Tech Jobs and Female Privilege: Women Are Under-represented in the Tech Field

American Thinker ^ | 08/27/2015 | Noel S. Williams

[SeekAndFind]

Women, who outnumber men in college and are more likely to graduate, are underrepresented in computer science fields.  That’s female privilege, unless we condescendingly presume they are making the wrong choices in college. 

Overall, women received 18 percent of Computer and Information Sciences undergraduate degrees in 2013, yet were 26% of the computing workforce in 2014 (PDF). Women make up 30% of the workforce at tech giant Apple; at Intel, they represent about 24%; 22% of leaderships positions at Google are held by women. 

Compared to their rates of participation in STEM majors in college, women also receive disproportionately higher job offers in IT, engineering and physics. 

What should we do about their overrepresentation?  Well, Intel is upping the ante, adding additional incentives including referral bonuses that are double for women candidates than male.   25% of Intel’s workforce is female; moreover, 35% of its recent new hires were women, both well above the rates at which they are awarded computer-related degrees. This affirmative action decays into reverse discrimination when they introduced a quota system to draw 40% of recruits in 2015 from underrepresented groups.

It’s female privilege to choose to major in English, literature, communications and gender studies in college.  These curricula, it should be no surprise, lead to work in areas like social services, health care, education, and public administration. 

What’s wrong with that?   The market will decide what those professions are worth.   Nevertheless, Google knows best, and is dumping money into programs steering women and minorities into STEM programs -- which implies away from the humanities.  But we could all use a bit more humanity, and women should be applauded for pursing the “helping professions.”  Besides, there’s also a shortage of healthcare workers,

[G Larry]

This is NOT about statistics.
I said they’re taking over.

This is NOT about one location.

This is about a multi-decade trend where 70% of the time when there’s an opening, technical or otherwise, it’s filled by a woman.

It may come as shock to you, that with 125,000 employees at hundreds of locations, it’s pretty tough to gather specific numbers.

Our CEO is a woman and it’s not Boeing.

[Nifster]

You sound not only bitter but are suggesting that a trained engineer because she is female is somehow not an engineer.

I don’t buy your statement that 70% of the time a woman is hired for an opening. The numbers don’t reflect that.

The fact that you can’t or won’t provide numbers reinforces that

[Nifster]

Here is an article you may or may not like

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/21/us-women-weapons-idUSBRE8AK08620121121

[G Larry]

I didn’t say “hired”, they’re promoted from within, to management positions, irrespective of whether they’re qualified to manage.

[meyer]

I wonder if gender played a role in the design of the user interface for Windows 8...

[Nifster]

They were hired sometime....your bitterness is showing. I have worked for both men and women engineering managers. Some are good some aren’t. Not everyone is a good manager.

To say that women are taking over and are getting all the managers jobs is just silliness

[G Larry]

You may pretend if you like, but it is reality.

[Nifster]

You can blame others for what you lack. That doesn’t mean you are right