Re: 'Geek' image scares women away from tech industry ? The Register

[Glen Zorn <[e-mail]>]

On 05/01/2012 02:52 AM, Mary Barnes wrote:
> Here is an article that does a far better job of explaining the 
> situation than I did:
> http://www.todaysengineer.org/2011/May/women-in-engineering.asp
>
> The largest reason women leave engineering is due to the work 
> environment and perceived lack of support from colleagues.
>
> Although, the one bonus of the lack of women in IETF is that we never 
> have to wait in line for the restroom with one exception - the little 
> broom closets in the Paris venue.

Don't feel too bad, Mary: there were queues for the men' facilities, too :-(

>
> Mary.
>
> On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 9:13 AM, Mary Barnes 
> <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>> wrote:
>
>     Yes, the article is far from complete.  But, your antecdote only
>     goes to show your own bias towards women in science and
>     engineering in general.  By the time most females reach high
>     school they have already been conditioned that girls aren't as
>     good as boys in math and science. There's a far amount of studies
>     showing this - at least in the US.  As Monique said it is a very
>     complex issue.  Some of it starts at home and it starts extremely
>     early.  It's far more common for girls to be told they are pretty
>     rather than smart.  They have found some physiologic reasons that
>     do influence math abilities - those with "math brains" tend to
>     have higher levels of testosterone.
>
>     That all said, it still doesn't explain why the percentage of
>     women active in the IETF is less than the percentage of women that
>     are in the field. But it might have something to do with IETFers
>     sharing your perspective that women just aren't interested.
>
>     Regards,
>     Mary.
>
>     On Apr 30, 2012 4:04 AM, "Riccardo Bernardini"
>     <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>> wrote:
>
>