Top 5 Code Like A Girl Articles from 2017
It is interesting to look back at a year and see what struck a nerve with our readers. I took some time to figure out what are top 5 stories were by view counts and put some thought into why I believe they became viral posts.
5. The Last Jedi, toxic masculinity, and showing your place in all this
Views: 41 791
This story came out in late December and is still going strong. Cleary anything about Star Wars generates interest, but this article is striking a chord even with those that aren’t Star Wars fans. This twitter conversation we had with one of our followers perfectly describes why.
You can read it for yourself, but be warned it is full of movie spoilers.
4. I almost Left Tech Today, Here’s Why
Views: 61 681
Clémentine Pirlot was brave enough to share an article about sexism in tech with her coworkers on their internal slack channel. The blow back she got from her coworkers was surprising. This article exposes the worst part tech bro culture. It shocked many people, and I believe is the reason it got so many views.
The support that Clémentine Pirlot received from the community after posting this story was AMAZING. It open the eyes of many men in the industry and made them think about how they were behaving. I want to thank Clémentine Pirlot for her honesty and bravery in posting the article. I truly believe it has made an impact.
3. I’m a woman in tech, and this is what I want in a company
Views: 67 484
This article went viral, not because it was exposing the bad side of tech, but because the author Leigha Mitchell so perfectly described what many women and minority groups are looking for in a tech employer.
My favourite line from this article is:
“I should forget that I’m a minority, but be supported when I remember.”
People don’t want to be treated differently because they are a minority, but when they are getting discriminated against because of it they want the company to support them.
4. The myth of the ‘cool tech girl’
Views: 67 647
For many women in the tech world, including me at times, the only way we feel we will truly be accepted into the community is to be the ‘Cool Tech Girl.’
“The cool girl in tech plays ping pong, drinks beer at work, is “one of the guys”, participates in inappropriate slack .gif threads, says things like “she’s overreacting”, “I don’t consider myself a feminist, I just work hard”, “I’ve never experienced discrimination at work”. The cool girl doesn’t call out sexist remarks, she laughs at your ‘jokes’, she defends you to other women, and helps silence them. The cool girl is ‘one of the boys’.”
Sarah Stockdale goes on to explain why this happens and why it doesn’t work. This resonated with many people outside of tech as well as they could also identify with acting ‘cool’ to feel ‘part of the group.’ The reality is we all need to find a community where we will feel safe to be ourselves. Not only that, but we should feel comfortable being ourselves in the workplace without being discriminated against.
1. Actually, I was biologically designed to be an engineer.
Views: 67 694k
Our most viewed article of 2017 is a response to the google manifesto. The manifesto hit a nerve with many people. Mary-Ann Ionascu crafted a well balanced response that not only refuted what the manifesto author was saying, but also gave concrete advice to companies for how to prevent the toxic culture that created him.
Interestingly she didn’t agree with him being fired. Instead she spoke about how important it was in her company to allow people to speak their minds, because in her words
“Ostracizing people for expressing their opinions creates isolation — the opposite of inclusion.”
What do these 5 stories have in common?
Each one offers a revelation about the author that is honest, bold, and humble. They are each giving their experiences to help change perceptions of women in tech, the workplace, and life in general.
Each and every one of these authors is also going against popular culture. Our societal norms would tell us it isn’t ok to discuss these issues, nevermind to have views that are different from mainstream thought. These authors have done just that. I believe these five articles were viewed so much because they went against mainstream thought in an honest, humble, and balanced way. They didn’t attack anyone, they just spoke their truths.
I can’t wait to see the truths are told in 2018.
