The field of CS has unfortunately always been bereft of women. While I think that CS would benefit greatly from more women, and that something should be done to open the doors to what is traditionally a man’s territory, I also think there’s a wrong way to do this. When my boss looks for a programmer to hire, almost no women apply for the job, but when one does, she’s almost sure to get it. In one case I think he made the right decision. This female coworker is a wonderful problem solver and a great programmer. In another case, however, one of my coworkers is under-qualified and overwhelmed. She’s taken one programming class and has virtually no other experience, but because she’s female my boss decided to hire her. It’s now come down to my boss simply giving her a low priority project until I finish what I’m working on and can take over her job. Were it not for the first example of a qualified female programmer, people might jump to incorrect assumptions and stereotypes, potentially making it more difficult for women to find employment in the future. I reiterate that computer science would benefit greatly from more women in the field, but realistic solutions are needed; we should not resort to unjustified favoritism. This type of affirmative action or artificial inflation is not the right answer, and is ineffective at best, harmful at worst.
