title: How to get women into tech in 5 steps layout: post created_at: Sat Feb 15 2014 author: Anika twitter: langziehohr
where to start?
what is women in tech? what does it mean? why would we wanna do it? what's wrong with this title?
but i wanted it to be a talk for people who are already in tech, in the community, who have the power to empower those who aren't yet. and it's a talk for all the women in the audience who are here because they did the first steps, they took a leap.
i don't want to reproduce this passive/active model, i of course want you - you women - to make yourself visible, to try hard, to learn, to take your own steps into the tech community. but of course, because this is a topic for both sides: for the ones who actually already are the tech community and for the ones who want to take part.
nicole simon always says to look at yourself, ask yourself for how many conferences you've applied to get yourself out there, what have you DONE for it.
But for me that's only one part. That would be my part (and it's HARD! you might fail. you might not get what you want in a first try. but: change is never easy. but it's worth it. ). The other part is to support women and every other not-male-not-white person to take these steps. support, encourage and help.
but HOW? and btw. WHY?
why? ok, let's look at the why first and then go to the how:
Why do we want more women in tech? And when I say this, i only tell half the truth. I also want all the other non-male non-white non-abled minorities to join this club. For time reasons, I'm gonna speak and focus about women today, but I want to state clear, that all I claim about women in these next minutes I definitely mean for those underrepresented people as well.
and of course: I'm a women. i fell in love with programming, building things and i want others to get the chance to discover a hidden talent or love they didn't know they maybe had. or discover that they really are NOT into it. but at least give them a chance to try it out and not be told out front that it's not for them.
--
so back to the question: why do we want women in tech? because the world is not only male and the world is build more and more with technologies. technologies, that define our day-to-day life, our communications, our creativity. The more the people building these technologies are divers then we are building technologies for a wider range of people. If it's only men building stuff for men, it kinda makes everything a bit boring and won't fit all our needs.
Plus: Different studies have shown that (what a suprise) Heterogen teams are more effective, productive and successful, than others.
That's easier said then done and I'm not gonna lie: this whole getting more women in tech thingy is harder than I thought. Because: where to begin?
My answer: we have to take care of all those different fields:
-support women who already are "in" tech, to get more visible, be role models for others to follow suit, show yourself and actively take part -support the ones who do WANT to get in tech -> students -support the ones who do WANT to learn technical skills -> pupils -give ALL kids the chance of discovering that tech is amazing and that they might have an interest in this -> kindergarten, but not only but, this is even bigger: it's no more and no less than to change existing stereotypes, which we grew up with, which we will teach our kids, it's treating kids the same no matter their gender. (HUGE!)
need to change our minds, need to change the ways we think about women, which is so freaking HUGE. even after studying gender studies I'm still influenced by expectations/roles/behaviour, I still catch myself underselling me or undermining my own technical skills. So this whole "starting to change how we think about women, about girls" is HUGE, because it infiltrates everything around us. I can't even begin here. Just look one second in this thing called internet and you'll have it: women being treated, seen, objectified so different than men. the images kids get from magazines/websites/books about women and men. There is a huge different and an even more different level of these differences from country to country. but I'm not here to talk to you about the stereotypes about men and women, how to treat them the same. I'm here to talk about how we can give some special treatment to overcome a stereotype. how we can change the tech world and get more women into it.
as much as I'd love to say we don't need to think about gender anymore, just treat everybody the same, I think that we are not quite there yet. and to achieve an equal participation in the tech scene from men and women and other genders, we have to take the first step. and the first one is to support the ones, who are underrepresented.
start talking to your friends/kids show then what you do, exite others bring your daughter to work, introduce her to things like goldiblox
if you have a female friend in your network, who shows even a little interest in tech: encourage her to go to usergroups, workshops, take her with you or better even: find another female friend and connect them. discovering something new, going to a workshop you haven't gone before is always easier when you are not alone
I say workshops? oh yes: Let me introduce you to some awesome things that are already happening:
Rails Girls&skillcrush/girlswhocode/womenwhocode/opentechschool/blackgirlscode/coderdojo Beginner workshops
for women to fall in love with tech. provide a safe space for learning. and best of all: provide fun!
Let me tell you a little bit more about rails girls
Rails Girls facts:
I started Rails Girls Berlin 2 years ago after falling in love with programming at a beginners workshop. I wanted to continue learning. Together. Have fun, chocolate and some lovely people around.
This covers the beginner workshops. But what about steps we can take after this? To provide actual resources to get better, learn more, be more active, build your own stuff:
Rails Girls Summer of Code Travis Foundation
so many more:
here is one story: VDIEO
so to finally give you the answer to my title, i'll finally reveal the 5 easy steps to get women in tech, this is the great moment some of you have been waiting for, get out your pen:
- There
- Are
- No
- 5
- Steps
there is thousands. or only one. The first one. Let's take it together. Thanks. @rgsoc