[Techtalk] Programming languages for women

[Robin Rowe]

Jen,

> The culture of C++ programmers I experienced wasn't
> particular woman-friendly (actually, it was kind of woman-hostile -- lots
of
> boys with big egos and rampant sexism).

Not everywhere. At Chicago Northwestern my C++ professor was a woman. That
was over a decade ago. She didn't have any nonsense like that in her class.

Since then I've taught C++ myself at two universities. Sometimes teaching
was made difficult by particular students. However, it was never the
brightest students, rather the ones who told everyone how smart they are and
wanted everyone else to subscribe to their delusion. Cutting down the less
confident (but actually better performing) students in the class was a
technique they used to advance themselves at the expense of others. Whether
they were deliberate Machivelians or subconciously motivated to drive the
level of the entire class downward I could never determine. The fastest way
to spot them was their predisposition to sit with their backs against the
wall at the back of the classroom. Once I had a clique at the back like that
and actually had to change classrooms and assign seating to break them up,
something that I never expected would be necessary at the college level.

Don't let yourself be chased away. If they can drive you into a programming
language with marginal opportunities you are being made a victim. Stand your
ground.

Cheers,

Robin