[OasisG]

I think the first two reasons affect everyone pretty equally, but the 3rd rings pretty true in a couple ways.

I was lucky enough to attend several city schools with serious technology programs/curricula. This included C++ for all 4 years of HS provided you were on the advanced track.

That said, I still had troubles fitting into the tech world and even left it for a time. There's a variety of reasons for this, but one of them was that I never really felt any sense of camaraderie with the other people who were into this stuff. Outside of computers, I often had very little in common with my white, male peers.

They liked metal and rock, I mostly liked JPOP and Electronic music at the time. They were worried about getting girls to like them and annoyed at the athletes who seemed to get all of them. I was usually dating those same athletes. Even my gaming interests seemed to diverge from theirs. I'm a console gamer, but the guys were busy playing Counterstrike.

This meant there were FAR fewer opportunities to collaborate and learn from a group of similarly-interested people. Thankfully, people are a LOT more open to differences now that I'm older, but it still leaves me pretty far behind.

Note: I'm an Afro-Latina woman.

[jasonlotito]

> This meant there were FAR fewer opportunities to collaborate and learn from a group of similarly-interested people.

I'm going to tread carefully here. =)

Similarly-interested in a small segment of likes. I think it's fair to say that in most careers, their exists a culture, and if you aren't apart of that culture, you miss out. I see this in all sorts of industries, and the type of people involved generally follow a well established stereotype. Their are exceptions, and stereotyping is bad, but I think it's safe to say we all see this and know it exists. It's not on purpose. Us white male programmers just happen to have a lot of similar interests.

> but it still leaves me pretty far behind?

Do you find this a fault with the industry? With those white guys? With you? Or no ones fault and it is what it is?

My own experience is that people who have the same dedicated drive for programming but aren't interested in the same extra-curricular activities as most programmers usually have a lot to offer. Have you found that to be the case personally? Do you feel other people see that in you?

[OasisG]

I don't fault myself or anyone else. I think it's just something that happens naturally when a large group of people dominate an industry. If this were a hip hop board, we might be talking about how long it took Far East Movement to make it in a predominantly black industry, but this is HN, so we talk about women and black/latino minorities.

That said, just because something happens "naturally" doesn't mean it can't have negative consequences. It's important to be aware of the issues that arise when there is a clear in-group so we can find ways to mitigate their effects.

Also, I shouldn't have said people are more accepting of differences now that I'm older. It's more that people are more willing to see the differences and make a bit more effort to bring that "different" person into the fold. That sensitivity is something that comes with age and affects a variety of industries, not just tech.

[yummyfajitas]

I think it's fair to say that in most careers, their exists a culture, and if you aren't apart of that culture, you miss out.

This happens to white people too. I work in the financial industry.

Typical weekend activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1CKesTyTpI&feature=relat...

My weekend activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7CtBWhrVAE&feature=relat...

Sucks for me, but I can't find fault with other people for doing what they like. It's not the job of the rest of the world to change to make it convenient for me to network.

[nolite]

Holy shit that was intense