Editor’s Note: Anneke Jong of theDailyMuse notices that many of the most recognizable and “leading” women in the tech industry aren’t software engineers or “coders,” while nearly all of the top men in tech have software engineering backgrounds. Jong thinks the tech industry needs more women coder role models in order “to convince the next generation that computer science isn’t just for boys.”
To a Silicon Valley outsider, it may seem like everyone out here is “technical.” Internet giants dominate the job market, and online start-ups are a dime a dozen. But when industry insiders describe someone as “technical” (e.g., “I’m looking for a technical co-founder”), it has a very specific meaning: that person can write code.
It’s in this context that the debate about women in tech gets interesting. On one side are those who complain that there aren’t really any women in tech; on the other are those who seek to prove that there are. Fast Company and The Huffington Post can be counted in the latter group—both published lists last year to honor the tech industry’s top women. HuffPo’s “18 Female Founders In Tech To Watch” and Fast Company’s “30 Most Influential Women in Technology” drew attention to talented and powerful women who are taking the tech industry by storm.
Read more @ theDailyMuse.
Also see: Why Your Next Board Member Should Be a Woman
I can’t code, but I was a Cisco engineer with the full CCIE certification – so I was a networking geek, not a coder. As the head of marketing for a start-up my technical background has been a huge asset for me – I “get” what our product can do, what it should do and what challenges our engineers are facing. I believe having some technical background is an asset for anyone who joins a science / engineering or tech company.