The only good thing to have come from the fitness industry, though, is to make gyms much more accessible for those of us who are either not male or not fitness-educated or not hanging around with the right crowd. Before nice shiny gyms came along, there was no way I (a woman) was walking into the garage type place that looks a bit like a minimum security prison yard. However, the problem now is that although gyms are accessible to everyone really, they are shit and the proper weights are still in the darkest mostly-large-males corner where it's still a bit intimidating to go to and bend over or lie down in the middle as the only female.
So there's a silver lining but there's still a cloud.
I would prefer a private office for me and my team, rather than totally isolated. I could do without hearing my other colleagues have phone calls and meetings at their desks.
However, working from home means I don't have to worry about my company's internet policy and I can just get my work done and have my fun. Pisses me right off that they block sites rather than get rid of unproductive workers.
> My wife still laughs about the day I took half an hour off to go to the barber and then raved about the awesome social experience.
I had the same experience working for a company where I was on my own and the people weren't friendly. I ended up loving the staff in the nearby Cafe Nero because they were friendly and asked me how I was and sometimes had a little chat. When I finally left that job, I left them a massive tip... I actually wanted to leave a gushing thank you card but at least I still retained some sense of perspective to know that that would have probably weirded them out.
All day I was on messenger and forums and had music playing but having no friendly contact with humans for hours has quite an effect.
Aside from not having a car (don't need one in London), I'm usually going over for only a couple of days so it's not worth using up a full day for travelling and then being really tired from the drive when I get there and when I get back. You have to take in the price of petrol as well as the ferry, which stops it from being in any way cheaper and it's already not stress free. The ferry costs about £300 for one person travelling with a medium sized car, no roof rack, with no reserved seating. That's about 3 times as much as a flight and you'll have had to drive for half a day to get there.
If I got a train from London to Holyhead, then a ferry to Dublin, it's 8h 30m and about £40 and then I'm left in Dublin port to find a way home with my luggage. Transport within Dublin is pretty crappy so we avoid it when we're over there as we are normally running around visiting family and friends. So it's slightly cheaper but still half a day's travelling and a bit hassle once you arrive.
We fly and pick up a car at the airport - much shorter journey, much cheaper than a ferry, probably not that much difference in price from the train but easy to do and we can pretty much relax (aside from airport security) rather than drive for half a day.
Exactly. I consider my purchases as my investment in the kind of market I want. Small though my purchases usually are, it's all I've got to use for influence. This is why I will never fly Ryanair when there is another choice that isn't hundreds more in price... and if it is, I probably will just go somewhere else.
Flying between London and Dublin, I pretty much only have Aer Lingus and Ryanair to choose between. The difference in experience is like the difference between Requiem for a Dream and Amelie.
I still don't get that this means 'lower the barrier' though. Doesn't it mean raise one impenetrable barrier, i.e. XY? If the same number of XXs exist then the number will still be the same but fewer people will apply. If more women apply as a result of good PR about it being woman-friendly then they still may not get accepted on the same grounds as any other.
> Rather, women with technical and/or entrepreneurial aspirations need to get over themselves, stop being so concerned about peer pressure or what anybody else will think, do what they love, and prove to others that it can be done.
I don't think it's that simple though. For a majority change, positive feedback is required along the lifecyle from knowing nothing to loving it and having entrepreneurial aspirations. I think the main problem is the mostly invisible peer pressure to do something else - not the peer pressure to not do something. This is why more female role models are needed and more tech-oriented schooling from a young age and more gender neutral literature, etc.
I'm all for affirmative action where it's done carefully but I think in this case, it should be more about encouraging and highlighting women in tech. Women need role models in tech and a lot of women would probably flourish more easily working with other women in tech. Although you can be gender-blind to a certain extent, you do know if the person you're working with is a man or a woman and you have cultural stereotypes to uncondition yourself from.
However, I don't believe forcing a mono-gendered environment is going to help narrow the gap between male & female techies and may just widen it instead.
It also sounds like they're tackling problems traditionally associated with women, i.e. family responsibilities. Why assume this is a woman's problem in the first place? Even if the majority of women are primarily responsible for the family, sticking with that premise will only further that view and excludes men who are responsible primarily for the family.
Plus if you find a place that has decent, properly made coffee, the staff are probably into it and actually want to work there so the whole experience is just better and even educational. Quality begets quality.
Most of the sci-fi I've read have great female role models. Dan Brown is an awful writer so would be better to push better writers - get their films made! :)
Most of the sci-fi I've read have great female role models. Dan Brown is an awful writer so would be better to push better writers - get their films made! :)
In my all-girls school we didn't have technical drawing, woodwork, etc. In my brother's all-boys school they did. Gender stereotypes in culture take generations to work themselves out - that's not a problem, but what is a problem is when people make assumptions about aptitude based on current social expectations and situations and act on those to the detriment of some people and ultimately many more.
So there's a silver lining but there's still a cloud.