Tag: society

Ladies, Let’s Get Techie

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We all know that women are just as good as men when it comes to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers. Society has been pushing to close the gender gap for jobs in these sectors—successfully! According to a HuffPost article, in 2013 more than half of all US biological scientists were women. More women are entering the careers in the life sciences; think biology, genetics, and even zoology.

But, this push towards gender equality in STEM hasn’t been felt equally across the fields. The number of men in technology/computing careers still ridiculously outweighs that of women. Consider this:

“At Google, women make up 30 percent of the company’s overall workforce, but hold only 17 percent of the company’s tech jobs. At Facebook, 15 percent of tech roles are staffed by women. At Twitter, it’s a laughable 10 percent. For non-technical jobs at Twitter (think marketing, HR, sales), the gender split is 50-50.”

original.jpgWhile women are getting careers at tech companies, they are not actually involved in computing roles. So, what gives?

It’s the same old story. Our society has perpetuated the myth that boys are better at maths and sciences than girls. While many of us know that this is a stereotype and does not actually reflect real abilities, it still influences how we operate. HuffPost states, “Men are twice as likely as women to be hired for a job in mathematics when the only difference between candidates is gender.”

That type of thinking is what needs to be stopped! We need our girls to know that their gender does not influence their intelligence or abilities. Girls, boys, and those outside the gender binary are all able to learn computing skills and apply those skills to future careers. And why would you not? Technology and computing careers are some of the fastest growing fields in the United States—it is a means for success.

According to General Motors CEO Mary Barra, “There will be a war for technical talent.” At Polished Pebbles we want to properly prepare our girls for this battle. Join us this Second Saturday, December 12 at Blue 1647 to learn about opportunities in technology and computing! You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity to jumpstart your daughter’s interest in these exciting fields.

Let’s combat the stereotype together!

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Positive Men: Tony Porter

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As we close up February’s Men’s Month, we would like to share with you a TedTalk by Tony Porter. In “A Call to Men”, Mr. Porter shares the constricting nature of masculinity.

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Growing up as a boy, we were taught that men had to be tough, had to be strong, had to be courageous, dominating — no pain, no emotions, with the exception of anger — and definitely no fear; that men are in charge, which means women are not; that men lead, and you should just follow and do what we say; that men are superior; women are inferior; that men are strong; women are weak; that women are of less value, property of men, and objects, particularly sexual objects. I’ve later come to know that to be the collective socialization of men, better known as the “man box.”

He believes that the socialization of men has strongly influenced the gender dynamics and issues we see today. Manhood has become problematic not only for women, but for men as well. He very carefully explains that although not all men are violent, not all men abuse women or see them as inferior, but “men, good men, the large majority of men, we operate on the foundation of this whole collective socialization. We kind of see ourselves separate, but we’re very much a part of it.”

Mr. Porter believes that to end the epidemic of violence against women, we have to change the nature of masculinity. How would this change our youth, our boys?

I remember asking a nine-year-old boy, I asked a nine-year-old boy, “What would life be like for you, if you didn’t have to adhere to this man box?” He said to me, “I would be free.”

I Did Not Know That People Like Me Could Exist…

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Chimamanda Adichie is a rockin’ novelist from Nigeria. In her TedTalk, Chimamanda shares her personal story of growing up in Nigeria reading only stories about white children with blonde hair and blue eyes. When she began to write, these characters filled her pages; though she could not relate in any way. As the media around her, books, only portrayed white children in stories, she did not know that people who looked like her could be in literature!

From then on, Chimamanda became aware of these “single stories” we develop about people and places. When we only portray people or places in a single way, they become stereotypes. These stereotypes then dominate the identities we create about others and ourselves.

Although Chimamanda speaks to Africa, the same theories can be applied to the United States, most notably, African-Americans. From the historic beginnings of black face to the more recent token person of color, the portrayal of African-Americans by mainstream media has been poor. While we may naively assume that this is contained to only fictional movies and television shows, it is not. The news and social media have been prominent aggravators of the single story surrounding African-Americans. A recent example of this is the viral video of a New York man slapping a woman on the train after being insulted and hit (read more on my JET post here).

Having these stereotypes continually presented to our youth affect their self-development. As Chimamanda says, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete”. Without the full story we cannot properly mentor and support our youth. Without analyzing communities, schools, and society we cannot begin to understand the family or the youth. We must search for the full story.

How do we do this as mentors, parents, teachers, friends, or community members? WE TALK TO OUR YOUTH! They can provide us their stories.

Do not fall for the danger of the single story.

How will you create an alternate ending?