Progress?

As our general class discussions near an end, I wonder, over history, how much progress we have actually made for marginalized groups. While I'm ecstatic that, as I've probably stated a hundred times now, we discuss marginalized groups more than we do just women, I must acknowledge that women in themselves are a marginalized group...perhaps not so much in our society as much as others, but they are still marginalized.

Today, I was talking to one of my friends from home, discussing classes. He asked me how many guys there were in my women's studies class, and I answered explaining that there are 3 guys in our class of 16. He then told me that the guy to girl ratio in most of his classes (which include linear algebra, data systems and algorithms, and other classes of the type), the ratio was the exact opposite; most of his classes had very few females and were made of mostly males. I wondered about the ratio differences; I knew that my friend was planning to major in either math or computer science, and I delved deep into our friend, Google, finding an article that explained that the number of women in Information Technology (IT) has actually decreased over time. If women are making their presence so much more widely known on all fronts, including medicine, politics, and the media. Why then, are women (according to this 2004 article) are women so scarce in the IT field?

The article explores the ideals of our education system, specifically related to math classes. For instance, "many teachers don't expect girls to excel in math, so they don't focus on them in class and they don't push them to do better." I wonder why this trend exists and have come to the conclusion that much of this is due to a generation clash between an older generation and a newer generation. Perhaps the math and technology teachers (most of whom, I'm willing to bet are male) are not used to seeing or having females enter or try to enter a male-dominated field. On the flip side of the equation, I look at guys taking home economics classes in high school or women's studies classes in college, both categories in which female participation dominates. However, my personal experiences on this topic vary from what I've heard; my class has been very open and accepting to guys learning about women; there is no sexual divide. I would say that this is because of the accepting nature of higher education, but I'm not too sure such is the case. One of the first guys at Emory that I told that I was taking a women's studies class laughed at me, expressed that most of the women in the department are lesbians, and are out to get guys and fail them. While his experiences in the Emory's women's studies department was nonexistent, his comment coincided closely with what many of my guy friends who have had other "friends" who have taken women studies classes have experienced. While I most definitely don't believe this (it's all hear-say...), I can't make a single conclusion about the women's studies department regarding its acceptance of students who don't identify as females. After all, this is my first class in the department. I do, however, wonder if girl are discouraged by their "friends" (I use the term loosely because I believe that friends are always supposed to encourage and never discourage...) from taking linear algebra and computer science classes just as much guys discourage their guy "friends"from taking women's studies classes.

Anyway, returning to the article, I see that there is progress for women in the IT department. Much of the progress is based off of networking with other females in the same professional paths, sharing experiences, and keeping each other strong, continuing on the path even when greatly outnumbered by their male counterparts. I agree with the article that progress is slow, yet still occurring. I'm reminded about how the world has generally become more accepting over time. If, for example, we look at clothes, I cannot imagine anyone wearing the clothes we wear today as being worn in the 17th century. However, I can imagine people wearing 17th century clothing today and still being met with acceptance. The point I'm trying to make is that I believe the world is becoming more accepting and that things that were not readily accepted in the past are much more readily accepted today. Perhaps this trend will continue and in 100 or maybe 200 years from now, society will consist of many more women in IT fields and other related jobs. Perhaps over time, society will be accepting to all and women's studies will turn into simply a subcategory of history with no relationship to the present. Turning the field into history is what I believe is the ultimate goal of women's studies.