Computer Science Inequalities

            The communication avenue between men and women is strained by the deeply engrained double standards of gender.  Women are supposed to be able to do everything and multitask nearly 24/7, and yet they experience higher rates of discrimination not only in the workplace, but also in marriage and in extracurricular organizations.  Women's suffrage was fought for over a hundred years ago already, and yet women still suffer the effects of a highly patriarchal culture.  This patriarchal culture is prominent in mostly Western cultures.  There are a number of African cultures, in particular, that favor a matriarchal culture.  In those cultures, women are valued and are looked upon for wisdom and guidance.  As Professor Meraz noted in her lecture, women are seen as minorities in many aspects of the Internet, and other realms of societal structure.
            Focusing in on computer science and gaming design, women experience a great deal amount of discrimination even among their coworkers.  Females in the computer science field rarely have female mentors.  The demographic just is not there.  More often than not, we see that women in the computer science field focus more on the Web Design aspect of it rather than the programming aspect.  This is an even greater detriment to the advancement of women in computer science because of the inequality of pay, and the inequality of credibility in comparison with their male counterparts.
            Addressing this issue, it makes me think of the movie from a few years ago called Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs because Flint, the main character, worked all his life to invent something worthwhile and useful and yet nothing he ever created was deemed worthy by his peers, or even his own mother.  He ends up creating a machine that can change the natural weather to food weather.  Eventually the machine goes out of control and Sam, a reporter he met since the extraordinary phenomenon, knows how to fix the machine, but she risks revealing the nerdy side of herself to Flint, and the rest of the country.  Regardless of what Professor Meraz covered in her lecture, ranging from general computer science to video gaming, my mind kept wandering back to that conundrum from the movie.
           Professor Meraz notes in her lecture that this inequality of men and women in the computer science field is emphasized by the long standing patriarchal structure of Western cultures.  Although I do not disagree with this idea, I also believe that a factor in the decline of computer science degrees from the 1980s until 2008 has to do with the level of integration computers and the Internet have accomplished in a majority of people's lives.  The U.S. was a major component in the technology developments throughout the 20th century, and I believe that many countries outside the U.S. have just had the opportunity, within the last 10-12 years, to catch up with the progress we have made.  This technology gap would also contribute to the idea that much of the technology industry has been outsourced to developing countries, mostly in Asia.
            Addressing the technology gap created by the boom in computer knowledge over the course of the 20th century is a huge component of the separation of communication in the modern world.  At this point in time, the Internet is the main avenue of information for the developed world.  The developed world has an unfair advantage over the developing world because along with this communication gap comes the wealth gap.  Everything just keeps growing and accumulating and nothing is being done to stop it.  Also, there is a huge debate in how to make men and women more equal in the workplace, and in the media.   Women have fought for a long time to achieve the amount of liberties and rights that they have now.  The road is not yet at its end, and it seems that women are being barred from continuing forward.   The media, a major component of modern communication, maintains a male chauvinist view of most things.  That said, media tolerance is growing and steps are being taken to ensure a positive future for a fair and balanced media to communicate the major issues and news of the world.
           Eventually we will get it right.  Eventually no woman will ever have to give up her dream of a family in order to pursue a career, no man will ever be chastised for choosing to stay home with his children.   Eventually men will become more accepting of women into the computer science field.  This day is not here yet, but as long as the motion remains forward, that day will come sooner than later.