April 3, 2014 at 7:44 am
Stephanie J Brown (3/31/2014)
... If instead of "Women in Technology" the group was called "Breaking Barriers in Technology", it might be viewed through a different lens.
I like this idea! +1
April 6, 2014 at 11:04 am
Carla Wilson-484785 (4/3/2014)
Stephanie J Brown (3/31/2014)
... If instead of "Women in Technology" the group was called "Breaking Barriers in Technology", it might be viewed through a different lens.I like this idea! +1
Definitely like this. Sounds like common sense and surely conforms to the DRY (don't repeat yourself) principle. Why have lots of splinter groups attempting to solve a nuance of the same problem when a collective coudl work much better?
April 6, 2014 at 2:56 pm
David.Poole (4/6/2014)
Carla Wilson-484785 (4/3/2014)
Stephanie J Brown (3/31/2014)
... If instead of "Women in Technology" the group was called "Breaking Barriers in Technology", it might be viewed through a different lens.
I was thinking further about this and remembering all the nights and weekends that I, as everything from a developer to a manager, spent at work, away from my family, instead of asking our female employees to take on these activities, even when it was 'their' applications, databases, servers, and systems. I do certainly wish some of these ladies had been around back then. It wasn't that they were not capable, I just thought it was the right thing to do. How little did I know. If chivalry is dead, it may just be by their hand.
Full equality is one of those areas where you need to be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it, and you need to be sure you are ready and willing to take the responsibility. To update that, be sure you really want to break the barrier, because I would have been ready any time.
I would have loved to have had more nights and weekends at home with my family instead of using hours from Friday midnight to Sunday 6:00 pm for changes. And these days, you often can't even get those hours without an edict from on high.
I would have loved to call one of these ladies at 2:00 AM and have her go into the data center to handle problems, but that wouldn't have been considered proper. It was before internet and remote access and all the benefits available now, so I had to drive 30 miles one way, through rain, snow, sleet, ice to keep things going, and then stay on and work my regular 'day' job too.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
April 6, 2014 at 3:41 pm
skeleton567
I would have loved to call one of these ladies at 2:00 AM and have her go into the data center to handle problems, but that wouldn't have been considered proper. It was before internet and remote access and all the benefits available now, so I had to drive 30 miles one way, through rain, snow, sleet, ice to keep things going, and then stay on and work my regular 'day' job too.
Its a very fine line between being chivalrous and being patronising.
I would not feel comfortable asking a female colleague to go to a rough area alone at night or parking in a remote car park that involves walking alone through dark underpasses.
Quite why I don't feel uncomfortable asking a male pencil necked geek or slow running teletubby to do the same thing when they are every bit as vulnerable is a mystery.
My wife was sent out to a rough area of Manchester (UK) at 2am to cover a nursing shift when she was 8 months pregnant and found herself in a threatening situation. When the owner of the company found out there was a reading of the riot act that the likes of which made grown men cry.
In terms of asking a colleage to cover a 2am emergency callout I'd expect to know up-front whether this was something they were prepared to do as a fundamental part of the job.
Companies do make exceptions for the sole carer of children and most of the companies I have worked for have operated on a give and take basis for family matters. It has been clearly understood by all that such freedom was on an "abuse it and loose it" basis. I myself could not cover late shifts when my kids were little but was able to cover the 3am onwards shift. Like I said, give and take.
April 15, 2014 at 7:49 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (3/31/2014)
skeleton567 (3/31/2014)
Separate minority groups by definition tend to separate further instead of aiding acceptance. Especially in technology, get in there and prove your competency instead of emphasizing differences. I worked for one ethnic minority supervisor in my career, and remember him not as a minority but as incompetent. He didn't last long and probably hurt the stereotype of his ethnicity in the long run. Socialy and professionally, there are always going to stereotypes, so the best one can do is to prove you don't match yours.Great hypothesis, never works. Opportunity and coping almost never has something to do with competency. It's opportunity and acceptance that are big issues. Quite often there are challenges to showing your ability that have nothing to do with your skill.
Technology, like most other professions, is not a meritocracy. Almost always it has something to do with your network and who you know, and who likes you. These groups are often geared to help that.
What he said. If there was a 'Like' button for posts on this forum, I'd press it for this post.
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