I have shunned gender-specific groups for most of my career. But, a year or so ago, I joined devChix. Why? Because I learned that the number of women entering computer science NOW is less than when I was in college from 1982-1986. That shocked me. I don’t understand why women have shunned this profession and I would like to understand that. In order to do so, I need to talk to more women about what attracted THEM to Computer Science, what they like and what they don’t, where I can find opportunities to mentor girls into a profession that I truly enjoy.

My daughter (at age 4) thinks that mommies work on computers, and while she will certainly broaden her horizons soon, I hope that she ultimately grows up in a world where things are a bit more balanced, where we can all just say “developer”.

Catherine – That’s a pretty good example right there of why these groups exist in the first place. It sucks that the fact that women in software sometime feel like being ‘abnormal’ exists in the first place. I really am all for these groups existing for the reason you mention, and probably many other reasons as well. As long as they’re done for reasons like these, it’ll be great.

I really appreciate the comments for the ladies. It’s awesome to hear from you and your point of view.

I know a woman who’s tall and broad-shouldered, and perfectly happy with her body. Nonetheless, when a bunch of her cousins came visiting from Norway – all tall, broad-shouldered women – she felt *great* among them.

Sometimes it’s nice to get a vacation from the feeling of being an anomaly. “Wow, a woman in software, you’re so unusual, you’re unique” – they stop short of saying “you’re like a freak of nature” but sometimes you wonder if they’re thinking it – it isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s nice to get a break from it.

Now when one would ask: Where are the women in development? There will be no need for guess work.