Its been quite sometime that I have been working as a programmer, both in Pakistan and US . I have noticed that there are very very few programmers that are women out there . You’ll find graphic designers and operators but not programmers . If you think about it , its the ideal profession for women and especially for Muslim women . Couple of reasons
You are not judged based on your looks , but on your skills
Very less human (client) interaction . We have PMs for that
Don’t have to relay on your peers
Ideal job for working from home
Pays good
So what are the reasons that are stopping women in general from being a programmer? Its time for some insight ladies
Programming itself isn't for everyone. I've seen many people who got IT degrees but didn't stay in the field. So though its benefits may be attractive, the activity itself may not be. I'm not a developer myself, but I work with many clients who are and there are very few women.
I love programming!! 3 years ago, I was 1 of 2 girls in my programming related classes. Now, I’m 1 of 5 :jiia: lol
I think it’s because of the misconception that IT/ programming is a male dominant world/ and pay wise… It’s unfortunate, but hey, if I have to be the token to bring a company’s PR numbers up to speed, I’m totally OK with that
Maybe it was like that a few years ago, but living in a city like Seattle, I have come across many women (Indian and Pakistani) who are programmers at Expedia, Amazon, Microsoft. I think the times are changing and people are thinking outside the box.
Personally, whether my girls decide to get into IT careers or not, I will encourage them to learn programming.
Maybe it was like that a few years ago, but living in a city like Seattle, I have come across many women (Indian and Pakistani) who are programmers at Expedia, Amazon, Microsoft. I think the times are changing and people are thinking outside the box.
Personally, whether my girls decide to get into IT careers or not, I will encourage them to learn programming.
Agree. I have seen a change in the recent times where more women are into engineering when it was not the case before.
Not just programming but many professions within IT are ideal for women who want to work from home. I am in Network engineering and I get all the benefits you mentioned. I have about five women in my global team. They are all pretty old and with kids. I have met two of them! They love it because they can plan out their days as they need.
Nothing is stopping women. If they choose not to be programmers it's usually their own choice. While men are still the majority, I can tell you first hand that there are quite a few women in computer science and software engineering. Granted, I went to a school renowned for engineering and math/CS so maybe the results are a bit skewed but I think what Niksik said holds true. Whatever difference there is, exists because women choose not to pursue that path.
^^That was true specially for women in the 90's in Pakistan since parents expected of their daughters to be Doctors and and sons to be Engineers. Computer Science and computer engineering was thought of the same way till early 2000's when women started coming into Computer Science/Engineering. I only had one girl in my BCS class back in 1999 and now I have around half women in our MIS/MS in CS classes.
Even in my undergrad and grad school classes had quite a few girls there. But the same number doesn't reflect in workforce. Btw network engineers are not programmers, even SAP and database people are not programmers. Though they do apply programming in bits and pieces but they are not the real geeks, if I put it that way :) ... So in the end people who end up working as a full time programmer are very few.
I am just curious, that women being so geeky, how come they don't end up being a full time programmer. Or scoring high GPA doesn't reflect being analytical minded ?
Even in my undergrad and grad school classes had quite a few girls there. But the same number doesn't reflect in workforce. Btw network engineers are not programmers, even SAP and database people are not programmers. Though they do apply programming in bits and pieces but they are not the real geeks, if I put it that way :) ... So in the end people who end up working as a full time programmer are very few.
I am just curious, that women being so geeky, how come they don't end up being a full time programmer. Or scoring high GPA doesn't reflect being analytical minded ?
There is zero programming in network engineering unless you are working with route maps. It is a lot easier to learn and apply in my opinion. I agree programmers are real geeks of IT. That is another reason why I would encourage women to pursue networking since it is easier to grasp and probably a lot less boring. It offers same benefits if you look for them: less interaction with clients, working from home, high pay, and relaxed hours.
I found programming to be very boring and to be honest, I could not sit there for hours writing codes.
I heard that last month first Pakistani woman finally figured out how to program Roomba. Hallelujah our princessy nawabzadian finally entered the 21st century.
For my explanation I’d like to offer a video. Sorry, ppl of PK residence, it is on YouTube. Although if you Google it I’m sure youd find it on a differnet network
