Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!husc6!uwvax!vanvleck!uwmcsd1!ig!agate!rsp@pbhyf.PacBell.COM
From: rsp@pbhyf.PacBell.COM (Steve Price)
Newsgroups: comp.society.women
Subject: Re: The Technical Core in Computing Firms
Message-ID: <11164@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 20 Jun 88 16:40:36 GMT
References: <11101@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
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Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
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Approved: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu (Moderator -- Trish Roberts)
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Submissions-to: comp-women@cs.purdue.edu


In article <11101@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, skyler@violet.berkeley.edu writes:
> Some have argued that women don't like to be in the technical cores
> of companies because 1)  they don't like the isolation; 2)  women
> are socialized to enjoy helping people more and, therefore, like to
> be involved in those layers of an organization which are involved in
> mediation.
> 
I have been a computer programmer/analyst since 1981 and have worked 
in both a tiny start-up software house and in a large ISO (Information
Systems Organization) of a major corporation.  Based on that experience,
I think Trish's general discussion of the technical core and the usual
style of software management is 100% on target.  

But the "isolation" refered to should not be thought of as some sort of
lonely solitary confinement.  The isolation is not from other humans
but from certain business questions or problems, such as how to market,
price, sell, deliver, etc.  

(It can be argued that this is a bad formal arrangement of people and talent.
Sometimes I think it is very bad that the people who build things are supposed
to be incapable of designing or marketing them. I especially get annoyed when 
nontechnical managers independently make feature & delivery deadline promises.)  
However, whether this is good or bad organization, women (and men) should know 
that programming usually is a very human and humane GROUP effort.  Very little
can be accomplished by truly isolated geniuses.  Much satisifaction can
be had while designing and coding with friends who enjoy the challenges and
who share everything to improve the product and the group's performance.

Before becoming a programmer, I spent 8 years teaching high school and
college English.   I feel no more isolated now then I did then.  I still
have plenty of chances to "teach" others and to be taught by them in turn.

In short, my experience leads me to state that no one should avoid programming
as a field of endeavor through fear of being cut off from human contact.
(You may may not like the humans you'll contact as a programmer, but that is
a different topic 8-).  )


Steve Price
pacbell!pbhyf!rsp
(415) 823-1951



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