The role of women in IT is unfairly underestimated. We correct a situation
It is accepted to give women with rather "supporting" function in relation to IT, however in the history of the world of high technologies there are outstanding female mathematicians, successful programmers and heads of businesses.
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By the beginning of the 2018th the problem of presence of women at the IT industry seems almost exhausted. A celebration of diversity all leaders confirm a high tech brands. Regularly (for the last years 5 at least) the researches showing readiness of women to work in the field of high technologies are published. The IT companies introduce special quotas on hiring – for alignment of gender balance at different positions.
And here, the scandalous letter manifesto of James Deymor, the engineer from Google suddenly rushes into this developed commonly accepted rhetoric. Which as though carried out in deep freezing the last years 30 and, having woken up, performed in the summer of 2017 with 10-page explanations why women so are not enough among the management of the technology companies. According to him, matter in biological differences between floors - unlike men, the tendency not to systematic thinking and the ideas is inherent in women, and it is more to feelings and an esthetics. Therefore instead of programming they are rather inclined to work in social or art areas, Deymor specializing in university years in biology summarized.
In a politically correct 21st century such theses brush away practically to hypotheses of racial superiority. Google headquarters quickly reacted with dismissal of the technical specialist. In the official reply letter of the head of the company, Sundar Pichai, it was said that Deymor violated the expressions corporate rules of Google.
 | The author passed line, advancing inadmissible gender stereotypes in our working space. The assumptions that a part of our colleagues is suitable for accomplishment of the duties biologically less, offensively and not in the nature of things — designated a position of SEO of corporation. |  |
Deymor, claiming that he was not quite truly understood, filed a complaint to the former employer in to National council on labor relations of the USA. At the beginning of 2018 proceedings where James is supported by other former engineer from search giant, David Gudeman were initiated. The main claim of colleagues oppositionists – that Google is too hostile to conservative views. Moreover, according to James, even in the middle of summer polemic correspondence to him the set of private messages from the colleagues expressing gratitude that he brought up these questions – what nobody decided before on, just because of fear of public censure came.
The manifesto Deymora designated not only a perspective of freedom of speech in a workplace, but also some audit of a ratio of words and affairs in the culture of corporations. Various kommitment in support of diversity, under a slogan are given in the corporate website of Google: "We believe that everyone is worthy chance of study, success and of being heard".
In the section of the Women in Front portal it is reported:
| | We were always sure that women among our employees will be able to solve problems of users better. We continue to employ outstanding women who become leaders both in Google, and outside the company. | |
However men are a part of Board of Directors a giant high tech mainly (Larry Page, Eric Shmitd, Sergej Brin, John Hennessey, John Doerr, Sundar Pichai, Roger V. Ferguson Jr., Alan Myulalli and Ram Shriram against Dayana Green and Ann Mater).
New wave of harmonization
According to the last report of Google on the ethnic and gender list of employees (it is published in 2017): 20% of technical specialists of the company – women, 75% of global heads – men, 2% of all employees - the black, more than a third of employees in the USA – natives of Asia. In general about 30% of personnel of the company worldwide – women. Soon after the publication of these results, summer of 2017, Google employed the vice president for the questions diversity and integration - Danielle Braun, the woman.
It not strongly helped harmonization of a situation – in January, 2018 against corporation one more antidiscrimination claim was submitted. This time other its former employee, Arne Vilberg, said that recruiting has accurate installations excluding hiring of white men and natives of the Asian countries – for benefit of women and the Afro-Americans.
Similar practice, in particular, was entered into YouTube since the end of 2017. According to the claim, in one of recruiting cycles there was an instruction about canceling of all interviews on a position of software developer where applicants would not belong to "priority" groups. Also the order "completely was mentioned to clean recruiting channels from any applications", submitted by white men and Asians though the labor law of the State of California prohibits to refuse to applicants employment proceeding from racial or sex.
Wellberg which tried to dispute new rules was dismissed in November, 2017. Some other discordant were demoted. Diversity trend in Silicon Valley designated suddenly the reverse side.
The situation in Google attracts attention, including, the fact that the gender balance of corporations is rather typical for the American IT market. At the same time it advances indicators of other regions. For comparison, at offices Facebook worldwide 35% of a total quantity of employees fall to the share of women (the previous year – 33%). At the same time the share of women among technical specialists grew from 17% to 19% and also women make 21% of all again employed engineers in Facebook. In Uber a share of women among all workers – 36%, but only 15% - among technical specialists (21% - among leadership team). However, in Adobe ambitiously aim to reach gender balance and to increase a share of women among employees to 50% until the end of 2018.
On some formal indicators Google contrasts, for example, with Microsoft where on management positions women dominate. This vector was obviously designated by Satya Nadella by the first appointment on a post of SEO - Peggy Johnson from Qualcomm was invited to a position of the vice president for business development. She was responsible for merger of LinkedIn and also for creation of fund and an investment strategy of Microsoft Ventures.
The woman (Julia Whyte) headed the direction of cloud services and security at Nadella. Julia works in corporation since 2001, but only now it was officially called "the person of new Microsoft". The general share of women in corporation – about 26%. However, and Nadella managed "be lit" in 2017 in a gender miss too, having said, in the speech on Grace Hopper Celebration of Women In Computing that women should not demand pay rise.
Technically the first
New priorities of digital economy for large IT of businesses mean involvement of increasing number of female employees on the leading posts and also on positions of technical specialists (software engineers). The last aspect remains to most "difficult" for perception – and as gender "oppositionists" say, the most disputable for implementation. According to UNESCO, 29% occupied in scientific research in the field of IT worldwide – women (in Russia – 41%). Also globally among inventors of women of only 4%, and in Russia – 15%.
Nevertheless, all history of the world of IT confirms, as without the additional stimulating woman's measures were ready to develop in research and technology spheres. Even if not to remember about the daughter of Byron, the lady Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) who was friends with Charles Babbage, described his computer and made for it the first-ever program the impressive list of the women who chose to herself profession of mathematicians-programmers and achieved impressive progress on this way is typed.
Grace Hopper (1906-1992) is a programmer, the rear admiral of the fleet of the USA and "the grandmother of COBOL". Developed the first-ever compiler. After retirement to death worked as the consultant in Digital Equipment Corporation.
Bettie Holberton (1917-2001) is a programmer in a project team of ENIAC – the first secret computer for the U.S. Air Force.
Ekaterina Yushchenko (1919-2001) is the first female doctor of physical and mathematical sciences in the USSR. Created one of the first programming languages of the high level with displacement deferred addressing when programming. Together with B.V. Gnedenko and V.S. Korolyuk wrote the USSR's first textbook on programming "Programming elements".
Mary Li Woods (1924) is a mathematician and the programmer. Developed the first computers – Ferranti Mark I. Mother of Tim Berners Li, pioneer of the Internet.
Erna Sneijder Hoover (1926) is a mathematician, Bella worked more than 30 years in Laboratories and invented a computer method of distribution of calls. One of the first patented software for call centers.
Rosette Zilina (1930 - 2003) - the Soviet and Russian mathematician-programmer, the winner of the State award of the USSR. Under its management computer programs for solving of tasks in the field of optimal design of nuclear ammunition, including ballistic design were created.
Karen Spark Jones (1935-2007) is a developer of technologies of search and issue of information and also natural languag processing. The creator of the concept of IDF (inverse document frequency is the return frequency of the document), who is used in modern search systems.
Anita Borg (1949-2003) is consulting engineer in Laboratory of network systems (Palo Alto). Received Ph.D. in the field of computer technologies. Patented one of the key principles of the organization of high-speed memory. In 1997 founded institute of ABI for involvement of women in science. In its part the grant of Google for women who want to become leaders in the field of technologies is created.
Radium Perlman (1951) – "mother of the Internet", invented the STP protocol for mass networks on Ethernet technology. Honorary employee of SUN Microsystems and also honourable researcher of Intel Fellow. The author more than 100 patents in the field of enciphering and routing.
Sandra (Sandie) Lerner (1955) is a system administrator, together with the husband, Leonard Bosak, in 1984 founded Cisco Systems. It was her fourth successful company.
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Sofie Wilson (1957) is the author of 59 patents, developed some of the first commercially successful personal computers - Acorn Micro-Computer, a programming language of BBC BASIC and also the ARM processor which is used in modern smartphones.
Virginia Rometty (1957) – began to work as the system engineer in IBM in 1981. In 2012 headed business of "the blue giant", having become the first female director of IBM more than in hundred years from the moment of its basis.
Ursula Burns (1958) – came to Xerox in 1980 to a position of the engineer and in 2009 became the CEO. The first female afroamerican who headed the company from the list of Fortune 500.
Marissa Mayer (1975) is the first developer female in Google. Came to corporation in 1999 and in 10 years grew to a position of the vice president for search. After transition to Yahoo! to a post of the CEO provided growth of capitalization of the company by 2.5 times.
Syuz Armstrong is the senior vice president for developments in Qualcomm where 22 years work. One of founders of the mobile Internet, developer of software on data processing for mobile devices. Heads Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab laboratory.
Terra Lyons is a chief executive of consortium of the artificial intelligence maintained by Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. Was the adviser to the technical director (service station) in the White House in Obama's administration.
Natalya Burina is the director of product management in Salesforce, participates in development of artificial intelligence technologies of Einstein. Before based and developed the Parable photoservice later purchased by Samsung.
Marianna Tessel is the senior vice president for development in Docker. Created a new class of software tools – containers. Earlier headed development in VMware, and before – in Ariba.
Isabel Maje is the vice president of Apple for wireless technologies. Came to the company by Steve Jobs's invitation, before worked in Palm. Author of several patents.
The Forbes list of 100 richest entrepreneurs of the world from the technology sector of 2017 included only six women. The income of each of them exceeds 2.6 billion dollars, and a cumulative status – 27.6 billion. The gender balance of IT – as well as in business in general, and in policy - is aligned by more and more high rates. At the same time Russia is in the lead more and more considerably here. According to Thornton International, already 47% of the leading positions are taken in Russia by women (in recent years their number grew by 16%). According to UNESCO if on average in the world in scientific research in the field of IT the share of the involved women makes 29%, then in Russia – 41% (among inventors – 4% and 15% respectively).
The occurring digitalization and robotization suits this trend. Remaking global market of work, automation will raise a priority so-called software of skills (soft skills) which robots cannot master. And in which women if to trust various researches and the developed opinion, first of all are strong.
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