Monday, January 23, 2006

Smurfette syndrome

One thing about the CodeCamp, though: severe Smurfette syndrome. Maybe 10% of the attendees were women, but probably closer to 5%.

I don't think it's the CodeCamp's fault; I'm afraid they may have gotten an accurate sample of the programmers in the area, and that's the scary thought. Possibly things would have been a little better on a weekday; men might feel more comfortable in taking a day away from home duties for their professional development. Still.

I know, it's been talked to death, and there are a million theories and stuff, but... yikes. It's just scary that one year goes by after another, and the situation persists.

On the other hand, the GCOUG meeting was about half women, maybe even a majority. At a small meeting, granted, but it's still a bright spot.

No comments: