This will be a blog about the things that I have learned primarily, but before that happens I felt I should address the elephant in the room:
Why “The Female Coder”?
Well, because at it’s simplest, that moniker resonated with me the most. It reflects who I am, and it’s something I’m proud to be. My husband refers to female developers as “rocking-horse poo” because we’re (to date anyway) so rare, and that makes me feel special. Lets face it, who doesn’t want to feel special?
Starting out, I didn’t feel like I was somewhere I shouldn’t be. I recognised I was surrounded by guys, but that wasn’t a problem. I’ve not knowingly been paid less than a male counterpart just because I’m a girl, and even when I found out I was being paid less than a male colleague of my seniority, I didn’t put it down to discrimination, rather that my colleague was able to negotiate a better salary at that time for any number of reasons.
In fact, I haven’t knowingly encountered discrimination in the majority of my 18 years of service across various sectors and companies. There was only one organisation where I didn't feel equal. I didn't think that I was being treated differently simply because I am a woman, but male colleagues that I spoke to were certain that was the case.
In 2018, gender, race, sexuality and other ‘defining characteristics’ shouldn’t matter, but they do. We all have unconscious biases. Most of them are potentially harmless, but because they are unconscious, by definition, we don’t even recognise we have them. They shape our world-view, our perceptions and can ultimately shape our actions.
Recently there was an article in the Guardian that said women’s code was rated more highly than their male counterparts – but only if the reviewer doesn’t know it was written by a woman.
I’ve found myself reading technical articles thinking the author is male, and registered my surprise when I find out it’s a woman. This is one of my unconscious biases at work. I found I was impressed, which is also kinda strange, because it simply shouldn’t matter. But when something is unusual, it’s noteworthy.
I’m noteworthy. And not just because I’m a female coder.
TFC