Societal Influence on the Gender Imbalance in Technology
When we look at today's gender imbalance in the tech field, it's easy to doubt ourselves and wonder if we even belong. However, the fact of the matter is that at one point in time, women dominated technology. Not only did we outnumber men, but we excelled - to the point that tech was considered a woman's sport. So, what changed? How could we have possibly gone from the initial innovators and dominating force of tech to now being vastly underrepresented? Let's take a trip back to the 1980’s, the period where there was a sharp decline in the number of women entering the tech field. You'll be immersed in the culture of the time so that you can see for yourselves just how we got to this point. The conversation continues with recommendations of practical things we can do as women to make an impact in changing this narrative.
Angie Jones is a Senior Developer Advocate who specializes in test automation strategies and techniques. She shares her wealth of knowledge by speaking and teaching at software conferences all over the world, as well as writing tutorials and blogs on angiejones.tech. As a Master Inventor, Angie is known for her innovative and out-of-the-box thinking style which has resulted in more than 25 patented inventions in the US and China. In her spare time, Angie volunteers with Black Girls Code to teach coding workshops to young girls in an effort to attract more women and minorities to tech.