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by supreme_sublime 3088 days ago
My argument is that programmers have never cared who you are. Only that you wanted to learn. That you are encouraging people to doubt the limits of their own potential and their reception into programming by making it out to be some horrible occupation that only bigots and homophobes go into.

Why would women want to join such a horrible and sexist place if that's their impression? Especially since it isn't the reality. I've come across a few assholes, but they were assholes to everyone. If you have a chip on your shoulder constantly to think "Someone may not like me because I'm x" you're handicapping yourself. Instead seek out the good people, who are the vast majority. Stop with the identity politics and who is the most discriminated or offended and get to coding.
1 comments
jjeaff 3088 days ago
>My argument is that programmers have never cared who you are.

I think the chorus of opinions from female regular programmers all the way to the highest echelons of the tech hierarchy (a la Marissa Mayer) expressing their concern that tech is a 'boy's club' and that the environment is not accepting of diversity is a pretty clear sign that something is up.

Telling people to stop their whining and get to work is easy to say when you have not been on the receiving end of discrimination.

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supreme_sublime 3088 days ago
Ah yes, Marissa Mayer, a woman who became the CEO of a company. So oppressed by the "boys club".

https://medium.com/@marlene.jaeckel/the-empress-has-no-cloth...

She definitely agrees with you.

Women who actually code and are revered in their community like Sandi Metz definitely are outspoken about it.

Women I work with definitely seem to feel disrespected and let down by me.

To act as if people who are activists and speak about these things don't have an agenda, is ridiculous. It is a well paying, cushy job that is becoming more prestigious. Of course it burns activists that other women won't do what they want them to do. Why isn't there a movement to get more women working on oil rigs? That's a pretty male dominated field as well that has a pretty similar salary to programming.

I'm perfectly fine with more women being in programming, I think that's an opinion most men in the industry share. I just don't feel I have an obligation to treat them any differently to anyone else. If someone wants to learn, I'm happy to teach.

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