6.41 miles (total: 2,192.40)
I've started running and it was grey, dark and raining. By the time I was done, it was sunny and sparkling from the raindrops reflecting the sunlight. You just never know with Seattle weather what awaits you.
During the run today I've thought about women in tech. This is probably because of the book I was reading recently and because I am one of them (runs are great for reflection.. of anything that is subconsciously on your mind). Tech. It has so many different meanings to different people - it's a field of endeavor, it's a style of thinking, it's means to an end, it's a job, it's a craft, it's an opportunity.. As one author put it, in the 1400s, the forefront of human thought was alchemy and astronomy. In the 1500s, the place to be was natural philosophy. In the 1600s, it was mathematics. In the 1700s, it was political science. The most creative people are drawn to the field of human endeavor in which the biggest advances are being made. Now tech is the place to be. And within the tech, AI is the latest frontier. I happen to be in both.
So then why does it seem as if women, who make up 51% of the world's population, just aren't present in the most exciting field of human endeavor on the planet today? There is no simple answer. There are a bunch of scary statistics there today - the number of women working on CS degree and achieving it is hovering somewhere around 10%. I ended up in the field completely "by mistake". My undergrad was in Computational Mathematics (not because I was that bright at math but because of my laziness. When I came to the US, my English was terrible, Math was the only subject where I didn't have to look up words in the dictionary every time... so I chose it as my major. Plus, TI calculators... they were amazing). The rest was history.. I was hooked in my own way. I've never lost all the other interest, I just managed to combine them with what I was doing.
There are a number of potential reasons why women and technology don't seem to mix - or why the "good fit" has not naturally happened. I won't go into those right now. I just know one thing - I don't give a damn why someone else might think I don't belong or I am not a good fit. I love technology (kind of like running :)), and I feel joy every single day that I get to work and build, and come up with something new, or work with someone who is doing something amazing, bring a new perspective (it is not always welcome, but worth it!), or make the world a better place. It's not perfect, but it's always a progress, even if 1 line of code at a time..
I've told you running always makes everything seem positive :)
-Bored Runner
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