Confessions of a Front-End Dev: Women and the Ignorance of Men

Here it is — the end of 2016 and we have gained so much ground on technology. We have tiny computers that connect your house and allow you to control things with the sound of your voice, we have cars that drive themselves, we have (so excited for this) beautiful roof tiles that are solar panes, we have freaking robots despite the million warning’s we have given ourselves as a human race (Terminator, AI, Iron Man 3, — Alphabet will destroy us all), and we are even starting to figure out this whole Javascript thing (thank you es2015, React, Angular2, etc.). I mean, besides the fact that I still have to watch freaking Neegan every week — things seem to be going fairly well.

Well…except…

Except when it comes being a woman in any industry today. Still…which blows my mind (it’s about to be 2017, for crying out loud!). I would blame the election results on where we are as a country, but I can’t since Hillary won the popular vote. Yet, for some reason, it doesn’t matter? Only the “chosen few’s” vote really matters in the end (that’s what you call “democracy”? Thanks, but no thanks). And now we have an elect that has his children in every meeting? Sounds like we are getting ready to change to a Supreme Leader if you ask me?

You, know, you may ask…”Yeah, yeah, Casey, what does this have to do with women?”. Well, it has a little to do considering our tainted history as a country. For some reason, in our dirty little past we have supported the thought (which, again…blows my mind) that if someone looks different, they are a lower being and unintelligent than the “originator” person. Hmmm, now that I think about it…that sounds a lot like another group that arose in the 40’s in Germany. 🤔

Additionally, if you were born genetically as a women, you couldn’t possibly comprehend the same things that men do? So, “let us do you a favor” and give you the perfect job: being a stay at home mom, catering to the almighty man. Give me a freaking break…

So, I’ve been pretty extreme to this point for a reason — to provoke an extreme response in you (the reader). If it has worked, you are feeling either 1 of 2 ways. You are either really passionate about where this is going and you are being encouraged about this topic, or you are raging right now which is a good sign you might need to seek some help…cause you have problems. But, I’m not here to judge…I’m “just sayin’”.

Problem 1: Education

Where ever you are, if you have a job, just take 2 seconds and consider all the employees that are on your team. More than likely, females will make up 2% or less of that (so sad). Why? One could say they “were not a good fit”. Other’s could say “lack of experience”. But more than likely it’s a lack of resources like education…on both sides of the spectrum. And not the same type of education either.

Lack of Education: Men

Now generalizing is bad, but, do a little experiment and say the word “feminism” to a guy and see what the result is? I would guarantee it’s going to be a negative response more than not due to the lack of education in males. Most men were never taught what the word “feminism” actually means, they were just taught to associate it with a negative picture of a “crazy female that hates men” (man hater !== feminist). How about we take a look at what the term feminism actually means:

feminism: (noun) the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.

Well, that’s interesting…it says nothing about hating men or going to war with them. 🤔

The first problem is men being educated properly on the truth of women. They are just as capable as men (and for the most part — better) in almost every role in the industries. They can multi-task better and in tech have been proven better developers, so why not use them? Just doesn’t make sense?

The Guardian recently posted an article on this topic regarding pushing code on Github, stating that female’s pushed as much code that was approved more so than men…as long as they hid their gender (freaking disgusting).

Male to male, if you still think a woman cannot perform logically the same as a man, you are so insecure it’s unreal. Do yourself a favor and go address some issues you have.

Lack of Education: Women

Not much to say here folks. Women more than not have higher degree’s than males do in most all industries — yet, they are given lower positions, denied promotions, and get paid less (SMF). Why, are we so afraid to take advantage of this and move forward? If you are a male and in a marriage, you should be in support of this! The household income would raise and your wife would be happier!

But, women are not perfect and there is still a lack of education problem on their side. For women, I would argue the lack of education is that they have the power to stand up and move forward. Most women “settle” with being OK for not getting paid equally or be denied promotions. But, not all.

I know some very successful women that have “broken through the glass” and have done amazing things. You know what the secret is? They believe in themselves and have confidence in what they are capable of. If you are good at something, stand up for yourself and make it known. Will you have to work harder — probably (it’s stupid, I know), but when you reach your goal, you will have the power to change things and progress them forward.

Problem 2: Humans

We can fix problem 1 easy, but I’m not sure how to fix this one? I struggle with seeing the good in things (I’m trying to). In my eyes, human’s are stupid (including me) and do stupid things. We are so narcissistic we are willing to destroy another’s well being in order to live a better lifestyle when it doesn’t matter because you aren’t taking that crap with you when you die. We place ourselves on a platform sometimes believing that one human is a type of “god” compared to the other (give me a freaking break). Oh, yeah, we also literally are destroying the world because we are so obsessed with making a buck…so how can I see the good in that?

I don’t know the answer to this except for two ways.

1: Continue to educate men and support women

We can’t move forward unless more men understand that it’s an actual benefit to have women playing key roles on teams. We work better and make more progress united utilizing both ways of thought and not just one. Being closed minded has never benefited anyone. Always test, look at the data, and pivot when needed — that’s how we grow and improve as a race.

2: Respect each other

I know this one is hard for me, especially when people do and say things that contradict everything I stand for. The “punk” in me wants to come out and fight! That’s not the way though. That’s not how you make progress. That’s how you start wars and destroy relationships. Arguing is not healthy, but debating is, and it’s sure as heck time we start debating this topic once again and accept the woman for who she has genetically been born as, knowing that she has the same capabilities and sometime’s more than the male does (and vice versa).

We need each other and it’s is so ignorant to believe that one gene is better than the other — we were made for each other, our body parts prove that at the least.

My Confession:

My name is Casey Baggz, and I confess that at one time (more than 7 years ago), I used to think women were not as capable as men were — I was uneducated. I confess that around 5 years ago I grew a negative connotation with the word “feminism” due to having a “man hater” (not feminist — BIG difference) for a boss — I didn’t understand those were 2 different things. I confess that through the blessing of being married to my beautiful wife, I’ve learned what “feminism” actually means and how bad the problem of gender equality in today’s workforce is. I confess that the current state of our world regarding views on women truly disgust me.

I’m not an owner of a company, nor am I sure I ever want to be, but if for some reason I do become one, you can guarantee women will be treated equally, paid equally, and given the same treatments as males do. We need each other and we will not progress until we realize that.

• C.B.

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