Writer's Block: It’s Women’s Equality Day!

[gothelittle]

I'd really appreciate a business environment that doesn't try to shove any halfway intelligent woman up the managerial ladder just so that she can "prove that the company isn't a boy's club"... it's just as sexist to not permit your female coders to WRITE CODE as it is to prohibit your personable female managers from rising up the ladder. I've

Comments

[gothelittle]

(Thank you! I don't know why LJ posted it four times! I only hit send Once!)

[akilika]

(Whoops! Tried to post to a deleted one... :P

[gothelittle]

I'd like to start by saying that I really, genuinely like your comment. It's good, well-written, etc. I'm saying that because I'm intending to build on it and I don't want to sound like I'm dissing it. :)

The one thing that equalizes men and women is, ironically, the one thing that feminists seem to rail against the most... unfettered capitalism. Why is that? I firmly believe this; If equality of the sexes is the best way to go, those who implement it will become stronger than those who don't... in the absence of heavy-handed government regulation used to punish those who don't conform to an authoritarian vision.

And I do believe that equality of the sexes, real equality, is the best way to go

[akilika]

:) I totally agree. The situation I listed only becomes untenable if you have to treat both candidates utterly equally in terms of pay, benefits, etc., despite the obvious differences. When employers and employees can barter as individuals, without either the Government or the Greater Continuum of Mankind interfering, then you have the grounds for a workable situation. Individuals as individuals, rather than representatives of a group

[gothelittle]

If you haven't read the webcomic called "Dreamless", I recommend it. :)

The problem with female superheros when it comes to women is that they're still geared towards men! They still go about with a rack like... well... you get the idea. And they dress like they're going to die of exposure if the temperature falls below 65F!

I appreciate and prefer movies/books/etc. that present strong, well-dressed female characters, and I think a lot of people do, because they seem to do particularly well in the theater and beyond. But there, you see, I'm not calling for a ban or blowing my top like feminists tend to do... I'm supporting what I like with my own money!

But there you go... If feminists succeed in forcing a webcomic with a majority male viewership to present 50% of superheroes as female, they'll do it! And anyone who doesn't like to see women objectified will hate it even more...

[istra_willow]

Ah, so that's what almost happened to me! In my very technical job in which I'm the only girl doing what we do, my manager tried to make me "team leader." It would have included a pay raise, but I'd rather make what I make now (which is enough to raise a family on if I had one) and actually enjoy what I do than control the schedules, babysit the guys and keep the lab clean :P

[headnoises]

I know my time in the Navy was poisoned by this kind of stuff-- I'll never know if some of my achievements were because I was genuinely good, or because I happened to be the right sex.

I KNOW a lot of women took shameless advantage of this kind of "equality." One even got away with an obvious, vindictive rape charge that was offered to support a false claim of sexual harassment made solely to get out of working without so much as a slap on the wrist, being written up, nothing. (The guy she accused was the fiance of the other woman in her shop, and was accused because the other gal pointed out that the harassment charge wouldn't hurt her much. It was going to destroy the careers of everyone else in the shop, even though it was utterly unsupported. The whole thing only failed because the idiot false accuser claimed that the fiance assaulted her sexually... while he was in another state, in front of a bunch of officers, launching airplanes.)

[ext_338324]

I have not worked with a statistically large number of female programmers, though the ones I have worked with have had the same ratio of good to bad that my male programmers have had. The last example was a startup with an extraordinarily flat org chart, so the only female coder couldn't possible be pushed into management because the next level of management was the CTO.

If you want to get to a job where you can showcase your very gifted programming skills, aim for a small startup. In my experience there's so much code to be written, that anyone who can check some code out and contribute is welcomed. In one week, I bet I can have recruiters beating down your door, if you have the right skill set.