[mjfl]

While they have the best intentions, these kinds of initiatives can backfire badly. 2 years ago, I was partnered on a project with a woman who did not how to code a single line of C++ in a senior-level computer science course. Whenever I would arrange for us to work together in lab, she would call in sick. This happened about 3 or 4 times. I told this to my professor, who was a HUGE social justice guy, and after investigating our version-controlled project he found that I had written 98% of the lines. I got an A on the project, she got a B, so she still passed, but the whole time I'm wondering: is this really helping her? Is it really going to help her in her long term career to push her through the classes without learning anything to push a statistic that the college can later brag about. Of the couple girls I know who graduated in my class, one works at Google, but none of the rest of them are working in a remotely computer science job. I think the proportion corresponds to the ratio of girls who would naturally take computer science (the one that works at google now and perhaps a few who just preferred other things) vs. the people that were pushed through (the rest).

This also causes problems for the whole school as well: I learned through a friend that a google recruiter was talking about how students from my school often have great resumes and then fall apart during technical interview questions. So I think it is plausible that these kinds of initiatives hurt EVERYONE from the school in question.

This is all anecdotes, but I'm convinced this is a real problem, causing REAL harm, all for the college to look better in social justice statistics. This is why I'm writing about it instead of just shrugging my shoulders.

[pomoma_grad]

I went to Pomona College, which is next to Harvey Mudd, with cross-enrollment and some shared CS classes.

I think the experience you are describing is not applicable here, because Pomona and Harvey Mudd are both highly selective schools. Nobody who can't code is graduating with a CS major. Mudd in particular is pretty hardcore. When I worked with other students in CS classes at Mudd, I was always impressed by their intelligence and work ethic, that goes for any gender.

My graduating class of CS majors had more women than men, and both men and women are developers at top companies, getting PhD's from top programs, etc.

[rokosbasilisk]

Doesnt everybody mostly think this about their school ? No one wants to be known for graduating from the school that pumps out frauds.

Thats why alot of companies prefers ivy leagues, mit, other top schools etc.

[hkon]

same experience here. Now 10 years later. Not a single person (man or woman) who was not a cs geek before uni started is into hands-on development

[__vertigo]

This doesn't match my experience at all. Are you considering people who moved into lead or management positions from more hands-on engineering positions as not being "into hands-on development"?

[rokosbasilisk]

It matches my freshman experience, most of those people drop out though, so it got better.

[Eridrus]

I had the same thing happen to me in an advanced OS course, but my partner was a guy doing a Master's degree, clearly we're not going to blame it on his gender.

[mjfl]

I am emphatically not blaming it on her gender rather a school policy that pushes unprepared students through a system to satisfy a vision of what things should be like. If you read the former you need to go back and read my post more carefully.

[dominotw]

>This is all anecdotes

NHS did a study on female doctors who drop out of workplace at way higher rate than men and all the social/economic implication of it given the huge cost invested into medical education.

[chriskanan]

I don't think that's the same thing as what the parent post is suggesting. Based on my wife's opinion (a female physician), female physicians seem to be dropping out or working only part time for child rearing purposes. It does have huge healthcare implications though, since females are now making up a large number of physicians and there are only a very small number of slots at medical schools.

[rokosbasilisk]

Working part time contributes to the gender pay gap, so it probably has economic effects as well.