Women in Software Development

So, a friend shared an article that's certainly worth a read: Women in Technology.

The article has a great point; some people think that "maybe women aren't cut out for technology". If we thought about most things this way, and our web pages took two minutes to load, we'd simply handwave the issue away with "maybe this hardware is crap", instead of looking at the processes and procedures that are probably the culprit.

The author also hits the one crucial point; we're not talking about promoting people who aren't any good, we're talking about encouraging talent at a young age, and promoting women the same way we'd promote men.

Currently, I have the luck to work with a number of technically adept women; my manager, project manager, and three of the sysadmins, and they're all among the best, brightest and most driven I've had the chance to work with. The lack of disparity is interesting and then some; I often wonder if it's a recruiting policy, random chance, or something else about the positions. That said, this employer is by far the exception and not the norm, and outside of my immediate department, the numbers revert to the mean.

I'm curious about one specific thing, and if anyone has any good reading on it, let me know. How have - or are - other technical disciplines addressing the disparity? Actual engineers, speak up?

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