Where is Math Barbie?

by Jen Nedeau · 2008-10-05 21:24:00 UTC
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One of the areas that really opened my eyes to the existing gender gap in the world is through my experiences in the online technology field. While statistically speaking there are more men in the technology field - the question becomes, is that right?

Here are a few stats from Women Who Tech:

  • 2% of open source developers are women

  • 28% of the proprietary software workforce is comprised of women

  • 28% of students earning a BS in Computer Science are women

  • Women make up only 16.5 percent of those seeking PHDs in the tech industry

  • Women made up just 25%  of those with professional positions in the IT industry in 2006

Whether it's the instinct for men to be asked to always "fix" things to women being underrepresented on panels and speaker series - a hot topic these days is how women and men can create more gender equality in the tech field.

I did my part as a new media maven by participating in a live podcast discussion last night on a panel titled: Gender Gap and Technology/New Media.

Rather than complain about the existing issues between men and women in the tech, myself and a few other geek chic ladies - Leslie Poston, Shireen Mitchell, Leslie Bradshaw, Meg Fowler - got together to try and create our own solutions.

We covered:

  • The education gender gap

  • Confidence issues for women in the tech field

  • Communication between women and men in tech

  • Perception and objectivity of women in social media and tech

Listen in to hear the two thoughtful discussions about the subject or stay tuned for the solutions to be posted here on the blog.

Jen Nedeau Jen Nedeau is a media relations professional and a writer based in New York City.
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