competent men and women
My current literature research is about gender research in software engineering. I can not forget one claim that I found there:
Boys and men are assumed to be competent in the technological field as long as there is no proof for the contrary. If a boy/ man does bad work, people rather suppose that he did not try hard enough, than to think he might be incompetent.
Girls and women are assumed to be incompetent in the technological field as long as she can not prove that she is competent. If a girl/ woman does bad work, people assume that she is incompetent and the wrong person for this task.
Source: Sabine Collmer (1997): Frauen und Männer am Computer. Aspekte geschlechtsspezifischer Technikaneignung. Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden.
This corresponds to my observation that in a new job, I often get only one chance for each specific task. If I do not get it perfect on the first try (i.e. do not do it the way in which my boss would do it), he takes away this task from me forever because I "have the wrong brain structure" or "wrong personality" for doing it. This is the explanation I get when I want to continue doing this type of work. I always wondered how I manage to create the impression that I am overstrained with a task that I loved to do and even did for years before. Maybe, this is a strong part of the explanation.
Boys and men are assumed to be competent in the technological field as long as there is no proof for the contrary. If a boy/ man does bad work, people rather suppose that he did not try hard enough, than to think he might be incompetent.
Girls and women are assumed to be incompetent in the technological field as long as she can not prove that she is competent. If a girl/ woman does bad work, people assume that she is incompetent and the wrong person for this task.
Source: Sabine Collmer (1997): Frauen und Männer am Computer. Aspekte geschlechtsspezifischer Technikaneignung. Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden.
This corresponds to my observation that in a new job, I often get only one chance for each specific task. If I do not get it perfect on the first try (i.e. do not do it the way in which my boss would do it), he takes away this task from me forever because I "have the wrong brain structure" or "wrong personality" for doing it. This is the explanation I get when I want to continue doing this type of work. I always wondered how I manage to create the impression that I am overstrained with a task that I loved to do and even did for years before. Maybe, this is a strong part of the explanation.
AndreaHerrmann - 18. Aug, 13:52
