Women In IT: The Next Generation - InformationWeek

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Comments
Women In IT: The Next Generation
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Lorna Garey
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Lorna Garey,
 User Rank: Author
3/10/2014 | 2:17:19 PM
Re: you'll never see a MAN post like this
Can you share what industries you and your wife are in? It's frustrating to think that companies may be promoting not on merit but to fill some "quota," and that the firm then ends up with ineffective leaders. As to cliques being a problem, I'd argue that men do the same thing. Maybe it's golf or poker and cigars instead of lunches.

One thing that struck me about the young women at this lab is that they're pretty definite about one thing: They neither expect nor want any preferential treatment. They want to succeed because of talent and persistence.
Lorna Garey
50%
50%
Lorna Garey,
 User Rank: Author
3/10/2014 | 11:44:08 AM
Re: you'll never see a MAN post like this
Bglynn, I know there is frustration in some circles about schools being more geared for female learning styles vs. male. I assume that's what you're referring to when saying the world is "more women oriented." It's true that women are earning the bulk of college degrees now (if you calculate across all majors).

As to knowing what you want to do at 18, as a parent of a college student, I can tell you that most schools don't expect students to know. They bend over backwards to offer exploratory programs and to make it as painless as possible to switch majors if a student feels he or she is in the wrong field.

What do you feel schools need to do differently to accommodate male students?

Oh, and having nice nails and being a professional, IT or otherwise, are not mutually exclusive!

 
Lorna Garey
100%
0%
Lorna Garey,
 User Rank: Author
3/7/2014 | 10:46:31 AM
Re: Great example
I think the big takeaway is that in the future it won't be technology OR criminal justice, or psychology, or biology. For many, it'll be IT AND [insert other interest]. As tech becomes embedded in the business, there will be fewer tech specialists, more editors in small shops who also manage cloud backups, or marketing pros who write code.

I think there will still be some pure tech people to oversee these efforts (with security experts one area remaining) but the walls have to come down. That should naturally pull in a wider range of people.
RobPreston
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0%
RobPreston,
 User Rank: Author
3/7/2014 | 10:21:41 AM
Re: Great example
I guessed my career path at 18 -- but guessed wrong.
RobPreston
50%
50%
RobPreston,
 User Rank: Author
3/7/2014 | 10:19:10 AM
Reverse psychology?
I hope we're long past having an academic environment that lets professors say things like "girls don't make very good engineers" -- even if it's just a lame form of reverse psychology.
Laurianne
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50%
Laurianne,
 User Rank: Author
3/7/2014 | 10:12:00 AM
Great example
I love this example: "Johnson says that everyone starts on an equal plane, and that she's seen philosophy students come up with valuable insights. An example is Michayla Newcombe, a business admin major who'd never heard of IPv6 before she came to work at the lab -- and who now manages the IPv6 consortium." How many talented people is IT weeding out right now because they don't decide at 18 years old that they want to be engineering majors? How many of you could have guessed your career path at 18?


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