Women in countries like Senegal are less free to choose want to do and so this is not surprising. As societies become more prosperous and free, women (generally speaking) are less likely to be interested in careers in IT. Of course, women who do want to work in IT should be encouraged and accepted.
Women in countries like Senegal are less free to choose want to do and so this is not surprising.
Not anymore. As a woman in Senegal you can choose whatever path. They are encouraged to excel in school and in their careers just as much as men. From my observation, without data, it would seem the younger generation of women is definitely more successful than the one of men.
Women are doing well across the globe (okay, outside of the middle-east). More are going to school and getting higher paying jobs.
Women in Senegal are certainly not free in the same way American women are. When I say, American women are more mean I mean they have more opportunities to try different things and want more from work than just money and when that happens they IT becomes less appealing.
I am from Senegal. I just got back to the states from a trip there. They are equally free. There are certainly differences in opportunities and social pressure, but essentially they are the same. I know women in all sort of jobs in Senegal, and quite to the contrary money is not a huge motivation for the educated ones because men are expected to take care of their families/bills.
In the West programming started out as a "women's job" because it was just seen as a subset of the general secretary "data entry" job category (i.e. menial work with no long-term career path).
You're right that it is important to not exclusively support women but I don't think this programme is going to tilt the balance dangerously. We're talking about a country that has a literacy rate of 74.2% for men and 56.2% for women, not to mention problems like child labour, child marriages and female genital mutilation[0][1]. A code camp for women isn't going to turn this into a dystopian matriarchy.
I would normally be the kind of person to be called anti-SJW but Senegal is definitely a country that is in a cultural position where Feminism can address significant concerns much like it did in those Western countries over the past century. If there is such a thing as a patriarchal society, Senegal is certainly still an example of it.
>>If there is such a thing as a patriarchal society, Senegal is certainly still an example of it.
Quite frankly I lived in the US since 2001, and I just got back from Senegal. I can tell you there is not much of a difference when it comes to freedom of choice for women. However there is definitely social pressure.
Also there is a night-and-day difference between the Capital where 30% of the population lives, and villages deep inside the country.
It goes beyond "programming" though. If the issue was that there's not a lot of programmers in general in Senegal you would have a point. However the article specifically talks about how women are discouraged from these careers and the main issue stems from systemic sexism in Senegal as a whole.
Sorry but that argument is shallow. Given it's a throwaway account is assume even just "troll".
It would only work if the work opportunities in that region are perfectly balanced between m/f and there would be no media/culture sharing between western + other world.
It doesnt matter who whom likes. The reply OP came across in a way that made me assume his main intent could be "troll".
> I have the unpopular belief that you alone are responsible for your actions. There is a modern oppression narrative that has been used to justify systematic racism and sexism while masquerading as egalitarianism.
Personally disagree here:
Our worldview atm is skewed. The system we use to judge our values is the same that created our values.
Imo: If you want to have egalitarianism you need to actively enforce policies to counter our bias until our value system adapts.
Please do not post such unsubstantive, inflammatory comments here. Not only do we ban the throwaway account in this case, but the main account as well.
If white people as a demographic group had the same characteristics, sure. Women in Senegal are actually oppressed.
You want to rant against feminism in e.g. the US, not feminism in Senegal. Otherwise you're just coming off as the kind of person who tried to keep women in the kitchen in the 1950s.
Someone getting mad about feminism in the (modern) US is not too far removed from "the kind of person who tried to keep women in the kitchen in the 1950s."
"The kind of person who tried to keep women in the kitchen in the 1950s" is one of the kind of people who "gets mad" about feminism in the (modern) US, not the other way around. All sharks are fish, but not all fish are sharks.
I don't get why there are special programs for women. Here in Québec we see more and more women becoming doctors, teachers, nurses etc... Why aren't thre programs to help men adopt professions that are outnumbered by women ? I think today anyone can learn anything I they want to, it's all out there... just my 2 cents
