I would have to agree with Steve. I would encourage my daughter to pursue whatever career she wanted. My parents encouraged my sister and me to pursue careers in the sciences and we are both very successful.

I didn't pursue a career in IT. It sort of feel into my lap. Most of what I have learned has been on the job training. And each company wants something a little different. I have moved out of the production environment as well and into development. I think that outsourcing is a big part of why women are disappearing from IT. There are fewer jobs and still just as many qualified applicants. I often wonder what I would do if I weren't working in IT.

I always laugh at the faces people make when I tell them I work in IT. They still have the image of men from the sixties in white shirts and black ties with really big glasses. The perception is that I spend all day hiding in my cube. Far from the truth. But I have to say, with IM, I can go all day and not see someone sitting 2 cubes away. I think we have lost the face to face contact which I think helps spark new ideas.

I think a better question to ask would be what are we doing to encourage our daughters to pursue careers in science in general. What are we doing to expose them to the wonders of science and all of the careers that are involved. Computers have become such a part of our lives that I don't think it has quite the allure that it used to.