Why would anyone avoid working in IT?
There are far too many writings on the ‘net discussion the various reasons for a dearth of women in IT. I’m not going to go into them, because readers are knowledgeable enough to figure out the arcane workings of google and search for themselves. What I am going to go into are the points brought up by this blog post by User Advocacy’s Chris Borowkowski, titled “Why most women (and many men) avoid IT“.
The post was inspired by an August 6 article (and the ensuing SlashDot discussion) published by ComputerWorld magazine: “Making IT Work for Women: Four women tell how they’ve survived and flourished in the IT culture“. As a uterus toting member of the girls’ club, I can relate to some of the stories these four women narrate, but I also had a few moments of horror at some of the quotes. I’m sure Borowkowski did as well, which is probably why he wrote his post.
See, as a woman and a mother working in IT, I see IT from a slightly different view than many of my male counterparts. Yes, there is the all too often unconscious sexism and the faint the aura of the boy’s club. However, what horrifies me more is what Borowkowski talks about in his post: the serial overwork, the patronization of workers (work for us because we’ll give you free sweeties, the occasional party and fizzy drinks!), and the general disconnect between upper management and development.
The ComputerWorld article doesn’t seem to touch on the same points as Borowkowski — if he didn’t come out and say that his post was inspired by the article and the SlashDot discussion, you may not associate them together. However, Borowkowski doesn’t seem to buy into the “Aww shucks–I’m just a wee woman in a big man’s world” mentality that Mary Brandel gives voice to in her ComputerWorld article. The parts about women having to compromise because, of course, “You can’t have it all”, the quotes about just being one of the boys, and the general saccharine tone of the article really turned me off. I felt that Brandel’s article was more harmful than helpful in its portrayal of each woman and left many real issues of the IT industry in the dark while Borowkowski brought them into the light.
After reading both Borowkowski’s post and Brandel’s article, I have some questions:
- How do you justify working in IT? Do you feel like you have to justify your career?
- Are your working conditions/hours sane, or are you falling into the same sort of trap Borowkowski illustrates in his post?
- Do you feel that Borowkowski is right?
- Do you feel that there are other elements of IT that attract or repel people from the industry?
