Females in the IT Field

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pixired
Females in the IT Field

Why are men afraid of a smart woman??

Tie Guy
Looking to butt heads with

Looking to butt heads with some IT guys, huh?



Ok pixired, you can't just make that kind of statement without giving a few reasons why you believe men are afraid of smart women. Are you saying men are afraid of smart women in general, or just men in the IT field?

Let's hear it...

sanch
Not all men.. You must be

Not all men.. You must be looking in the wrong places, at all of the wrong faces (I hear music somewhere...)

Steven Jones (not verified)
This doesn't seem to be a

This doesn't seem to be a particularly tricky issue if you ask me (an IT male). Men tend to be self-concious and a bit territorial. I think we are attracted to this particular field because the IT demographics are quite limited and therefore safe.

Given that geeks are generally threatened by women, then it would follow that encountering the opposite sex in our safe haven would be even more disturbing!

pixired
Men DO tend to be self -

Men DO tend to be self - concious and VERY territorial. I can go on and on.

Guest (not verified)
Well I'm not..but then I don

Well I'm not..but then I don't work with you. I've noticed that men sometimes don't like it when a co-worker knows more then they do. I was a system tech and it seemed there were techs that would'nt share their knowledge because they need to feel important.

Meri
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I am definitely in the minority in the IT field, but I have been treated with nothing but respect. (I am sometimes viewed as a curiosity, but that doesn't bother me at all.)

What does bother me is - where are all the women?

When I was younger, girls were in art classes in at least equal number with boys. Wednesday I went to the Adobe Production Studio introduction, and I was one of less the less then ten percent of the crowd that was female. When I go to the IGDA meetings, I am still one of about 5 percent. Where the heck did all the women dissapeart to? It's not because they can't do this stuff. I just don't get it.

tonyp56
I am not afraid of women that

I am not afraid of women that are smarter than I am, in fact, I've learned a lot from co-workers in the past that happened to be women--and yes, I work in the IT field and so did they. So lumping, and asking "why are men...?" instead of why are some men afraid of women that are smarter than they are, is the first mistake of the OP.

That to the side, you will always have some men that feel threatened by women that are smarter. Either it is because men are socialized—or until recently at least—to believe that they are the smartest, strongest, and well the best at everything or some men can't stand to be outdone by anyone, including a woman.

Ask yourself this question; does anyone like it when anyone else can do something they can't? Rather or not you are male or female and the person that can do something is male or female, no one likes to be outdone by anyone. So really, is it such a stretch for men to not like it when a woman can do something better, faster, etc. than they can? And of course if they don't like it, most likely they will be afraid.

IMO, the rift between women and men in anything, including the IT field, has more to do with not wanting to be outdone by someone else, than it does about rather or not that someone else is a woman. I for one, have met many women that are smarter and know more than I do about a lot of stuff, and to be 100% honest, I look at them as I would anyone that was better than me. I don't care that they are a woman, I just care that they are better than I am. Perhaps I am a minority, but still, all men are not afraid of smarter women because they are women, some of us, are just afraid of not being the smartest person. :)

 

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