Interesting article

[ironphoenix]

An article about women leaving tech fields in their thirties and forties, related to recent discussions. The article's main point is good and seems pretty sound to me, but there's a line that's tossed in about "the hostile macho cultures — the hard hat culture of engineering, the geek culture of technology or the lab culture of science" which doesn't get any further discussion. What are your impressions or experiences of that, and why is it one of "[t]he top two reasons why women leave" work in STEM fields?

Ganked from dracodraconis.

Comments

[xiphia.livejournal.com]

I'm in that age range, and I have contemplated leaving high-tech a number of times, but not for the reasons listed in the article. I don't find it to be a "hostile macho culture" at all, my male coworkers for the past 20 years have been quite welcoming and supportive. I also don't have kids to take care of, so my work-life balance is fairly simple, my cats just aren't that demanding. If I *were* to leave high tech it would be because I found something more personally meaningful in another field, no other reason.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

That would be a good reason to leave, I think.

I've worked to find places within high-tech that are personally meaningful and rewarding, with a pretty good success rate. I pay a bit of a premium for it in terms of getting less salary, but the trade-off is well worth it to me. Of course, if I can find a place with both, then w00t!