum number of each currency before dropping into a lower currency value." I loved that class and still have the book. K & R BABY!!!
"You have an arrow in your butt!" - Fiona:cool:
Welcome to CP in your language. Post the unicode version in My CP Blog [ ^ ] now.People who don't understand how awesome Firefox is have never used CPhog[^]CPhog. The act of using CPhog (Firefox)[^] alone doesn't make Firefox cool. It opens your eyes to the possibilities and then you start looking for other things like CPhog (Firefox)[^]
code-frog wrote:
As I was going through it though I had to take a C programming class and the counselor told me not to do it he said do something else C programming is too hard. I looked at him and said what can be so hard about it? He said, don't do it.
Geeze, what a lousy counselor; he probably flunked at it I bet. You're like me though, if someone says I can't I tell them "just watch me" - well assume I want to that is. I got a D in my CompSci class actually. I passed up the teacher within the first semester and started correcting her in class (big mistake). I got bored with the stupid assignments (if Joe bought 5 apples kinda crap) and didn't do my work. I had a F, but at the end of the year wrote her a black jack and math trivia game to her in her other class, so she had mercy on me and passed me with a D. Those were the days.
code-frog wrote:
I got an A
Good for you.
code-frog wrote:
I'll never forget my first program either.
What hooked me in was I met a friend that made a game called "Invasion of the Pac-Man planet. It was a cheesy side-scroller in DOS that had pac-man shooting the ghosts with missiles. But still, to watch this cheesy game and talk to the guy that actually made it, made that world seem so much more doable.
code-frog wrote:
I loved that class and still have the book. K & R BABY!!!
I wish K&R was my first class. I started with QBasic, but I try not to let that get out much. :laugh: Jeremy Falcon
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The other day I had a manager tell me that they were going to hire a young woman that had previously worked at the company. She finished her masters and was lured away to become a consultant but can't live with the travel. The reason they want to hire her back is that they can offer her a lower rate because they believe she is less qualified. From her work that I reviewed I can say she is as qualified as any other programmer working on the projects. I am not saying this is common but if young women believe that they are going to paid less and not respected it could scare them away from the occupation.
KevinMac wrote:
I am not saying this is common but if young women believe that they are going to paid less and not respected it could scare them away from the occupation.
That can't be the reason they choose not to become programmers. Besides, this happens in way more than one field, and there are a lot of working women out there. Maybe it could have something to do with male-dominated fields, but that isn't strictly programmer and a bit of a broader scope. I'm not certain about this though. Jeremy Falcon