From: Gregory Brown Date: 2007-05-05T08:15:32+09:00 Subject: Re: Ruby love On 5/4/07, Francis Cianfrocca wrote: > On 5/4/07, Gregory Brown wrote: > This is most definitely a sensitive topic. I'm going to ask you a question > that will seem flip but is actually serious. You say "these questions are > important for us to think about." My question to you is: "why?" In other > words, what exactly is undesirable about the fact that there is a gender > imbalance in software development and computer tech in general? Are you > concerned with getting more bodies into the profession? Don't worry, they're > growing programmers like crazy in India and China. Are you concerned with > getting more women into well-paying jobs? Well, that's another question > entirely. It is not at all a matter of profession to me. It's a matter of the simple fact that if you have a room with 197 males and 3 females, that can be a difficult atmosphere just by composition. So I just want to express that even though I am the stereotype: white male between 18-45, I am willing to consider the impact that a homogeneous makeup might be having on our community. I care about the diversity of our community and the barriers to entry. I should like to help lower them wherever I can, especially when they are social problems rather than technical ones.