技术创业者的队伍中之所以少有女性的身影，深层次的原因有很多，不是教会女性学会编程就能解决的。它需要个人、社会和全世界在各个层面通过长期的共同努力，消除阻碍女性发展的壁垒，同时给予她们必要的支持。
作为一种假说，摩尔定律提出，集成电路上的晶体管的数量每两年就会翻倍。这样我们就完全可以认为，这个翻倍的效果也会让处理器的速度加倍，因为芯片上晶体管多了，处理器也必须更快才行。
不过，要想无限提高芯片的速度，不是说拼命往芯片上塞晶体管就行了。计算速度还离不开内存容量等因素，同时也受到磁盘速度等要素的限制。
正如我们不能为了无限提高处理器速度而往芯片上多堆晶体管一样，也不能仅仅通过让更多女性进入工程学院和编程学院就指望下一个马克•扎克伯格能够应运而生。扎克伯格只用了大约七年的时间就打造了一个价值10亿美元以上的公司。就算是选拔那些从青少年时期就开始黑客生涯的女性也是不够的（这样的女性确实存在，本人就是其中之一，而我这代人中这样的人还不少）。
如果真的打算造就一位女版马克（或者女版的斯蒂夫•乔布斯、杰夫•贝佐斯、埃隆•穆斯克等科技英才），同时出于讨论的目的让我假设这确实是个很有价值的事业，那就需要在很多方面有所改变。光教会女性如何编程是远远不够的。
改变心态
请包涵一下我爱用历史掌故打比方的习惯。1865年，美国政府正式废除了奴隶制。尽管这确实是一个巨大的成就，但对非裔美国人来说，它所提供的只是一定程度的经济自由。85年后他们仍然因为种族隔离制度被视为二等公民。直到20世纪50年代种族隔离制度才宣告终止，又直到2008年才有了第一位民选的非裔美国总统。掐指一算，非裔美国人获得平等的政治地位用了整整143年！
遗憾的是，女性直到1920年才获得投票权。在这之后，一直到20世纪50年代和60年代，社会才开始重视培养女性上大学。不过就算是这样，当时女性进入职场、婚育后继续留在工作岗位上还是被人们看成是怪事；而这恰恰表明女性要么经济状况不佳，要么缺乏社会支持。
因此，尽管女性和少数民族享有自由的口号一直喊得震天响，但实际状况的改变却始终步履迟缓。
实实在在的改变意味着必须积极推出能让人们获得自由的举措，而这既需要教育，也离不开社会实践，只有这样才能破除陈规陋习。
我得措辞谨慎地指出，西方社会好不容易懂得了让女性接受教育的价值，但现在是时候向一些社会陋习宣战了。
| |
| Moore's law, which is really a conjecture, states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every two years. It is safe to presume that this doubling effect also doubles processor speeds, because having more transistors on a chip means faster processors.
However, you cannot just cram more transistors onto a chip in order to double its speed indefinitely. Computing speed is also based on things such as memory capacity and it is limited by factors such disk speed.
Just as you cannot cram more transistors onto a chip in order to double processor speeds indefinitely, you cannot expect that simply adding more women to engineering colleges and code academies will produce a Mark Zuckerberg, who will go on to build a billion-dollar company in roughly seven years. Even having women who have been hacking since they were teenagers isn't enough (and mind you these women do exist, I am one of them, and there are more than a handful of others in my generation).
Now if the goal is to produce a female version of Mark (or Steve, Jeff, Elon, etc.), and for the sake of argument I'll assume that this is a worthy cause, it's going to take change on many levels. Teaching women how to code isn't enough.
Change in Mindset
Please bear with me as I draw an analogy using history. In 1865 the U.S. government abolished slavery. While this was an achievement, it only afforded some level of economic freedom to African Americans. Nearly 85 years later they were still being treated as second-class citizens via segregation. It wasn't until the 1950s that segregation ended, and it wasn't until 2008 that we elected our first African American president. Doing the math it took 143 years before African American were supposedly on equal political footing!
Unfortunately, women weren't afforded the right to vote until 1920. Even after that, it wasn't until the late 1950s and 1960s that society valued educating women at the university level but, even then, entering the workforce and actually staying in it after marriage and having children was considered an anomaly; it was a sign of having limited financial means or social support.
Hence while freedom for women and minorities was proclaimed, the status quo was slow to change.
Actual change means having to vigilantly put forth practices to enable people to exercise their freedoms, and that requires a combination of education and social practices, which will eradicate social norms.
I'll be careful in stating that in Western societies, we finally believe in valuing education for women, but we now have to turn to social practices.
|
我们可以鼓励女性积极投身社会并张开双臂欢迎她们，但这并不会消除各种文化中一些已经传承千年的、对待女性的做法，它们一直强化着女性主要作为抚育者的角色（我指的并不只是养育孩子）。要克服这一点，就需要全世界有意识地持续努力。它在实践中意味着什么呢？主要是以下几点：
• 男性支持这种观点，即他们的女性另一半有能力作为平等的合伙人作出经济上的贡献，有能力养家糊口。
• 把要不要孩子的选择权真正还给女性。这就要求消除对那些选择不要孩子的女性的非议，让她们真正获得生育的选择权。
• 把是否照顾年迈双亲的选择权还给女性。女性相对长寿，经济压力也较大，这意味着她们往往不得不照顾年迈的双亲和公婆。
• 对那些选择要孩子及照顾家里老人的女性提供社会和经济支持，这需要各类企业和政府帮一把。
从理论上来说，上述情况现在都存在。我之所以说是理论上，是因为如果它们确实存在，我们为什么还要对女性中没能涌现出马克、斯蒂夫、杰夫和埃隆这样充满创意的财富创造者大惑不解呢？请告诉我，如果整个社会对待女性的心态一直没有改变，这怎么可能呢？！
不过，尽管现实中女孩和妇女听到的说法各有不同，但我还是要不揣冒昧地说，只有女孩和妇女才会真正明白下面这番话的深意，因为她们从青少年开始直到长大成人，每天都会听到这话：“到了年纪就找个合适的伴侣，因为我们摆脱不了生理规律，给家庭赚钱的同时，也要养好孩子。”而根据所处文化背景的不同还会加上这么一句：“同时也别忘了对老爸老妈和公婆的责任啊。”
我还要不揣冒昧地说，有些人（不是所有人）会一直把这类说法挂在嘴边，四处唠叨。她们往往是些上了点年纪的妇女，可悲的是，其中还包括我们自己的母亲！我说这话不是想要指责谁，只是要指明我们这一生所要面对的到底是什么样的人和事。
这就是让女性在养大成人和投身社会过程中总是寻求稳定而不是风险的诸多因素之一。一开始就选择工程学（这是大学里的小众学科）然后开始创业（这意味着收入不稳定），这本身就是有风险的。选择这条充满风险的道路说明我们是异类（这不算什么坏事）。其他人则在一边待着，看着我们会如何克服各种艰难险阻。如果没能打造一个价值十亿美元的公司，也没研发出什么创新技术，会不会有人对我们指指点点？我们会不会觉得自己痛失了做个好妈妈的机会？又或者我们有能耐做到家庭事业两不误吗？
而与此同时，男人全力以赴地干事业却仍是这个社会可以接受的做法。
| |
| We can encourage women to participate and welcome them with open arms, but that won't undo the thousands of years of ongoing cross-cultural practices that reinforce a woman's primary role as a nurturer (and I am not just talking about nurturing children). To overcome this requires a constant and vigilant effort globally. What does this mean in practice? It means the following:
• Men supporting the notion that their female significant other can contribute as an equal partner financially or be the bread-winner of the household.
• Really leaving the choice of having children up to women. This requires eradicating the unspoken judgment passed on women who choose not to have children and truly having the right to choice.
• Really leaving the choice of taking care of elderly parents up to women. Longevity coupled with financial strain often mean that women are left to care for elderly parents and in-laws.
• Having supportive social and economic practices for those who do chose to have children and take care of aging family members, which will need to be reinforced by somebody such as companies or governments.
In theory, all of this exists today. I say in theory, because if they actually existed, why would we be still left wondering why women aren't more innovative wealth-creators a la Mark, Steve, Jeff, and Elon? Please tell me how this is possible without a sustained change in society's mindset towards women?!
However, as status quo goes there is a mixed message being sent to girls and women, and I will take liberty in saying that only girls and women will truly understand this because they experience it daily from young through adolescence and into adulthood: "Find the right partner by a certain age, because we are still controlled by biology, and nurture your children while still contributing to the family financially." Depending on your cultural background add, "Please don't forget about your obligations to your aging parents and in-laws."
I will also take liberty in saying that some, not all, but some people, who continue to reinforce and propagate this mixed message are an older generation of women, which sadly, often include our own mothers! I'm not saying it to place blame, but to merely point out who and what we face throughout our lives.
This is one of the factors that has led females to being bred and socially conditioned to seek stability, not risk. There is an inherent risk involved in first choosing to pursue engineering (being the minority in college) and then entrepreneurship (being financially unstable). Those of us who have chosen a risky path are merely anomalies (not a bad thing). The rest are waiting and watching to see how we will overcome the personal risk we've taken. Will we be castigated if we fail to build a billion-dollar company and innovative technology? Or will we feel like we missed out on motherhood? Or will we be able to balance both?
Meanwhile, it is still socially acceptable for men to focus wholeheartedly on their career.
|
|
网友评论