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The Masculine Environment

I do not see that the sex of the candidate is an argument against her admission... After all, we are a university, not a bathing establishment --- David Hilbert, arguing unsuccessfully for the appointment of Emmy Noether to the faculty at Göttingen.gif

Currently, the majority of professionals in computer science departments and workplaces are male. As a consequence, these places often have masculine environments in which women feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. The behaviors described in this chapter are generally not meant to be harmful to women, which makes the participants often hostile toward criticism. Such behaviors include the display of nude pictures, discussing sex, telling dirty jokes, and expressing negative stereotypes of women in an attempt at humor. Additionally, other activities are morally faultless, such as coworkers playing basketball together, but they may tend to make a woman feel less part of the group if she does not enjoy the same activities.





ellens@ai.mit.edu