Women In Coding

Women in CodingWomen in Coding

By Tessa MeroJdayMN15 – July 18, 2015

http://tessamero.com

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Who Am I?Who Am I?• Instructor• Web Developer• Open Source Contributor• Mother of 2• Snowboarder• Video Game Lover

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Who Am I?Who Am I?• Instructor • Web Developer• Open Source Contributor• Mother of 2• Snowboarder• Video Game Lover

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Who Am I?Who Am I?• Instructor • Web Developer • Open Source Contributor• Mother of 2• Snowboarder• Video Game Lover

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Why Am I Doing This?Why Am I Doing This?• Share Experience• Outside Comfort Zone• Feminism• Educate Others• Increase Awareness of

Stereotyping

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Stereotyping

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Stereotyping

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Stereotyping

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Stereotyping

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Gender Diversity in Gender Diversity in Tech PositionsTech Positions

Company Male Female

Apple 80% 20%

Facebook 85% 15%

Google 83% 17%

LinkedIn 83% 17%

Microsoft 76% 24%

Twitter 90% 10%

Yahoo 85% 15%

Statistics from 2014

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Why Less Women in Why Less Women in Coding?Coding?

• Their perception of “nerdy guys”• Not confident they can do it• Lack of mentors• Imposter Syndrome

oWHAT? WHAT IS IMPOSTER SYNDROME??

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Imposter SyndromeImposter Syndrome• Impostor syndrome can be defined as a collection of

feelings of inadequacy that persist even in face of information that indicates that the opposite is true. It is experienced internally as chronic self-doubt, and feelings of intellectual fraudulence.

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My ExperienceMy Experience• Exposing for the first time some of my experience

as a web developer.

• Common things people say to me

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Web Developer JobWeb Developer Job• Only girl in the engineering

department• Never really felt like I stood out

or was “different”, until I wore heels or something…

• Never dealt with lines to use the bathroom :D :D :D :D :D !!!!!!

• Customer Service or Sales?19

“What is it like being a female in the tech field?”

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“You are really smart for a girl”

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“I was really afraid to hire you at first… because you are female”

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Joking At WorkJoking At Work• Wanted to Fit In• Jokes being taken too far• Joke after sexual harassment

video taken too far• How to handle joking around if it

bothers you?• The time where I was almost

reported to HR….23

2 Quotes!2 Quotes!• I asked 2 women to give me any quote about the

general topic of “Women in Coding”• Kept it very vague to open it up to any response

for the audience

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“The trick to making the things better is not to get overwhelmed by how much there is to do…

There’s always some small thing you can do in the here and now, and embracing those little changes is how real progress is made”

-Margaret StaplesPHP Developer at Aesop Games

Quote #1Quote #1

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“I run a software company with 90% women employees. We write code to automate test cases and API calls. It’s not a big deal in India to be woman in tech. So I really don’t understand the sentiment well enough to write anything. 30% of women are in tech in India. It’s a safe industry to work in. There are no sexual behaviors or issues. We do get taken less seriously only until we start speaking.”

-Tanushree JanaCEO and Founder QAonCloud

Quote #2Quote #2

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Cultural & Gender Cultural & Gender DifferencesDifferences

• Gender: Behaviors or patterns of activities that a society or culture deems appropriate for men and women

• Gender Role: The degree to which a person adopts the gender specific behaviors ascribed by his or her culture

• Gender Stereotypes: The psychological or behavioral characteristics typically associated with men or women

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FeminismFeminism• Definition: The advocacy of

women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

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Is feminism a good thing

or a bad thing? Why is it such acontroversial topic?

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Filling QuotasFilling Quotas• Imposter Syndrome (again)• Job Positions• Conference Talks

• How to prevent this?

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Female GroupsFemale Groups• Geek Girl Carrots• Lady Loves Code, LLC• PHPWomen• Grace Hopper Conference• Joomla! Women’s Group

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Make A ChangeMake A Change• Treat everyone equally• Try not to use the word

“Feminists” (not everyone views it in a positive manner)• It’s about equality!• Be confident and be brave

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Make A ChangeMake A Change• Don’t let anyone tell you that

you “can’t do it”• Know that YOU CAN DO IT• Use your verbal/written

(intelligent) communication skills!• Don’t be afraid to speak up!

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Going BeyondGoing Beyond• Be a mentor for someone or

find a mentor for yourself• How to mentor?• Join a female developer

community and mentor

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Going BeyondGoing Beyond• Stay networked!• Inspire women AND men• Encourage women AND men• It’s about equality for men

and women. Not equality for just women.

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Questions????Questions????THANK YOU!!! :-D

•Twitter: @tessamero•Website: TessaMero.com•Email: [email protected]

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Technology

Women In Coding