Should there Be More Women in IT?

I've recently took part in a series of IT industry events organized in the US. My biggest surprise was to notice women are a minority to all these events. I don't know why exactly, but thinking about it, this is also true at work.

There are quite a few women at AXIGEN, but still, less then men. None in tech support, none in software development. Some work as testers, quite a few in marketing, sales and HR. And I have to wonder, why is that?

Thinking back to IT and computing universities, the numbers are the same. A lot less girls than boys. Is it because the field is not attractive for women? Is it because they don't like to have to prove themselves to the alpha males? Which is it, really?

I know from my own experiences that men in IT sometimes have troubling reactions. Some look down on you, as if you had no idea what you were talking about. Some are actually surprised when you know quite a few of the techie toys they play with. Some look in disbelief when you want to learn something more technical.

Of course, on the other side, there are those taking you as you are, regardless of any differences of any kind.

Which do you think are the reasons for us women to be such a minority in this field? Would more of us make a difference and if yes, in what way?

Goldman to Invest $100 Million to Teach Women about Business

One of the world's largest investment banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the world's largest investment bank, has recently announced they intent to spend $100 million into the education of 10,000 women from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The funds will be used to develop the business and management skills of women from these regions.

The learning sessions will be developed with major universities from the US and other countries and it will and will last from 5 weeks to nine months, reports CNN Money.

Goldman Sachs Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said those recruited into the program will learn basic business principals such as marketing and funding their business ideas. The hope is that they return to their communities, put what they learned to use, and add to their local economies.

"For example, Africa has about 2,600 women business students in a 900 million person continent. ... That's a waste," Blankfein told The Associated Press. "Helping women get a business education is an issue getting riper and riper, and there's a feeling it is long overdue."

A study by the World Bank showed about 70,000 highly qualified African scholars and experts leave their home countries each year to work abroad, most relocating to more developed countries. Africa then spends about $4 billion a year to recruit expatriates to fill those positions.

Recommended Reading: Top Ten Tips for Men Leading Women

The brain differences between men and women, meaning their different ways of thinking and approaching certain topics or situations, are subject to a lot of research being made and the findings are usually aimed at making you rethink your strategy. I do recommend this article giving advice to male leader to help them better manage the women in their team. It will give you a whole new perspective.

To be honest, I recommend keeping a close eye on Dr Ellen Webber's blog entires. From the few posts I've read, having a BrainBased activity can really help you create and maintain a focused and prosperous business.

Is the Eternal Feminine at Bay?

Yesterday I came across another online magazine for women. I browsed to it, as I usually do with such magazines, and then I never return. Unless I am really bored and there is nothing else to do.

Their attitude does annoy me. Even if they are aimed at career women, the attitude is a bit wrong. They still promote diets. None focuses more on careers, on experiences, on real accounts on everything. They still all make a purpose of discovering what’s behind the masculine mind. Well I don’t care about that when reading such a magazine. I want to read about women. How they handle stuff. Not a psychologist’s opinion on how men think.

Anyway, back to the respective magazine. I loved the slogan: for women who successfully combine their career and family life. Great! I need some advice on that. Then I saw the sections. Career is fourth, after Home, Family and Beauty??? And the square in front of it has the ugliest, least attractive colors of all: a gray of some sort.

Then I read this article in the Lifestyle section. About successful business women in a man’s world. OK, enough of that. I am tired of people talking about how women become more and more like men when they handle important affairs. How the eternal feminine might be lost on the way to prove their independence, their leadership abilities etc.

Just because women want to do what men do does not mean they won’t bring in their own style. Yes, they might experience lack of time and everything, but as Cris said at a certain point, they still have similar issues when it comes to relationships and life in general. They won’t turn into copies of men in their field. Not all of them anyway. Some might!

So maybe a HowTo on how to stay a woman when doing a man’s job? That would be an interesting subject for me. Or maybe an extensive article about day care (or the lack of it) in Romanian companies? Or more statistics or employed women vs housewives. Or women’s salaries vs men’s salaries. Or Queen Bees in Romania. Do they exist? Single women and single mothers. How to handle all life’s responsibility on your own when clearly the stay at home option is not available? Maybe we should focus on that more and less on pathological fights within a relationship.

Tags: Women, Career Women, Family, Lifestyle, Garbo, Women's Magazines, Journalism