Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!uwm.edu!ogicse!milton!jraymond@BBN.COM
From: jraymond@BBN.COM (Jayson Raymond)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Where are the Women?
Message-ID: <19032@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 25 Mar 91 19:47:17 GMT
Sender: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu
Lines: 43
Approved: cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu



Our esteemed moderator points out that: 

>After nearly 2 megabytes of conversation on this newsgroup, I'm sorry to
>report that only two women have responded to the Roll Call...and as far as I
>can tell, NO women have participated, even once, in the online discussions.

Why should this VR list be any different then the rest of the computer
industry?

As an example, the environment within which I work, of the
Engineering/Technical positions, only 7% are filled by women. And one
can't help but get the feeling that that is a liberal number considering
only 2% have technical/engineering related degrees.
 
This is a large social problem - and the VR field is only seeing a
symptom of the much larger problem of the roles that are taught to our
children - some of it directly taught, but more is indirectly implied in
toys, role models, etc. Afterall, how many of you Dads go home and cook
at night, do the shopping or the laundry, etc?

The Wall Street Journal recently published such figures, and although it
is highly unbalanced there does seem to be an indication that it is
changing, albeit quite slowly.

And I'm afraid to know the percentage of non-whites males participating
in this field...


-- Jayson

-----------
Jayson Raymond
Jraymond@bbn.com
BBN Advanced Simulation

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