Why More Women Should Consider a Career in Computer Programming
Everyone knows that computer programming is a heavily male-dominated field. I think this is unfortunate. Over the years, I’ve come to conclude that there is a great deal that women can contribute to this field.
Why is computer programming regarded as a primarily masculine discipline? I think that in part, it’s because men have a reputation for being more likely to tinker around with gadgets and gizmos. In part, it’s also because computer science is supposedly a very math-oriented field, and men are supposedly more inclined toward mathematical disciplines.
(Incidentally, I know that such generalizations would offend certain people. I’d like to emphasize that this is not my intent at all, nor do I wish to make excessively broad generalizations about either gender. However, a multitude of psychological studies do claim that men haveon the averagea greater aptitude for mathematics and mechanics than women do, whereas women tend to perform better at linguistics and communication. These tendencies coincide well with my own observations, so for now, I’ll assume that these studies are reasonable descriptions of gender differences.)
Anyway, people often claim that men make better programmers because they are more mathematically inclined. Personally, I disagree. It is true that computer science is very much mathematical in nature; however, computer programming often is not. It’s true that a software developer should understand basic concepts such as binary computations, round-off error and Boolean logic; however, for most programming tasks, there is little need for calculus, group theory or other advanced mathematical topics. For this reason, I think that the importance of a strong mathematical aptitude is largely overblown.
Related posts
Newton’s Telecom Dictionary, 25th Edition: Telecommunications, Networking, Information Technologies, The Internet, Wired, Wireless, Satellites and Fiber
The biggest selling telecommunications and computing dictionary…. More >>
Robotics
This up-to-date text and reference is designed to present the fundamental principles of robotics with a strong emphasis on engineering applications and industrial solutions based on robotic technology. It can be used by practicing engineers and scientists — or as a text in standard university courses in robotics. The book has extensive coverage of the major robotic classifications, including Wheeled Mobile Robots, Legged Robots, and the Robotic Manipulator. A centr… More >>