Coding for more than just gender.
A look into a cis gendered woman’s mind in a male dominated profession.
Jacqueline Snyder is a senior Computer information Systems major at West Texas A&M. I sat down with her to ask her about her major and professional field and talked with her openly about being a woman in such a heavily male dominated field.
Me: What is Computer Information Systems?
Jacqueline:" Computer information systems is a major that involves bridging the communications gap between business professionals and computer science professionals. We are the middle man."
Me: This field is often thought of a traditionally male dominated, is it really like that?
Jacqueline:" I would say it always has been but there are some significant advances that were only made possible by some very important women."
Me: Who are these women and what did they do?
Jacqueline:" Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper. Ada Lovelace is credited with writing the very first computer program in the 19th century and Grace Hopper wrote the first compiler. Grace Hopper developed several computer based languages and helped in the creation of several others."
Me: Do you find it more challenging being a cis gendered woman in such a field dominated by men? Like is it hard to be respected? Have you had to overcome any preconceived notions?
Jacqueline:" I’m good at what I do, and generally in the programming world people are quick to notice that. It’s results based orientated, not so much on your gender. I have seen instances in which there might have been gender based perceived notions, quite regularly in fact, but more so in the academic field than in the professional realm."
Me: What are some of the times in which your gender has been brought forward by your fellow CIS students or at work?
Jacqueline:" I have had several guys try to impress me with their knowledge of programming, which I find amusing because I have been able to out program every one of them. Most guys see me and they automatically believe they must be better than me, at programming or anything intellectually really. It’s only until I’ve had to work with them on a project that they start to treat me as a “woman” but as another CIS student. The only issues I have are with CIS students I haven’t worked with."
Me: Have any of your fellow students or workers ever try to pull romantic advancements with you because you’re one of the very few women CIS majors?
Jacqueline:" Let’s just say every guy of the tech club has had a crush on me at some point or another. *Laughter*"
Me: So what about your romantic / personal adventures? Do you have issues with dating other people of your field?
Jacqueline:" I have dated 2 CS majors and 1 ex-cs major. From those dates, I ask all future possible partners if they’re CS majors. It’s come to the point that if they answer yes, I have to decline on dating them, because I’ve found that I can’t stand to date someone who think they’re forever better and smarter than me solely because I’m a woman."
Me: What strengths does being a woman bring to your field?
Jacqueline:" I believe that men and women look at problems and how to solve them differently. It adds a different outlook to a development team and ultimately makes them more successful."
Me: Are any of the prejudice biases reasonable?
Jacqueline: " I think because men and women look at things so differently, that often the way to solve the problem becomes more of an issue because you’re not doing it how they want you to do it. Even though it nets the same results."
Me: What is your advice to young women looking to get into the fields of CS/CIS?
Jacqueline:" I think I would give the same advice to both men and women, but to women especially since this is such a male dominated field and there are prejudices against you because of your gender – write code. In your spare time, when you’re bored when you’re procrastinating, whenever you can spare a moment, write code. Ultimately, in this field it matters on the results that you can produce, not your gender."
