SQL Saturdays: Why the SFWA Debate Matters to Women in Technology (tags #sfwa #sqlserver #wit)
Originally published at Ramblings from the Flip Side (Site under construction). You can comment here or there.
Welcome back to SQL Saturdays. It may seem odd that I’m devoting a SQL Server post to a science fiction / fantasy (sff) controversy, but I find my writing and technology careers often converge and overlap. Especially in an era where all the rules of inter-gender conduct are changing. Women aren’t just accomplished authors and editors, they are database administrators, messaging admin, architecture analysts. When the Old Mens Club of sff refer to a woman first by her pleasing appearance and barely touch upon her many professional accomplishments, it reflects beliefs that exist across the spectrum of career fields.
The New York Times proved this when its obituary for scientist Yvonne Brill mentioned her cooking skills in a long sentence before briefly addressing her many achievements in rocket science. And then there’s an interesting study about women’s and men’s math skills (thanks to fellow RPG writer David Hill Jr. for the link) where women did just as well as men on the tests when they were allowed to change their name.
People still believe women are bad at maths and sciences, that it’s a fluke when the fairer sex manage to be good at technology. Some of those people are themselves women, perpetuating the stereotype by their silent acceptance of their limitations. I had a female boss who didn’t believe I could be a good server administrator. Ten years later, I am working as a SQL Server DBA.
While I don’t agree we should be burning bras, chaining ourselves to buildings, or screaming at everyone who dares say “women can’t do that,” I do believe that this is the time where we need to stand up for ourselves. Yes, it sucks that we have to be ten times better at something than a man before we get the jobs or the raises or the commendations. Yes, it sucks that we are paid less (mostly) for doing the same job with the same job description as our better-paid male counterparts. But the balance is shifting. Companies are recognizing that women have superior communications skills and are more likely to seek consensus and work on team building, making for a more productive, more peaceful workplace environment.
And as the CIA learned, women are just that much better at absorbing details and less likely to jump to conclusions about the big picture without those details.
Holding women to the Barbie stereotype or the “good looker, good cooker” model doesn’t do any business or government agency any good. Then again, playing the blame game doesn’t either. We do need to stand up, make our voices heard, let people know that we are confident, capable, and just as ambitious as the boys are. And if calm dialogue doesn’t work, then yes, we do need to raise our voices. We need to stand in solidarity with our sisters in other industries and let them know we have their back. Because then they will also have ours.
The speculative fiction genres have always influenced our hearts, minds, and technological progress. Cell phones are based on Star Trek communicators. Holographic tech, robots, even 3-D printers were all inspired by science fiction. Not just that, but Star Trek also gave us Uhura, the first female POC television series regular who was a competent professional in her chosen field. Okay, yes, she was basically the receptionist, but she held her own in the series and in the followup movies. And she was better at her job than any of the men!
If we want to encourage young women and girls to study their maths and sciences, if we want more women in technology, the first place to start is getting more women in our fiction. Women as authors and editors, who are referenced first by their professional accomplishments, with looks and appearance as an after-thought (if even that). Women as well-rounded characters, strong in their own right but still realistic. Not the weepy willow romance heroine who falls into the arms of men. Not the erotica lustful babes just waiting to have hot sex every chapter. I’m not even referring to the sexless women-acting-like-men characters. But real honest-to-goodness women who are protagonists first and female simply by virtue of being female.
Gender equity in the publishing field will ripple outwards. It will teach our peers, our children, and even some of our elders, what we expect in our every day lives. It can be done. We can break the glass ceiling. But weapons of noise aren’t working as well as we want, so I propose changing over to weapons of subtly. Ambush the masses with good fiction depicting women professionals in positions of power, from an industry where real life women do hold positions of fame and responsibility, and soon the masses will accept us into other high-level or tech jobs without realizing the Old Boys’ Network has been corrupted from within.
This is why the SFWA debate matters to women in technology. And this is why women in technology should support the change.
Do you agree? Disagree? Tell me why.