Sadly Karen, I can't take credit for recommending the publication you
mentioned, but I would like to thank whoever did.  It looks really great.


On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 10:30 AM, Karen Coyle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On 2/21/13 7:48 PM, Emily Morton-Owens wrote:
>
>>
>> This was just the right thing to say, because he was connecting it to
>> something that I consider myself talented at (languages), rather than
>> something I don't (math).
>>
>
> I want to clear up the "math is hard" and "programming is math" myths.
> First, the ratio of women to men in graduate math programs is approaching
> 50/50, although women are still struggling to be hired and gain tenure in
> math departments. So "math is hard" for many of us, but it's not
> necessarily a gender thing. (I'm looking for the cite for this -- I've done
> too much random reading recently and didn't mark this. May be book below.)
>
> Math skills are not required for programming. There was a time when
> silicon valley was desperate for programmers, and some companies advertised
> that they were looking for folks with music skills and they would teach
> them programming -- because they had found that musicians make for good
> programmers. It's the ability to deal with complex patterns that makes a
> difference. Which is why it annoys me when programming instruction begins
> with a list of mathematical functions that most programmers will never need.
>
> I believe that Rosy was the first to recommend this, but the IEEE
> publication: Gender Codes - why women are leaving computing/ edited by
> Thomas Misa, 2010 is essential reading. You can get it as a Kindle or Nook
> book. isbn 978-0470-59719-4 (paper) 978-1118-03513-9 (ebook)
>
> kc
>
>
>
>>  Hi Folks,
>>>
>>> I'm teaching systems analysis at SILS (UNC CH) this semester.
>>>
>>> Though the course is required for the IS degree, it's not required for
>>> the
>>> LS degree.
>>>
>>> However, the majority of my students this semester are LS.  And the vast
>>> majority are women.
>>>
>>> Apropos of the part of the thread that dealt with numbers:
>>>
>>> For those of you who came into this community and at some point went
>>> through a MSLS or MSIS program I am wondering if there are things I could
>>> try to do that might have an impact on better aligning the ratio of men
>>> to
>>> women in code4lib and the technology end of the field in general to that
>>> in the general population?
>>>
>>> Was there a moment of clarity?  A person who said or modeled the right
>>> thing?  A project that helped uncover a skill you didn't know you had?
>>>
>>> And, I am not just interested in what I can do through one class, but
>>> also
>>> what the curriculum and school could do more holistically.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Tim
>>>
>>>
> --
> Karen Coyle
> [log in to unmask] http://kcoyle.net
> ph: 1-510-540-7596
> m: 1-510-435-8234
> skype: kcoylenet
>