Female Software Developers are Worse than Unicorns

I often laugh at the reasons stipulated for the low female numbers in the Tech Industry

I Started Coding in 1996 and only stepped down in 2021. So, i have decided to share my OWN personal views on this shocking low numbers.

According to a global software developer survey in 2022, the vast majority of developers are males, accounting for 91.88 percent of all respondents. Female developers amounted to only five percent of all respondents, demonstrating the male-dominating reality of software development jobs.

In an article 13 Female Developers Share What it Means to be a Woman in Tech

These are suggestions or should i say reasons for the lack of numbers.

Introducing girls to computer science earlier on (i.e. kindergarten) isn’t enough to close the gender gap in tech. Girls need support systems all along the pipeline, and tech companies need to do their part to root out harassment and discrimination,” Reshma says.

Research done by Stanford's Computer Science department concludes the lack of role models as one of the main reasons why women no longer choose to pursue Computer Science.

I honestly dont get these 2 points.

Nevertheless.What these females dev said...Continued

Not being afraid of failure

A common challenge that's faced — one that not only resonates with women developers but also many developers who are just starting out — is the dreaded imposter syndrome, when you feel like you are undeserving of your role and have an overall lack of confidence.

As Jaime Gunther, software engineer at Envato, puts it:

When you’re a developer, particularly a junior, everyday is a huge learning experience. You are solving problems and debugging issues and it can get frustrating. In those moments of frustration it’s really easy to fall into the trap of not feeling good enough, not feeling capable etc.

Mary Kate Fain, software engineer at Promptworks, believes that "overcoming fear and self doubt is a greater challenge than learning any one programming language or skill". She believes this issue goes back even further, and cites Reshma Saujani (author and founder of Girls Who Code), who said that girls are taught to strive for perfection, rather than encouraged to be brave.

We don't learn how to deal with failure, which prevents us from tackling new challenges and leads to self handicapping. — Mary Kate Fain

The key to overcoming this, according to Jaime, is to "acknowledge the situation, take a deep breath, realise that everyone has those moments, and be kind to yourself."

Capitalizing on your strengths

Being a female developer makes you “automatically memorable”, according to Sheena, a Python mentor on Codementor. Figuring out your strengths helps you learn how you can use them to gain a higher sense of confidence and boost your career as a developer.

Not being afraid of asking questions

When you start your first job as a developer, sometimes you don’t really know what you’re getting into until you start being more hands on. For Jadwiga Pokorska, who was previously a software engineer at Google, the size of the organization (and similarly, their codebase) meant that she had to get comfortable with asking others for help, like where something is in the code — even if it seemed like a “stupid” question.

If you're in a project and you feel like something is not clear or not addressed completely, do speak up. More often than not, you're not the only one feeling this way and clarification will help everybody. — Karolina, Python mentor

Female Developers -If i summarize what these Devs said

Not being afraid of Failure

Dreaded Imposter Syndrome - when you feel like you are undeserving of your role and have an overall lack of confidence.

Because every day is a huge learning experience.

You get frustrated and In those moments of frustration it’s really easy to fall into the trap of not feeling good enough, not feeling capable etc.

Overcoming fear and self doubt is a greater challenge

Girls are taught to strive for perfection, rather than encouraged to be brave.

We don't learn how to deal with failure, which prevents us from tackling new challenges and leads to self handicapping

Not being afraid to ask Questions

I have been a Dev for 25 years and i am happy to see some women are bold enough to speak their truth.

This is what the female Devs never said.

Being a Dev is an all-consuming job.

The stress and pressure can at times become overbearing.

When you work on projects you will work long hours.

Work life balance can be a challenge.

When you combine these 2 lists you get < 10 % Female Software Developers

Woman don't even have the courage to speak the truth unfortunately.

In my opinion as a female software developer, you need 2 Characteristics (I am not referring to technical skills)

You need Authenticity and a Proper mindset.

Authenticity says i KNOW who I am, so I can speak my truth without fear.

A Mindset that beliefs 'I can do anything I put my mind too'.

I say a mind of CHRIST. I can do all things through Christ Who Gives me strength! The Christ in Me, can walk on Water!