Gender is a powerful social construct. It is shaped by our gender relations and influences the way we think about ourselves, and the way others and society responds to us. However, it is not always a male or female construct.
There are many different kinds of women. People have diverse ideas of what makes them a woman. Many women are known for being strong, independent, caring, self-reliant, good at math and science, creative, excellent problem solvers, and creative. For some, their talents and skills as artists are truly remarkable. Others may be more intuitive; they’re good at communicating clearly with others and seeing the bigger picture. Even those who don’t want to be involved in the physical world would benefit from learning some skills that involve teamwork. Most women have an emotional life; they care deeply about family, friends and community, often taking care of the people around them.
While there are lots of different types of women – men and women in every different walk of life with varying experiences, abilities, interests and circumstances – today I will talk about how women contribute in computer science, specifically in software engineering. The topic is timely, since computing and technology has become increasingly important in our day-to-day lives, and as a field, computer science provides opportunities in almost all other fields that not even men can do.
The word “women” has been given so many meanings in this modern era. Some, like “the wife of Frankenstein” or “the keeper of peace” are simply words that refer to women who are part of the minority of people in positions of power and authority. There is no way to define exactly what it means to be feminine or feminine-like. But it doesn’t take much to see that the current definition is incomplete. Men have also used “women” as something completely different. They see women as having special ability to solve problems creatively, or as having special relationships between themselves, which allows them to make difficult decisions for the entire group. And they use “female” in place of “male” in the name of men.
What does being female mean in business, especially now when women make up roughly 80% of the workers on any given company? A few decades ago, women were only making up about 14% of the workforce. Today, women account for nearly 15% of the workforce. This is huge change! While these numbers are still fairly small in comparison with the rest of the globe, the real impact of women in the workplace remains very impressive. As corporations expand into new industries such as Internet services and search engines, there are opportunities for females everywhere. At IBM, where all jobs require a bachelor’s degree, women account for 25 percent of the work force, and at Apple, the number is double.
There is no denying that women in the workplace have taken the corporate world by storm; however, the last half century has seen a significant increase in the number of women working in research firms and high-tech companies. These trends are due to several factors, but most importantly, women are becoming more educated, especially in subjects related to business. Since the early 1960s, women in business have made a dramatic improvement in salaries, benefits and employment relations. However, even though the labor market has changed substantially for the better over time, the value gap continues to widen between men and women. More than 1 million jobs remain unfilled, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, and although women make up only 12% of the total workforce, they hold 20 percent of occupations which are open to females. Women in industry and government have generally been able to overcome these gender barriers, but in general, the situation shows that fewer women are getting into senior roles, and the reasons are many.
Today I want to focus on one area of computer science: Software Engineering. Software Engineers are among the best paid engineers in the world, earning $120 million annually, compared to average wages of $52,000 per year for males. Their average salary is $99,965, compared with full-time earnings of $76,500 per year for the average male worker. To put that into perspective, if you compare $111,844 annual earnings per employee for a female engineer, and $99,935 for a male engineer, your earnings per employee for a female engineer and that for a male engineer would both be about the same. Despite the fact that they are both paid significantly higher salaries ($140,335 and $100,664 per year, respectively), the difference in pay between the two genders is negligible, at just 0.3%. In my previous article Women in Software Engineering, I described how women often get discouraged and discourage themselves from trying to pursue their dreams and passions in software engineering because they feel intimidated, discriminated against and that their talents aren’t fully appreciated and their efforts are sometimes overlooked. Well, let me tell you a little story. Almost five years ago, I started out thinking I was ready to retire because I had been looking forward to doing interesting things in software engineering for quite a while. My colleagues and I had all worked at a small startup, and we had gotten serious about building prototypes and creating products. One night after dinner, as we were finishing up our programming projects, I asked our manager whether he would be interested in hiring someone with my technical background, to speak to a potential employer. He said sure. So I went home that night; I emailed, I called, I talked, and within days, we had hired a talented person who knew programming and marketing, and was excited to learn together. It seems simple, right? Right? No.
I wasn’t too sure how I would fare in my first job. When I spoke to my old boss about my plans, she told me I sounded too passionate. That she thought my desire to succeed in software engineering was unrealistic, that she didn’t believe I was capable of taking on responsibilities and challenges, and that I needed to grow up. She also warned me that I wasn’t going to fit any of the company’s requirements. Unfortunately, that was true. Although I loved his idea, I struggled with expectations and with my work and with him. At this point, I knew that I was never going to be satisfied with everything that I did or how my colleagues treated me. I wanted to do more than I was originally used to. I wanted to give back to what I believed in, to try out new ideas and explore new areas of software engineering. I also knew that I had to stay focused and focused, to keep moving forward. Over the course of four weeks of conversation with the manager and fellow employees, I realized that I could do better with the company. I felt frustrated and frustrated.
During that time, I realized that I was wrong. If I did the work well enough, I was confident that I could meet company requirements and keep getting promoted to management, and I was ready to leave the organization. Fortunately for me, however, my coworker and mentor, Greg, encouraged me throughout. His advice, wisdom, foresight and wise counsel helped me change direction and become extremely successful over the next few months. After all, if I didn’t make it to leadership, then nobody would see me as anything less than competent, dedicated and motivated. Instead, Greg created a sense of pride in myself. He taught me to appreciate the hard-earned achievements of our team, and to trust each other and recognize each other’s contributions. In addition, Greg allowed me to push forward a lot faster, to go to sleep at 4 am (a practice Greg himself does before his shift starts) and to work long hours during the week. Finally, Greg allowed me to work nights and Sundays instead of the 9 pm curfew to help improve my productivity and to bring me closer to achieving my goals. Before joining Microsoft, I hadn’t done things that are considered typical in the American culture, with the exception of waking up at 6 am and doing a workout every morning. Now, I find it easier than ever to wake up at 5 am and spend the day working out.
Today, I hope to inspire other women in this age-old industry with my experience and stories. Through speaking to many girls who love technology, meeting mentors, networking, and reading books, I hope to find ways to assist young women in finding a career path and advancing toward becoming leaders. I hope to set a precedent of encouraging all women to consider career options beyond data science or programming into careers that are more challenging and fulfilling. Good luck!
for more https://www.readerpassion.com/programming-languages/
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