"men are more systematic and women are more empathic"
That's a much stronger statement than SBC actually makes.
He identifies two extremes - systematizing and empathising - which he calls "male" and "female" (I understand he regrets that choice of name now) - and says that there are more men with extreme systematizing and more women with extreme empathizing. But there are plenty of men with "female" brains and vice versa.
One thing I've read is that there used to be more female programmers and analysts than there are now; likewise computer science enrolments from women have actually gone down in recent years. I don't think that's from innate inclination - I think it's from cultural stereotypes about what women's capabilities are. And unfortunately, like other very male dominated fields, now that this has happened, there is a hard core of men who make life for women colleagues very unpleasant, which you can see any time a site like Slashdot or BoingBoing features a woman with skills in the field.
My guess is that there would be more female programmers if it weren't for men (and women) sending subtle and not-so-subtle signals that it's men's work and they should keep out. Probably not 50%, but more than the tiny minority we have now. I regard every woman who is put off as a loss - once for herself, having lost the possibility of a satisfying career, and once for society, having lost a talent from contributing in its proper place.
"men are more systematic and women are more empathic"
That's a much stronger statement than SBC actually makes.
He identifies two extremes - systematizing and empathising - which he calls "male" and "female" (I understand he regrets that choice of name now) - and says that there are more men with extreme systematizing and more women with extreme empathizing. But there are plenty of men with "female" brains and vice versa.
One thing I've read is that there used to be more female programmers and analysts than there are now; likewise computer science enrolments from women have actually gone down in recent years. I don't think that's from innate inclination - I think it's from cultural stereotypes about what women's capabilities are. And unfortunately, like other very male dominated fields, now that this has happened, there is a hard core of men who make life for women colleagues very unpleasant, which you can see any time a site like Slashdot or BoingBoing features a woman with skills in the field.
My guess is that there would be more female programmers if it weren't for men (and women) sending subtle and not-so-subtle signals that it's men's work and they should keep out. Probably not 50%, but more than the tiny minority we have now. I regard every woman who is put off as a loss - once for herself, having lost the possibility of a satisfying career, and once for society, having lost a talent from contributing in its proper place.