Chat 4 Transcript
Women and IT Careers
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Supriya: Hi. Am looking forward to this chat session.
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david: Hi Sophia
supriya: David, do you work in the IT industry? If so, what gender differences have you noted?
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david: Hi suriya
david: I used to work in IT but now lecture in IT
david: I have noticed an increase in the number of women in IT
david: But they tend not to be in prgramming but more in th business side of IT
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sophia: Hi where are you from?
rach: I'm from the human rights and equal opportunity commission
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supriya: Sophia, I am from CIRCIT -it is a research centre on the new technologies at RMIT in Melbourne
supriya: Rach, what kind of gender differences have you come across?
sophia: I'm from the National Women's Justice Coalition in Canberra - working as the project officer on the Australian Virtual Centre for Women and the Law
carol: I am a cattle grazier in far north queensland
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supriya: We have just completed a study on gender, design and electronic commerce. What kind of gender differences are you seeing in your work?
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david1: Hi Sophia
david1: Have made some calls about this network
sophia: Hi david - did the other session drop out
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sophia: Hi Joey, where are you from?
david1: Yes it did
Joey: Hi all, Sydney
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sophia: Is there some interference with the network?
david1: Yes there is Sophia
TTP: Similar to yesterday...
david1: Trying to track it down
sophia: Hi TTP - where are you from? I am from Canberra at the Australian Virtual Centre for Women and the Law
david1: MAd frantic search
TTP: Hi Sophia - GO DAVID!!
TTP: I am in Armidale NSW
Joey: what does that centre do Sophia?
sophia: Ah well - these are the problems that we have to anticipate.... close to halloween and all
sophia: TTP are you in IT?
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sophia: Joey - where abouts in Sydney are you?
TTP: Yes, I am the Project Coordinator for a company called TeleTask
Joey: In North Sydney at the moment
sophia: Hello Lise - how are you? Think I met you at the opening - still going to Webgrrls tomorrow?
sophia: TTP - what does TeleTask do?
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david1: Where are you situated TTP
TTP: our brief is to provide employment opportunities for people in remote and rural communities through the use of telecommunications
david1: in Arnidale
TTP: ie: Telework
david1: Okay
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TTP: David1 - I had probs yesterday - I hope it's not my connection causing a hitch
david1: No its not your connection it is somewhere on the network in cyberspace
david1: I have some sys admin guys trying to track the problem
TTP: Is this chat being "hosted" through UNE
david1: Yes
sophia: Joey the Virtual Centre provides a space where people can run an email lists on particular legal/social topics - we hope to have 150 going in the near future - you might like to check it out at www.nwjc.org.au/avcwl/
david1: Talking about IT careers Sophia how did you get into IT
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sophia: Bizarre things have happened - travelled the course to IT via the visual arts, film-making, philosophy, youthwork and writing interests
david1: That is not unusual
supriya: Sophia, what kind of gender differences do you see in your field?
david1: It seems to me that It is very much multi disciplinary and definetly not a computer science thing
sophia: How did other people get into IT?
Joey: I liked IT
supriya: I came to IT research through sociology, banking and journalism.
Joey: looked in the paper and got a job... a fluke.. a lucky one
sophia: Supriya - I am currently working in two organisations which have a high ratio of female to male employees. However, the work is mainly of a legal nature in one.
sophia: I am currently studying a masters of sociology...
sophia: Joey - what work do you do?
Joey: PC support
supriya: Great. I think the big challenge is how to place the study and use of IT in a social and cultural context.
supriya: Joey, do you see a difference in the kind of help men and women seek?
Joey: I don't have any training but I hope to do some next year
Joey: mostly learn on the job
sophia: I have not experienced many problems within the organisations I work for - but I have heard many stories about the difficulties women and men with small children face in meeting the demands of an IT career and balancing it with their homelife.
david1: One of the issues I have found is that traditional degrees particularly thos that claim to be IT, are in fact hard coe comp sci and tend to alienate people who want ot be more in the IT area
david1: woops coe = core
supriya: Think that is true for any demanding job.
david1: I have news on the net connection
david1: It seems that AARNET (internet) is experiencing difficulties in Sydney but they claim it is now clearing up so lets keep our fingers crossed
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david1: Having said that
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Lise: what happened david?
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Lise: Jo Joey
Lise: sorry meant to say Hi Joey
david1: The net is having problems in Sydney apparently
Lise: ic
Joey: yep
Joey: I guessed so
Joey: sooo
Lise: yessssssss
Joey: so what do you do Lise?
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Lise: i work for a women's health org - mng web site etc etc etc
Lise: what do you do Joey?
Joey: I'm in PC Support 9insurance
Lise: enjoy yr work?
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Lise: hi judy
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sophia: Hi all back again - dropped off the chat
sophia: Lise - are you involved in the IT area?
Lise: yes sort of - i look after a web iste
sophia: Great - what web site do you manage?
Lise: women's health statewide www.whs.sa.gov.au
sophia: Who else has developed a website
Lise: very basic now - negotiating with designers for upgrade
sophia: Lise - I'll have to check that out
Lise: i'm converting all our resources to pDF for the site - so we can have multi lingual informaiton availa online
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TTP: what's heppening Dave?
TTP: ..sorry happening....sound like a kiwi
david: Hi TTP as I said it is in Sydeny and I have the support guys trying to track the problem
TTP: it's funny how many people now call Sydney .."Sydeny" was that deliberate?
david1: no TTP woops
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supriya: Are we having problems with the network or is it on my side?
david1: No its the network
david1: I feel so helpless
david1: I ran 7 chats for another conference 2 weeks ago and only one we lost the connection
supriya: Guess we are finding out about the limits of the technology. Will be on till the network kicks me off again.
Sue: just checking the chat for our WOW day tomorrow in Gippsland
david1: Hi Sue are you from Mansh
david1: woops Monash
Sue: No, adult ed centre in Yarram... but working as part of the Uniting our Rural Communities Project
david1: Okay
david1: I am originally from Warragul
Sue: which is running through TAFE in Sale..
Sue: Kewl... so where are you now..
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david1: Armidale trying to fix tech problems with the chat
david1: Parents are still in Warragul though
Sue: well good luck.. hope you get it sorted out
david1: So do I..................
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Scat: hello?
Sue: hi scat
Scat: Hi Sue - where are you?
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david1: Welcome back
Sue: South Gippsland
sophia: thank you
Scat: Okay - Perth.
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sophia: Canberra - city of strange circles
Sue: Scat are you involved with WOW?
Scat: Actually girls - I'm going to have to - erh - no just got a notification
Scat: from the "Centre for Research on Women" over here
Scat: the one run by Annie Goldflam
sophia: Do you have a website?
Sue: ok Unitiing our Rural Communities here..
Scat: I'm going to have to run though - just wanted to check out the site when I got the email - no sophia - oh okay - cool
sophia: How have you found the site
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Scat: nice to have met you all - sorry I couldn't stay - not bad - haven't had the chance to check it over properly yet.
sophia: Supriya are you online?
Sue: ok gotta go .. bye all...
Scat: will try to either late tonight, or early monday. sorry - got to run 0 bye sue
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sophia: Does anyone have any interesting stories about working in the IT area?
supriya: Most of the time the discussion is couched in engineering and legal terms, rather than the social and cultural.
barb: just called in to say hello
sophia: Before the last session was disconnected people were sharing how they ended up working in IT... I fell into it through an interest in the communication/ resource sharing possibilities - ie building virtual communities of interest
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Kated: Good morning
sophia: Hi - where are you from?
supriya: I was saying that I came to IT research from sociology, banking history and journalism
Kated: Hi Sphia, I'm from WA. How is the chat going today? Less technical difficulties?
david1: About the same techncal difficulties
sophia: I think it is about even with yesterday:)
sophia: supriya - what is the focus of your current research?
Kated: I was interested in some of yesterday's discussions about careers in IT. I'm living in the bush and looking to make a living from working remotely.
supriya: I have just completed work on gender, design and electronic commerce. We found that women use the Internet as a tool and want personal communication. Farm women use it more routinely than women elsewhere.
sophia: I went to a conference on Community Networking: Engaging Regionalism in Ballarat a few weeks ago. There was a strong push to bring the issue of rural employment/ teleworking opportunities to the policy debate.
sophia: Who else is from a rural area?
supriya: I have always wondered about teleworking. After two days working at home, I find I come to the office just so that I can bump ideas off other people.
Kated: Sohphia: I think there's still some reluctance for employers to look at this mode of work though. And, for me, difficulties knowing where to start to look for work.
sophia: I have just tried teleworking recently - working on websites - and found the possibility of being freed up to travel and work very exciting
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supriya: We had a really interesting session yesterday in Melbourne where two women farmers spoke. Very interesting the way women in the farms use these technologies.
Gunilla: I have just join the chat. We are launching the Hunter Chapter of FITT today and Ann is our guest speaker. I have just spoken to here as she is driving up the highway and she asked if I would send her sincere apologies.
sophia: The suggesting at the conference was that public service positions should be more open to teleworking and seek to lift employment levels in the bush
sophia: Supriya can you give any examples?
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sophia: hello again
sophia: any further insight into the network connection?
sophia: I think that people anticipate network problems - judy is contemplating shifting a chat to a threaded discussion board for next week.
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Kated2: Take 2
Kated2: This chat system is a little frsustrating...needs a few bugs ironed out of it.
david1: Hi Kated2
Nanny: We agree with you
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david1: It is not the software it is a net problem
barb: I agree with that Kated2
Kated2: I don't know if any of you saw my last comment before you got bumped off but I was speaking about resentment from colleagues in the public service for teleworkers...the perception that those working from home were somehow 'playing' on the Net.
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Annemieke: It is similar in the academic world - some colleagues assume that when you are reseaching from home you are not working whereas in actual fact it may be your most productive time!
barb: Time is up for me bye
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sophia: I was wondering about that - whether to make up for that perception - teleworkers put in extra hours than colleagues who are office based. Do you think that is true?
sophia: bye
Kated2: I didn't enjoy those sorts of comments when I was actually starting work in my pyjamas at 7 am and finishing up anywhere around midnight or 1 am. However I did find that it was the only way my family got to see anything of me during heavy work periods.
Kated2: Sophia. Definitely. During that period I don't think there was anyone working 'in house' who was putting in the same hours as me.
Annemieke: I think you have to learn to ignore the comments and be satisfied that you know you are actually doing the work
sophia: It must be particularly hard in a research areas where you may be working on a paper for a relatively long period before it is on view
sophia: When you are working from home - do you have to make sure that you are careful about how you structure your time at "work" and at "home"?
Annemieke: Yes even worse when it is a thesis which may take years to complete and at times you are wondering if it is progressing anyway
sophia: :) i sympathise
Kated2: I'm no longer working in the PS and am in the bush now...looking for ways to legitimately telework without necessarily being plugged in to a specific dept.
Annemieke: How hard is it to find tele work?
Kated2: Sophia: My reason for working from home while in the PS was to cope with a workload that couldn't be dealt with during a normal working day. The answer to 'structuring' was No, I burnt out in fact and am still recovering a year later.
sophia: That must have been difficult - do you think that the Dept will change work demands and practices as a consequence? Have they been receptive to you?
Annemieke: I joined this conversation late so this may have already been discussed - normal time limits just dont apply when you telework- you can always do that little bit more
Kated2: Sophia: No the dept wasn't receptive and I resigned. I've chosen to live in the bush now and I am looking for ways to use my skills while enjoying a country lifestyle. I know it must be possible but haven't 'cracked it' yet as to work sources.
sophia: are there any support services for teleworkers?
sophia: If there isn't that in itself will become an area with a great need
Kated2: An advanatge of teleworking though is that one can be more flexible...although 'structuring' is necessary, it's also good to be ablwe to integrate life and work, to bring in the washing when it rains, to be able to sit out in the garden for a while when the brain goes dead instead of being in a concrete jungle.
sophia: david - is this session closing up soon?
sophia: that sounds wonderful kated2
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sophia: i think the only reason i would introduce a structure - is to stop me from overdoing the work
Kated2: And one can be more in tune with natural energy flows as well. I'm sure we all have our peak and low times during the day and these don't always follow a 9-5.
Annemieke: Bye all - hope the bush treats you well Kated2 and that you recover soon :)
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Katy: Hi all, just joined in - how's everyone's friday going?
sophia: bye - hope to catch up with you in the upcoming forums....
Kated2: Overall I think the research shows that the hours worked are generally more productive hours. But there's always that guilt feeling I suppose. And a greater issue of self discipline.
sophia: i am being whisked away into the sunlight - against my urge to type...:) good luck and farewell
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Katy: We put ourselves in a position where we use technology to free up more time for the rest of our lives - but do we do that - NO....we simply expect mroe because of the technology!
Kated2: For example, if you are 'at work' 9-5 you may be sitting at your desk dabbling away doing not much at all, but if you're working on a project with specific outcome or being paid by the hour then you're more concerned that your time is productive.
Kated2: Looks like the others have left the chat Katy. Checking my clock and calculating the time difference I think it was due to finish about now.
Katy: Oh well - next time eh?
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Kated2: Yes, where are you Katy?
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