There are
few industries that have not yet been infiltrated by women, making hand-cream
appear on desks and shoes come out of drawers. But while the numbers of women
grow in business, the sciences and the armed forces, the number of women in
I.T. has not only remained small over my 15 years of working in the industry
but is actually dropping.
Recently I
was asked what it is like to work in a male-dominated field. I realised it is a
difficult question to answer because having moved country and industry a few
times I have worked in a mixture of technical environments: from highly
competitive firms like CouperDaye in my novel, Orla’s Code, to non-profit organisations.
My first
job was working for a high-pressure multinational where my ambition was
attributed to the fact that I was a woman. It was a bit like being a guinea-pig
in an experiment, generating a bit of excitement. I used to work late nights to
impress my managers – I could feel the weight of representing my sex on my
shoulders! I kept up with my male counterparts down the pub as well. I'm not
sure that was wise but I had a lot of fun.
Years later
I worked in a slow-moving research department but was the only female in the
whole building. One of the toilets was supposedly allocated for women - well,
me - but this allocation was ignored and eventually I had to put a sign up on
the door saying 'Women Only' because some people were not leaving the toilet
the way they found it. The sign was taken with good humour mostly but the state
of the Ladies toilet deteriorated - someone wanted me to know I wasn't welcome.
I have
noticed along the way that being the odd one out means that people always
associate your particular qualities with the way in which you are different.
For example, people say I am conscientious about meeting project deliverables
because I am a woman. I think the logic here is that women have smaller egos
and so are therefore more obedient and less likely to be maverick. In fact, I
am more outspoken than my male counterparts when it comes to challenging
something that I think is wrong. I have even refused to go along with certain
things because I thought they were impractical. But people reinforce their
existing perceptions, so I deliver targets on time because I am an obedient
female!
And then the
pendulum swings the other way: weaknesses get attributed to that unusual thing
about you as well. I have not taken Tipex to the computer screen yet, but I am
aware that some people still believe a woman’s brain cannot be as analytical as
a man’s, and I have sometimes found the benefit of the doubt hard to find. More
than once a manager has changed my code assuming it was wrong when in fact
their change has caused a bug! I don't think they would have interfered with
another man's code as easily.
I enjoyed playing
with this idea in Orla's Code. Orla
starts off as 'The Golden Girl', put on a pedestal by her manager but in
practice, she is never taken as seriously as her male colleagues, and when she
makes mistakes she becomes an easy scapegoat.
I think the
reason why there are so few women in I.T. is because they are put off by the
nerd image. And since we don't teach programming in schools, boys get into it
through their peers, so the perception that it is a 'boy thing' starts early.
It's great to see campaigns entering schools, showing girls that coding isn't
just about combat games. I think school kids should learn how to write their
own phone app - how much fun would that be? In recent years girls have grown as
Tech consumers through the gaming and smartphone industry. We also have our
young superstars like Jenny Lamere who are changing perceptions. So the numbers
of women in I.T. will naturally increase, I think.
I do the
job because I like the work. Like Orla, I have always enjoyed problem solving
and creating something. Also I have made great friends over the years because
most of the people I have worked with, like myself, recognise the value of
diversity in the workplace and want to work in a challenging, changing
environment where people are taken for what they are – individuals.
For more from Fiona, visit her website.
Get your copy of Fiona's book, Orla's Code, from Amazon US (ebook or paper), Amazon UK, (ebook or paper), Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords.
2 comments:
It is difficult working in a "man's" field. I was managing editor of a fire service magazine, so I sympathize with your situation.
Thanks for sharing your story. Good luck with your work.
As a woman who's also been working in IT for about 15 years, I can't wait to read Orla's Code. I love coding. That moment when your program finally runs! It makes up fir all the nonsense.
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