Diversity in Computer Science can be a very touchy subject. Stuart Reges talks about how an executive at Google was fired because he expressed, in Reges opinion, honest thoughts on the subject of women in Computer Science. He suggests that its totally possible that women simply don’t want to be Computer Scientists and that is the cause for the gender gap in computer science. Reges supports this claim by providing suggestions that in elementary schools when both male and female students were tested, female students who scored similar math scores as their male counterparts often scored better in reading. What this data seems to be suggesting is that female students are more geared toward reading and similar subjects. While the data may point to this I am not convinced. I believe that looking at test scores divided by gender is an arbitrary measure. People as a whole are unique. I do not believe that the gender of a person determines their academic interests. There are probably similarly arbitrary ways to break up the data presented to draw similarly indistinct conclusions. It is entirely possible that the data will show that children who play more sports are more inclined towards reading, again it would be completely arbitrary. However, even if on average young girls are more inclined towards reading (which I do not believe as I feel that each person shapes their own academic interests not their biology) that should not change the approach of Computer Science towards women working in the field. I feel that the best person for the job should get the position, as such it should not matter what a person looks like or what gender they are, instead their ability should be what causes them to get a job and be respected for that ability. Some may argue that the problem of women in Computer Science starts earlier with not enough women being encouraged to take introductory classes or even consider the major due to external pressures. This is a potentially valid point. Young women may feel discouraged to pursue an interest in Computer Science for external reasons and this is wrong. All people should be encouraged to follow their interests. This could mean that women will always be in a minority in Computer Science or women could become the majority in the field, however, in the end to fix the problem I feel all people should be equally encouraged, as individuals, to pursue their interest in any field of study and to not discourage any person from their study. Society may initially press against both women and minorities who try to advance in fields such as computer science, however, to combat this the field should encourage everyone to follow their passion. That means that men, women, everyone should be encourage across the board to create a better equality. I think outreach programs by the industry that target young children could help to foster a better culture of involvement in the Computer Science Industry. If all children are encouraged to follow their passion from a young age even if society does not immediately accept the changes that are coming these students can believe in themselves and their peers to excel.
Susan Fowler’s blog post about her time at Uber is awful to hear. Uber’s poor treatment of women compounded by their poor overall management combined together to create a very difficult and discouraging work environment for all. The numerous reports she made about sexual harassment being ignored is extremely discouraging. Uber should not be trying to keep down its engineers for internal political reasons or reasons of sexism it is simply wrong. A company should make all people feel welcome and comfortable working there. If this is how a major software company treats its employees it shows a major problem in the industry of employees not being respected as people. While some companies may be trying to encourage all people, others are clearly not and this should not continue.