Regarding @tableflipclub
I normally wouldn't give this stuff a second glance. More girls bitching about unfair pay/opportunities. But since you asked here we go.
Do I believe them?
I border on the line between not wanting to give a fuck about what they are saying and trying to believe that there is that much of an abundance of these type of companies out there. Because honestly I haven't had any bad experiences like they are referring to that have kept me down. They mention mediocre men whizzing by them, being called "shrill", "abrasive", and "hard to work with". It's hard to put your self in someone else's shoes when you haven't had those types of experiences before. Taking that sort of "fuck this I'm out of here" attitude without being skeptical is really difficult. I've had many mediocre people whiz by me. Be it because of shitty management, people knowing how to bullshit, who they knew, or maybe because I didn't like my job and was being more mediocre than they were. Because we're in a male dominated industry of course an abundance of them are going to be men.
Maybe you are difficult to work with. Lots of people are. There are three categories that I put people in to be able to stand working with them.
1. Kick ass technically, but an absolute jerk with no other qualities.
2. An amazing person, nice, polite, hard worker, but doesn't know how to do shit.
3. Half way between (or on the rare occasion both) 1 & 2.
If you aren't one of these three, I would't want to work with you either.
Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one:
We all have opinions and views that are based on where we've been in life, what we've seen, and the attitude we bring to the table. I've always been drawn to typical male job roles. The reason why is a whole other story for another day. My personal experiences have shaped my work ethic, my drive, and how I see the world. I was raised on a farm in the middle of nowhere, had a job in at orchard starting at 12, on a farm at 14, tractor supply after that, a couple more male dominated roles, and then into I.T. ALL of which were male dominated roles.
What drew me to them was the lack of utter bullshit that large groups of women seem to spew out when all together. Yea boys can be dramatic, but it doesn't last, they don't hold grudges about stupid stuff, and I find them more pleasant to work with. Have I gotten paid less than my male counterparts? Sure I have, I know that for a fact. It's also a fact that men are more aggressive by nature, ask for more raises, take riskier career moves, and other things that would advance them faster than females would.
So what did I do when I knew I was getting paid less than a male counterpart? I worked with my company to find out why. It wasn't because he was male btw (surprise surprise). They had offered to pay me equal, maybe a bit more. But it was still not as good as the next company. The previous year had helped shape me as a person even more, and I had grown technically. So I left, and let them know why. It wasn't because I was a girl, it was because they couldn't pay me as well as the next place.
My thoughts on sexism:
I already kind of summed them up here http://infosystir.blogspot.com/2014/08/soapbox-rant-sexism-bsideslv-bonehenge.html
It's really on my ideas of sexism in general, not so much as growing and achieving more in the workplace. But it still helps put some of my thoughts forward.
Why this type of movement annoys me:
Quit your bitching and whining. Put your big girl panties on and get to work. Have you ever thought the reason you aren't moving up fast enough or getting paid more is because you do shitty work and need to try harder? Or maybe you really do work for a fucking horrible company, well leave and find one that treats you well. Don't ostracize everyone for the mistakes of a few. People that gravitate towards these type of movements are usually people I can't stand. Whiny, annoying, gen-x, "I deserve it because it's me" type people.
Have I been called sexist before? Sure I have...people have tried to dox me because of being silly or not caring about the same things as them. But at the end of the day I'm the happy and content one. I don't let things get me down (too much anyways). Life isn't fair and I never forget it. But if I stop being content and happy, I change what needs to be.
I like how Georgia said it best "Do good work, speak at events, mentor young girls who are interested in tech, do anything besides just bitch about how oppressed you are please!"
Showing posts with label Sexism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sexism. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Sunday, August 17, 2014
#Soapbox #Rant #Sexism #BsidesLV #Bonehenge
So just in case it doesn't get approved for being a valid comment, here is my response to
http://valleywag.gawker.com/nothing-says-welcome-to-our-tech-conference-like-a-towe-1617722289
I 100% agree with ladywhohacks. I was one of the chicks (and there were several of us) who helped the dudes create this amazing masterpiece of engineering. I don't normally get into the whole sexist in infosec bitchfest that manifests itself among articles like this as well as twitter, facebook, and other mediums unless I'm trolling them of course. But I think we were all very proud of this! Every single one of us had fun erecting this magnificent structure.
A couple things that are my views on the whole sexism stuff (I'm always willing to talk at length in private if you'd like):
1. I understand that some people have witnessed it first hand. But it's not just infosec it's life in general. Yea so have I.... so what. That doesn't mean that I'm going to get butt hurt on everything that has somewhat of a sexual connotation to it. Sex is awesome, it's in our lives everywhere, and it can be extremely funny. If it (or anything else for that matter) makes you uncomfortable, then leave or go into a profession that isn't so fun loving or crude. For God Sake McAfee signed a poster board sized goatse, and we're complaining about a tower of condoms?
2. It's awesome that they were promoting safe sex. But honestly how is it all of a sudden women being oppressed by it? Isn't it both parties responsibility to be safe? So we decided to have fun with them. I myself along with another girl and her husband created an anatomically correct Trojan horse!! Get it?!?! Well if you're complaining you either don't get it or are as equally offended.
3. How about OMG They were BLACK boxes?!?! Where are all the colored folk screaming about their feelings?! Or it started out short but then got taller. HEIGHT EQUALITY!! I'm 100% for all equality. But this isn't how you go about it. I recently had a get together at CircleCityCon in June called #girlpowerlunch Bondage & Backups. This was met with a little bit of scrutiny and some girls in infosec getting their panties all bunched up and acting like they were on a high school cheer leading squad again. Again let me reiterate, if it's something that you don't agree with ignore it. Unless it's a blatant disregard of human life or someone is going to seriously get (physically) hurt.
4. Almost every guy that I've met in this industry is extremely open and willing to teach everyone and anyone what they know and their passion. Yes there are assholes out there. But that's life. So how about we pick out the people that are actually being jerks and ostracize them instead.
In summary: grow a fucking pair and get a sense of humor
EDIT:
After another "incident" at Shmoocon 2015 A friend of mine decided to try and approach the topic as well and also nails it in the article and responses in the comments.
http://www.iamit.org/blog/2015/01/sensationalism-doing-more-damage-than-good/comment-page-1/#comment-933
Which made me also add this, a shortened portion of a conversation that I've had with an abundance of people.
5. I know a decent amount of people in this industry that are into the con circuit. Each and every one of them would come to someone's help if there was an act of harassment or worse happening. No it doesn't always happen in public, but sometimes it does. That's what we do. we stick up for each other, we have each other's backs, we're a family. Taking care of our own is what we do.
http://valleywag.gawker.com/nothing-says-welcome-to-our-tech-conference-like-a-towe-1617722289
I 100% agree with ladywhohacks. I was one of the chicks (and there were several of us) who helped the dudes create this amazing masterpiece of engineering. I don't normally get into the whole sexist in infosec bitchfest that manifests itself among articles like this as well as twitter, facebook, and other mediums unless I'm trolling them of course. But I think we were all very proud of this! Every single one of us had fun erecting this magnificent structure.
A couple things that are my views on the whole sexism stuff (I'm always willing to talk at length in private if you'd like):
1. I understand that some people have witnessed it first hand. But it's not just infosec it's life in general. Yea so have I.... so what. That doesn't mean that I'm going to get butt hurt on everything that has somewhat of a sexual connotation to it. Sex is awesome, it's in our lives everywhere, and it can be extremely funny. If it (or anything else for that matter) makes you uncomfortable, then leave or go into a profession that isn't so fun loving or crude. For God Sake McAfee signed a poster board sized goatse, and we're complaining about a tower of condoms?
2. It's awesome that they were promoting safe sex. But honestly how is it all of a sudden women being oppressed by it? Isn't it both parties responsibility to be safe? So we decided to have fun with them. I myself along with another girl and her husband created an anatomically correct Trojan horse!! Get it?!?! Well if you're complaining you either don't get it or are as equally offended.
3. How about OMG They were BLACK boxes?!?! Where are all the colored folk screaming about their feelings?! Or it started out short but then got taller. HEIGHT EQUALITY!! I'm 100% for all equality. But this isn't how you go about it. I recently had a get together at CircleCityCon in June called #girlpowerlunch Bondage & Backups. This was met with a little bit of scrutiny and some girls in infosec getting their panties all bunched up and acting like they were on a high school cheer leading squad again. Again let me reiterate, if it's something that you don't agree with ignore it. Unless it's a blatant disregard of human life or someone is going to seriously get (physically) hurt.
4. Almost every guy that I've met in this industry is extremely open and willing to teach everyone and anyone what they know and their passion. Yes there are assholes out there. But that's life. So how about we pick out the people that are actually being jerks and ostracize them instead.
In summary: grow a fucking pair and get a sense of humor
EDIT:
After another "incident" at Shmoocon 2015 A friend of mine decided to try and approach the topic as well and also nails it in the article and responses in the comments.
http://www.iamit.org/blog/2015/01/sensationalism-doing-more-damage-than-good/comment-page-1/#comment-933
Which made me also add this, a shortened portion of a conversation that I've had with an abundance of people.
5. I know a decent amount of people in this industry that are into the con circuit. Each and every one of them would come to someone's help if there was an act of harassment or worse happening. No it doesn't always happen in public, but sometimes it does. That's what we do. we stick up for each other, we have each other's backs, we're a family. Taking care of our own is what we do.
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