Discouraged?

[Frederick Noronha]

Thanks to Dr Anil Seth of Goa/Delhi/Chandigarh for sharing this:

Have you ever felt discouraged by others or frustrated by technical
hobbies or interests?
http://dot.kde.org/1158867833/


EK: Not directly, but there has been plenty of less direct
discouragement along the way, which I think can be more harmful.

Perhaps my first negative experience I was when I was shopping for the
first new computer I was paying for on my own. The salesmen
consistently spoke down to me, but not to some male I happened to be
shopping with, one even tried to persuade me to buy a less powerful
computer because I "really don't need that much RAM"! I lost track of
how many times similar scenarios have happened since then, I still
prefer shopping online almost exclusively for this reason.

The F/OSS community online has been the primary source of
discouragement though. Many of the F/OSS forums out there are
male-dominated, and women who get involved in this world are often not
treated equally. It might not be direct insults or insults at all, but
I know many women who have taken to using gender-neutral pseudonyms in
order to dodge snide comments and marriage proposals that inevitably
get directed their way when it's discovered they're a woman doing
something technical.



	
Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:22 am
"Anil Seth" <seth.anil at gmail.com>