Let's Get Real About The Gender Gap

          Growing up, I never knew that some people in the real world thought of computer science, computer technology, information technology, or anything in that realm as “for guys”; all I knew was that my mom did it and since she was my biggest inspiration (and still is), it was something everyone could do. She was always so interested in her job and the things she did and even though at one point she was away working for a week at a time, the things she brought back always interested me.

          In the film Debugging the Gender Gap, there are multiple examples of women in tech doing amazing things. For example, Debbie Sterling (founder of GoldieBlox), Danielle Feinberg (Pixar’s Director of Photography), and Kimberly Bryant (founder of Black Girls Code) we’re all in the film and had insight not only on being a woman in a field people see as “manly” or “nerdy”, but on how to help fix the problem. Through their triumphs, they help to teach other girls and boys that girls and guys can be found in tech professions – and should be. The fact that they are in roles this high in their companies and are succeeding is an extremely important thing to talk about because the more there are, the more people believe that the industry if for everyone.

Flickr CC - TechCrunch

          As a women in the tech field, I can attest to certain things happening; yes, there’s usually 70% men in my classes, yes, people ask me what it’s like to be in a male dominated field, and yes, people ask me about the guys I tend to work with. Although the article was about gaming and the gender gap in that field, the statement of “racist, sexist and homophobic language is rampant,” is very much true in the technology industry as well (Brendan Maher, “Can a video game company tame toxic behavior”). To combat these issues and these stereotypes, it’s important to collaborate; we need to teach young girls about the STEM fields and how it’s ok to be smart and not dumb themselves down for anyone else, and we need to teach young boys that these activities they engage in aren’t just for boys. We need to raise our boys and girls the same way if we ever even want to dream of combatting the gender gap. We can focus on the overall goal after we fix the root issue.

          While we collaborate on fixing these issues, we need to make sure everyone is involved and on the same page. If only women are the ones trying to educate about the gender gap and the lack of diversity, the stigmas are never going to change because you can’t have just half the population fighting for a cause, it doesn’t work. We need equal representation from all sides to be able to talk about the issues fairly and to not leave anyone out. If men are the only ones talking about the gender gap and trying to fix it, they aren’t going to do the best job because they don’t see the issue from the women’s side or as an actual woman going through it. If women are the only ones fighting for the cause, it won’t work either however because even though they have the perspective and the knowledge, they don’t have the ‘people on the inside’ to help fight the cause from within, because it’s mainly men on the inside. You can’t change an issue unless the people on the inside want to change as well.

          I think a fun way of showing women in positions in the STEM field is television and movies. Of course, “we bring up our girl seeing powerful women as either lawyers or doctors on TV, but the same media continue to promote stereotypes when it comes to STEM careers,” but they are some things on television that are trying to show this (“The STEM Gender Gap: Where are the Women Equivalent of Steve Jobs?”). For example, ever seen Arrow? Remember Felicity Smoak? Even though this was a comic first and she’s (spoiler alert) Oliver Queen’s love interest, she could’ve been written out or made to be something/someone with computer skills lesser than the ones that she does have. If you don’t know who she is, Felicity Smoak is basically (in the show) a computer ‘geek’/hacker who helps Oliver in his endeavors to save Starling City. She builds things for Oliver and the crew, helps make his weapons, helps Oliver run Queen Industries which eventually (spoiler alert, again), becomes Palmer Technologies, and through every change, relationship, arrest, and near-death/ (spoiler alert #3, seriously though, just watch the show) actual death experience, she sticks with her skills and doesn’t let the people around her tell her she cannot do something she puts her mind to.

This scene shows this is my favorite way ever.

          Via strong female character like this, raising our different gendered kids the same, with the same expectations, and having an honest conversation about the issues, we can begin to make way on closing the gender gap in the STEM fields. It’s never easy when we as a society have to talk about the problems in our society because people want to believe that we as Americans do not have problems. And while the gender gap may not seem like the biggest issue, it’s still important to talk about because it stems from other issues in this country via gender classification, differences people see when it comes to women and men, and even the way we view and treat our workers based on their gender and the field they pursue. Everything comes full circle and the issues don’t stop once we get more women interested in tech and STEM, the real fight is keeping them in the fields long enough for it to make a change and for people to see that yes, women can do the jobs that people believe are for men only, and they can do it just as well, when given just as much of a chance.

Flickr CC - Kristian Niemi

#GirlPower