Friday, November 28, 2014

Women in computing

Interesting article on women in computing by NPR at http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/10/21/357629765/when-women-stopped-coding?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonuazPZKXonjHpfsX67uspXqK1lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4ATsFiI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFSrXMMbZmwLgFWBU%3D \ Having gone to college learning computers in the 1970s, I find this interesting as it has always been told to me from then when in college to when started teaching after that and to today that this is a male program. In college my classes were mostly women but I was in unique situation being one of fist men at a former women’s college. However teaching at technical colleges since, quite often my classes have always been majority women except the early 2000s when I was at HGTC and first couple years here at GNTC. Not sure why shift then. Just like my day Cisco class now (5 of 6 are women) my data processing classes in 80s at STC were often 80-90% women. Even though I would always hear it was male dominated, pictures were women with computers. I also know that the people called computers in the 40s (that was a real job title for people who sat in Washington doing calculations for artillery tables) were mostly women. My mom was one of them. I have her score sheet from the test to be a computer if anyone wants me to send. So I am the son of a computer. lol