Hip-hop engineer: April Slayden
April Slayden knows that not all computer researchers spend their entire day sitting in cubicles and staring at screens.
Last August, the HP software engineer had a hand in setting up a music system at an MTV Video Music Awards after a party hosted by rapper Sean "P.Diddy" Combs. Celebrities at the Miami event -- including Paris Hilton, Carson Daly and the Olsen twins -- listened just a few yards away from Slayden to digital beats created with an HP technology called DJammer. "It was exciting," Slayden recalled of her invitation. "Who would have thought -- an HP software engineer?"
But not surprisingly, a thirst for glamour isn't what brought Slayden to the tech field. The 25-year-old has grooved on computers since she was about 6, when her dad showed her programs on a DOS-based machine from RadioShack. "I was just fascinated by the fact that he could make it show my name, and it could tell if I had the right answer to math problems."
A faculty mentor at Mississippi's Millsaps College encouraged her to continue with computer science after graduation, helping her to choose the tech field over medical school. Slayden earned a master's degree at the University of Rochester and ended up at HP's research arm more than two years ago.
In addition to DJammer, Slayden has worked on a project that uses robots outfitted with video screens and cameras to enable remote "telepresence."
Some scholars say women tend to view technology as a means to make a difference in society, and Slayden fits that mold. "I feel much more satisfied when I feel something I'm doing is contributing to the DJ community or world community," she said.
Computer-averse researcher: Radia Perlman
Radia Perlman is a top expert when it comes to networking protocols, but that doesn't mean she's fond of computers.
Now a "Distinguished Engineer" at Sun, Perlman got into computing despite an aversion to the machines. "I actually didn't like computers very much -- and I still don't," she said. "They're always broken for obscure reasons." What Perlman prefers is thinking about rules for sending data from point A to point B. She did her doctoral dissertation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the topic of how to make networks sturdier, and she invented a "spanning tree" algorithm that became commonplace.
Thinking about smart communication strategies is something that comes naturally to Perlman. She even sees room for improvement in the way people clink glasses during dinner toasts. "That actually drives me crazy," Perlman said, "because it's an inefficient protocol."
Although she's a recognised leader in the field, Perlman says it wasn't always easy being a woman in tech. She's had to overcome feelings of insecurity, as well as a computer industry climate that can be intimidating.
Given that women are often humble and self-questioning, tech companies should work to tone down cut-throat cultures, Perlman suggested. "It may be that the female is every bit as good as the male -- maybe better," she said. "But she's more inclined to doubt herself -- and sometimes, to solve a problem, you have to believe you can do it."
Talkback
Well the woman who said monoculture is bad in IT was wrong. From 1978-1998 IT (at least desktop PCs) was a 95% white American male industry. And it was flying high then. Now that we have fragmented it, split it up, thrown in every other culture and race from the world, there has been no innovation in the past 7 years. Except for Apple - which is still a relatively white-male dominated company. There is a reason for that. It's not racism. There are just some things that some cultures are better at than others. Japanese and Germans are great at making cars. Swiss are great skiers. Bralizians are great soccer players. It's not racist or gender-biased to say so. The fact is *good* software (not just any software) is the sole realm of the white American male. People trying to force square pegs into round holes will not make it otherwise.
"Anonymous" of San Jose. WHat a posting. You expose yourself as a perfect racsist/assmuption driven discriminator. You obviously don't work for a company that runs "Valuing Diversity" courses. It is sad that your attitude is very typical of the one I have seen evidenced against females, again and again and again, in the UK, both in academia and in industry. Men do not handle the threat of a technically competent female very well at all. The upstart female has to be slapped down (metaphorically) and shown that technically incompetent, lack-lustre and non-productive men must always hold the positions of authority. Superior work turned in by a female will be stolen and the ensuing credit apportioned to non-functioning men also onthe team. Will it ever change? Well, I've been waiting for the last 10 years, and it hasn't yet.
You're both talking garbage.
The first post despite its denials is undoubtedly racist and sexist. And the second post is just as bad. "Women's work is stolen by men who then take the credit for it". Oh please! This anti-male rubbish is no different froom the anti-female rubbish of the first post.
What's wrong with the simple idea that men and women are different? Or that some professions attract more women, (infant teachers, midwifes, etc.) and that some jobs attract more men, (computing).
It's not absolute, it's not based on ability as both are equally able, it's just down to inclination.
There's nothing wrong with looking at how IT can be made more attractive to women - it might make it more attractive for men as well. Just as long as there's no discrimination involved. (There is nothing "positive" about discrimination).
What I read is a gross over-simplification. For instance, Germans are known deservedly as the greatest producer of music software. The fact that the original German companies who produced such great software as Logic Audio or Cubase have been bought by US, Japan or Singapore based companies does not diminish their merit. The same could be said of hundreds of good software products which haven't been created by Americans and which Americans use without knowing they are not American-made.
Scientific, Technical and related commerical fields have a rigor that often quickly exposes inadequate, 2nd rate or inappropriate (all be it good) solutions . Regardless of the gender or race of those contributing. I have often found technical females lacking, other companies solutions lacking and work from my colluges lacking. I have often found my own skills and abilities lacking in comparison to others. My experience is that 90% of people could'nt write adequate software with the current tools and 90 % of those writing software could do a better job but wont for one reason or another.
In technical fields we have to resist the temptation to put eachother on the scrapheap just because the goalposts have moved in terms of skillsets and in vogue technologies.
New ways of doing things and a different viewpoint are always needed but will mostly never make any money or even see the light of day regardless of who is innovating.
However commercial reality is that for lots of companies unless you deliver regardless of the difficulties you are of little use to that company and will start to feel the cold shoulder . Also whats wrong with realisng that you are in the wrong job !!! Better sooner than later. Square peg round hole?
Forgive the spelling - inadequate techie
I think its more to do with the loner/geek personality that has dominated IT. Sitting in your bedroom alone for hours learning to program or build your own pcs is unlikely to appeal to the young female. Computers are more likely viewd as a tool to be used not an end in themselves.
No doubt car mechanics and engineering suffer the same male bias as I.T.
For tech courses to work for females they are going to have to allow for those who are intellectually capable but lack the hands on experience.
In answer to Ian Lincoln, I think that's totally it! I am a female computer tech working in a job doing long distance techsupport either by phone or over the 'net for clients all over the US, Canada, Hawaii, Britain, India, and even a couple clients in Russia and Saudi Arabia. The company I work for has spared many people from having to unhook their pc to take it into a local shop for many reasons. AND, we're based in Canada, not some offshore location that can't speak English very well inspite of potentially having a very sharp technical understanding.
However, when I was taking my A+ practicum several years ago, another young lady came into the shop I was working in, having freshly completed her MCSE at a university in Nova Scotia, where she had little to no hands-on training, it was almost entirely theory. She spent two weeks with us before realizing she couldn't stand the job. I felt so sorry for her.
By personality, I think I'm a tomboy! "How does it work, why does it do that, what if I do this?" are questions I've always asked, and sought to answer, and that before becoming a tech, meant alot of calls to techsupport because of breaking things on the computer trying to answer those questions years ago.
I'm also a loner. Sitting in front of my computer doing webwork or fixing issues for other people can cause me to lose all track of time, and my kids have to remind me on occasion that its time to cook dinner, or that I forgot about their bedtime routine. Fortunately their old enough now to handle some of that for themselves.
But yes it does take a certain mindset to become a geek of any stripe, whether its programming, webdesign, techsupport, systems management, security management, whatever the job title might be. If I had more time, I would be brushing up my programming skills and going into programming contracts. But I don't have that time available.
If a woman has the right mindset, she'll go far in this industry.