Is there anything wrong with this image? It is supposed to explain how the gap between buyers and sellers can be bridged. Why is there two white men in professional attire? Does it really reflect our current society? Does it encourage other individuals?
Well, technology is a bit like this image. Cultural, skin-colour, gender, physical and mental disabilities can be used to integrate more people in our work places and society. It can divide too. So I will profusely apologies if the author of the article has been put at a disadvantage, but using their images.
Let’s start with perception
Philosopher and essayist Henry David Thoreau suggested It is not what you look that matters, is what you see. What we see in this image, is not what see in our high streets and parks. Individuals of various ages, of different background and also various abilities. So, individuals of other gender and communities may not engage or identify themselves with this image.
Looking back in the 1960s role of “Poppy” the mathematician, this white and trendy lady was a bit treated as a novelty; some documentaries should perhaps adda warning, that is not very inclusive in today’s society. Instead of being interviewed about the important of her role in NASA, she was portrayed as distraction to her male colleagues. She was interviewed about her fashion choices, rather than what she was good at… That is mathematics.
Nonetheless, she played an important role to open the mind of American girls showing they could do something different, if they wanted to. Poppy mentioned “Apparently we women were considered good at number-crunching, and I suppose we were.”
But it was not the only lady crunching numbers. It can now be acknowledged all the “black” hidden figures were not in the front page of news paper. While crunching a lot more numbers and being employed in greater numbers. African-American women have played an important roles in computer science. Please read this piece ….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_women_in_computer_science
What is interesting is that a perception of women workforce arising in Victorian time. Women can be paid less. From the hideous and savagery of slavery, African American were also considered as a cheaper workforce. It was not technology or its use at fault, but some application of capitalism. The latter has not prevented being paid on merit, instead it has brought some division between certain individuals. Capitalism had just welcomed certain individual as a workforce to lower cost and maximise profit.
Educating, entertaining with equality
This type of acceptance and campaign may hopefully disappear in the future. Younger generations are being education more equally. In some part of the world, they may have been brought up within a family where both parents are sharing equally the housework, the child care, and having a career. These individuals may have a more open minded philosophy through their choices.
Our education systems in primary, secondary, post-16 and higher education also need to adapt their tuition to interest women more in science and technology. Women brain appears to be more empathic than men brain. The latter appears to understanding and building system, than women’s [male and female nature]. However, a Lamarckian evolution towards a more equalitarian society between genders tends to erase these limitations brought to some individual in society. So, our cultural heritage and education needs adapting to the empathic brain. Then and only then, more women will graduate in STEM.
Once graduated, technology can remain a men’s world. Women often drop their career or remain in a lower and non-technical roles. It would be harsh to suggest it could be only the men fault. It is both gender fault; some women behaviours has yet to move with the time too. It is also the working practice, child care systems and other supportive scheme that may not be in place.
Let’s focus to the subject at hand, this article makes us see the problem… Just look and see carefully at the figures. Then click on the article to read the text.
Girls have shaped computing and technology really?
It is not all doom and gloom. Many women have and are contributing towards the development of technology we are using today…
- Ada Lovelace invented the concept of computer algorithm.
- Grace Hopper invented the first linker, which led to machine-independent programming languages.
- Dr Shirley Ann. Jackson led to the development of caller id and call waiting
- Hedy Lamarr invented the frequency-hopping spread spectrum, which is used in wifi.
- Amanda Leich Moore is only behind Gmail and Google Maps development.
So these ladies have not just bridged some gaps. They have shaped how computing and other technologies. These are only some examples:
In the past women may have revolutionised our homes. Now they are ready to revolutionise science and industry.
Technology can be bring equality and dissidence
It is interesting the way technology is assisting visual-impaired people. The interaction of websites design, applications and apps should be inclusive, to assist these users. At the end of day, as we grow old, our vision does not improve. Hardware has been adapted to assist physically disable individuals to become more independent. It has quite a wide research community and many companies are investing in this type of technological development.
What about equality of term of religion, sexuality, ethnicity. At the present time, technology has become a tool of propaganda for far-right, and disseminate racisms.
Machine learning and other artificial intelligence relies on datasets made by humans. So, if we were to build a datasets based on some of the aforementioned observations, what would the machine says? These datasets could help identifying areas where we should be improving equality and diversity. In the past, it has done the reverse; this article says it all. Impartiality has yet to be included; it is highly biased its application of statistics and probability. This is another good read. Machine learning specialists needs to alter their method of fitness assessment of the outcome of their algorithms.
This double-edged sword has permitted social media to bring confusion and decimate many years of hard work to bridge these gaps. This double-edged sword is capturing some data that could shape future decisions made by some machines. Worse, these datasets can inform future generations of decision makers and politicians about what to do. That is a very dangerous rise of the use of the machine.
Is there some hope?
“A mighty Girl” can change young girls aspirations. Our education can educate our children about racism and danger of propaganda. Education should promote inclusivity and teach children to think for themselves. Education should continue to teach not to trust what is in social media and the press. Movies likes the Black Panther should continue to promote another image; various individuals can rule the world.
Covid 19 has brought our work to our home. There is hope that more carers (men and women) and individuals of many various abilities can develop their career and contribute economically in a more open-minded working environment. Suddenly, working in an office during some set hours has become challenging. Yet, we are continuing to work and our working practices are adapting to the new reality.
Does it mean the office can adapt to those (1) who are parents (both genders), (2) carers of elderly and disable relatives, and (3) sufferers from some conditions preventing working in offices? In the past home working was attempted with some success. Now it has become a need, then we can embrace it and move forward towards a more flexible and more inclusive approach to work.
Does it mean our society will become more equal? We can start to police our social media and press, to change our perception and communicate better a more equal world. It can only bring hope to minorities.
My hope is in the future we will only see individuals achievements, not their gender, colour of their skins, religion, or life styles. My hope is in the future social media, press and technology will stop being used to brings message of hate, confusion. Instead it should promote equality and opportunities.
Interesting Computing 