More Women in Politics; Less in High-Tech

It's great that we have a woman as Speaker of the House and finally a financially viable woman candidate for President, but in another area that has always been male-dominated, technology, women are on the decline again, according to a silicon.com article by Steve Ranger (sounds like he should be a relative).

An organization called Intellect conducted research that shows women now fill 16% of tech jobs vs. 18% two years ago. Ouch. I really thought it was higher than that by now. Supposedly a lot of the attrition is at the executive and upper management level. I don't doubt that. Supposedly Intellect is working on an action plan to develop better industry practices that foster things women want like a more flexible workplace.

I'll admit it - I work for myself mostly because I've had a difficult time finding a flexible enough workplace to suit my needs. Some of it is because I've suffered from repetitive strain injuries (carpal tunnel, tendinitis, etc.), but now that I'm a parent, I have other needs that match those of many other women. And although I enjoy being self-employed and choosing clients myself, I can't help but wonder what other avenues my career might have taken had there been more flexible opportunities at larger organizations - in or out of high-tech.