[TriLUG] The biggest deterrent for women in tech

[Peter Neilson]

On Wed, 01 May 2013 06:05:15 -0400, William Sutton <william at trilug.org>  
wrote:

> the CS/CPE department guidance counsellor was an idiot ...

Yes. I'm afraid that the "guidance" profession consists of people who have  
less than zero understanding of science. These people actively hinder or  
stop proper education in science. Family also take on that role. In my  
case, my Marxist grandmother opposed my being sent to a rigorous school  
with good science, and instead insisted I remain at the local high school.  
Why? "He would get the idea that he's better than other people."

So how was that local high school? Well, calculus was not in the  
curriculum at all. I taught myself difference equations so that I could  
solve a Fourier Transform problem for a science fair project on  
decomposition of the sounds of speech, but had only a beginner's  
understanding of what I was doing. Never addressed end points, for  
example. Decades later I discovered that my project was now part of what  
happens inside cell phones.

Even men who feel that they "ought to do something" about helping women  
succeed in tech fields usually have no idea what to do. Should they steer  
girls into "math for poets" instead of the regular (but more difficult)  
classes? Should they offer extra help for math students who "don't get it"  
and hand-feed them solutions to problems? Or should they instead hunt for  
lost or misplaced understanding and assign additional work that corrects  
for it? Those are two entirely different approaches.

When advising middle-school students who want to become veterinarians  
(most of these are girls) I always give a "mathematics inventory" exam so  
I'll know what I should suggest. The exam is the sudden presentation of,  
"What's six times nine?" Any answer other than an instant "54" tells me  
that the student will never get through enough math to succeed at getting  
into vet school.

In my own experience, kids know they are interested in science and  
technology by about age eight. Boys want stuff that explodes or stinks.  
Girls are expected to avoid all that unless it's horses. I think some  
girls get into science and technology through horsemanship.