Home Gaming Do South African women face sexism in tech?

Do South African women face sexism in tech?

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Woman pointing at tech

When I wrote this article about women leaving tech, despite being qualified for their jobs, I was surprised at the reaction from everyone. People shared a range of experiences. Of course it led me to wonder if women in South Africa were facing the same struggles, so I did some investigation.

I reached out to a range of women in tech. I asked them to reach out to more women. While I know that snowball sampling might not be representative of all women, without some kind of “women in tech” database, it is hard to find the women who fit the criteria. To be clear, I wanted only women who came from a technical background, not just those using soft skills in a technical industry. While several came forward to talk to me, only one was willing to be on the record – Lynette Hundermark who I also spoke to on Cliff Central regarding this topic.


Boyfriend s laptop

Lynette seems to have had similar experiences as I have – while some things may have been construed as sexism, she hasn’t really been a victim of sexism or felt pushed out of the industry as a result. However, some of the ladies who wrote to me off the record have a much more unfortunate story to tell. They talked about not even being considered by management when they would count how many developers were working on a team, or being overlooked for important projects, and even this glaring example:

I was the only female in the room at a meeting at a client’s offices. When everyone was in the boardroom and we had all been introduced, my boss asked me to get make tea/coffee for everyone despite the fact that we weren’t even in our own office and I had no idea where the kitchen was.

Sure, anyone could be asked to make refreshments for the group, but to be singled out like this on a regular basis due to being a woman is unacceptable. Other women describe being passed over for training because it was seen as being too complicated for them. However, I think one woman put it best when she qualified these statements:

I have never thought of my male technical colleagues as having a gender bias, but almost always from management

I think this is the major thing in any field but particularly tech. When it comes to the technical side of things, it’s all about getting things done. Whether you’re a female developer, or an alien or a robot, they don’t really care as long as the work gets done. It’s only when you’re looking for advancement and therefore need to be recognized by management that these issues seem to come into play. Sure, there is the usual “proving yourself” period that exists for anyone regardless of their gender. But it’s when it comes to promotion that many women feel like they crash into the glass ceiling – often earlier than expected.

Some women say that things are improving, that women are increasingly accepted in tech. However, it’s still not changing fast enough for some and I wouldn’t be surprised if more women move towards doing PR for tech companies or owning their own small scale technical companies instead. When faced with so many negative experiences, it’s hard to justify staying in such an antagonistic field. That said, tech jobs are always in demand and women can get top salaries for doing what they love.

So, while sexism may not be as rife in South Africa as it is in Silicon Valley, it certainly is a concern for women working in tech. They all stated that they would encourage girls to enter into the field and studying technical subjects, but I suppose they should be warned that it might not be the easiest career path to pursue. Still, we need to encourage girls with the interest and talent in technical fields to pursue the – we can’t demand more female representation in gaming without helping the technical industry as a whole become more representative.

Last Updated: March 23, 2015

67 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief

    March 23, 2015 at 15:36

    Impressive, interview was between 10h00 and 11h00 today, and already you have article out?

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      March 23, 2015 at 15:37

      Not bad for a woman. *RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN*

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        March 23, 2015 at 15:37

        OI!

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          March 23, 2015 at 16:11

          Oh look, another women…..did they move the kitchen?

          😛

          Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        March 23, 2015 at 15:40

        Especially taking into consideration she still had to make a sammich and brew some coffee for her man. All that whilst chained up to the kitchen sink??? *OUTRUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNSTREVOR*

        Reply

        • Blood Emperor Trevor

          March 23, 2015 at 15:41

          Yoh. I went *there*, You went *THERE*

          Reply

          • Dutch Matrix

            March 23, 2015 at 15:42

            Heh!

        • Thats_how_I_Troll

          March 23, 2015 at 15:41

          I wonder whom did the minutes of the meeting…. 0_o

          Reply

  2. Sageville

    March 23, 2015 at 15:45

    Management: The Problem, also one of the few jobs where you can have no experience or skills and still get paid without being outed….

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      March 23, 2015 at 16:11

      I’m overqualified for management

      Reply

  3. Dutch Matrix

    March 23, 2015 at 15:45

    On a serious note though: We need more women managers in this country. Some of the best managers I worked for were female. Men tend to be pushovers…

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      March 23, 2015 at 15:46

      …or useless

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        March 23, 2015 at 15:47

        Exactly. Women seem to be more focussed, more goal orientated and know how to get people motivated to reach those goals.

        Reply

    • Pariah

      March 23, 2015 at 15:47

      The worst manager I’ve ever had was a female. So it’s not gender based.

      Reply

      • Michelle

        March 24, 2015 at 12:48

        It’s all about personality and character, gender doesn’t really play a role.
        One’s upbringing plays a lot on how you treat the opposite sex.

        Reply

        • Pariah

          March 24, 2015 at 12:58

          100% agree.

          Reply

    • Sageville

      March 23, 2015 at 15:48

      Battle-axes….

      Reply

    • Captain JJ the damned

      March 23, 2015 at 15:49

      I think it’s a personality thing, I don’t think gender has much to do with it.
      I work with a lot of women. Some are really great managers and some are shockingly terrible.

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        March 23, 2015 at 15:51

        That is also true. I guess I was referring more to my own experiences in life. 🙂

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        March 23, 2015 at 15:52

        It is because they borrow your eye-liner amirite?

        Reply

        • Captain JJ the damned

          March 23, 2015 at 15:52

          shhhhh

          Reply

          • Dutch Matrix

            March 23, 2015 at 16:02

            Ooooh. Little Emo Captain JJ?

          • Captain JJ the damned

            March 23, 2015 at 16:08

            No no. Not emo. Never emo. No hipster kak either.
            I really should stop joking along. This is ruining what’s left of my little street cred.

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            March 23, 2015 at 16:12

            HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Wait, were you serious about the street cred?

          • Captain JJ the damned

            March 23, 2015 at 16:13

            There goes the last of it then.

          • Admiral Chief

            March 24, 2015 at 07:53

            WHOOOOOOOOSH

    • Hammersteyn

      March 23, 2015 at 16:10

      Same here.

      Reply

  4. Admiral Chief

    March 23, 2015 at 15:47

    • Pariah

      March 23, 2015 at 15:49

      LOOOOOOL!

      Reply

    • Sageville

      March 23, 2015 at 16:04

      This!

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      March 23, 2015 at 16:10

      It’s like they have SUPERPOWERS

      Reply

  5. Blood Emperor Trevor

    March 23, 2015 at 15:48

    I think women have to deal with a lot of subconscious crap from men in traditionally male-dominated areas. Like having to “prove themselves” to a greater degree than male colleagues. It’s not like it’s cartoon villainy where the evil man twirls his mustache while plotting dastardly deeds against women with handy written instructions.

    I’ve had my colleague explain something to a client, he wasn’t happy & asked to speak to me, I told him the exact same thing she did, he was fine. She was pissed off about that & I don’t blame her one bit.

    Reply

  6. Just Saying

    March 23, 2015 at 15:55

    No Problem with the article, just one question. What is she doing out of the kitchen ? 🙂

    Reply

    • Pariah

      March 23, 2015 at 15:57

      Same thing the rest of us are avoiding. Her job.

      Reply

  7. Ryanza

    March 23, 2015 at 15:58

    Women faces sexism in every single area of live. Well not child birth but you get the picture. Women are viewed as the weaker sex because of child birth and taking care of that screaming … that was birthed.

    Women are viewed to prefer not working over time, coming in early, more time needed for taking care of the screaming shit.
    Women are viewed as being girly and not wanting to work in bad conditions.
    Women are viewed as total bitches once a month.
    And no matter what equal work a women does compared to a man, she will get less pay.

    It’s how it is in business. Men and women needs to stand up for change to happen. We need to teach the screaming shits so that a change can happen in the future.

    If women are total bitches once a month. Are men like total bitches everyday.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      March 23, 2015 at 15:59

      That last sentence. THAT.

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      March 23, 2015 at 16:07

      Real men and women are hardly ever bitches imo. Personality counts a lot.

      Reply

      • Ryanza

        March 23, 2015 at 16:13

        Don’t over think the word bitch. It was a just a word I used. Could have used so many others.
        They might not be a bitch to you but someone down the line will getting bitch attitude.

        Reply

    • Chaduke

      March 23, 2015 at 16:31

      I think this is an attitude held only by a certain portion of society, moreso in older people. I work in the healthcare industry and women are treated very well, in many cases better than men because its female dominated.

      Reply

      • Ryanza

        March 24, 2015 at 16:33

        Healthcare as in nurses, clinic and house care workers. Those people work real work and I couldn’t remember when the last strike was but they are underpaid and can get a lot of shit from the doctors. Always first to be blamed.

        Female dominated and underpaid. That’s part of the problem, women getting paid less than man dominated industries.

        Reply

        • Chaduke

          March 24, 2015 at 18:39

          What I’m telling you is that I know for a fact it is not that way where I am, so the statistics you read are not always representing the norm. There is a specific agenda to portray it a certain way, and where data contradicts the goal of the agenda its often ignored. It pisses me off actually because I’m a male and in a lot of cases I get paid less than females in positions that require not even a fraction of the skill that I possess, but I’m wrong for pointing that out, or saying anything that contradicts the opinion that women are always getting the short end.

          Reply

          • Ryanza

            March 25, 2015 at 11:23

            I’m told that I know shit. And I’m going to say that I don’t know much about the healthcare sector.

            With the healthcare sector doesn’t length of worked time trump skill. So if you have been working for the company for a long time, you will get paid more than some1 who has worked less than you with more skill. So it depends on how long you have worked before you can negotiate.

            The whole healthcare sector is underfunded. Unless you work private. Do you work for private? Is private any better? But even with private, it’s about how long you have worked for the company, not skill per say. Because they will lock down skill for cheap and keep it that way for years.

            And don’t take my comments to seriously. This topic is way to serious for my liking.

          • Chaduke

            March 25, 2015 at 11:43

            I work in not for profit and as of lately yes its underfunded. In some cases the length of time does trump skill where you have people who honestly haven’t kept with the times, they don’t continually train on new tech and they still sit there useless collecting a nice salary, while calling you in to do their work for them. Negotiation for a higher salary usually involves a lot of political ass kissing or threatening to quit.

    • z1n

      March 24, 2015 at 13:40

      TL;DR: women come with DRM. Don’t support DRM. Witcher coming soon

      Reply

      • Ryanza

        March 24, 2015 at 16:29

        Women can lock you down real fast. And lock you out.

        Reply

  8. Captain JJ the damned

    March 23, 2015 at 16:00

    We’re a generation of men raised by women.

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      March 23, 2015 at 16:02

      TV is a woman?

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        March 23, 2015 at 16:06

        Ever watched Baywatch in slow mo?

        Reply

        • Blood Emperor Trevor

          March 23, 2015 at 16:07

          I did once, it had an unrealistic physics simulation. :/

          Reply

        • Captain JJ the damned

          March 23, 2015 at 16:07

          Ever watched it at normal speed? That’s the real question. I thought it only played off in slo-mo

          Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      March 23, 2015 at 16:05

      XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD
      I’m wondering if another women is really the answer.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the damned

        March 23, 2015 at 16:06

        So much win dude. I can always rely on you to pick these up. 😀

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          March 23, 2015 at 16:08

          I can probably recite the whole movie by now.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the damned

            March 23, 2015 at 16:08

            Me too. 🙂

          • Hammersteyn

            March 23, 2015 at 16:09

            Best movie ever. They’ll play it at my funeral. Then the exexcutor will order a fight club in church

          • Captain JJ the damned

            March 23, 2015 at 16:11

            If I’m still here by then I will attend and join in. I don’t want to die without any scars.

          • Hammersteyn

            March 23, 2015 at 16:15

            Now hit me before I lose my nerve!
            *Wouldn’t mind a fightclub, even if they beat the shout out of me

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            March 23, 2015 at 16:16

            I thought you broke your nose. *innocent look*

          • Captain JJ the damned

            March 23, 2015 at 16:16

            You’re on a roll today.

    • Deceased

      March 24, 2015 at 11:16

      I know this, because Tyler knows this

      Reply

  9. Frik van der Hewerskink

    March 23, 2015 at 16:12

    Should they also encourage girls to enter the DDD fields?

    Reply

  10. Ryanza

    March 23, 2015 at 16:36

  11. Brady miaau

    March 23, 2015 at 17:03

    Some years back I did a job with a certain state owned institution . A woman was the lead from their side, the Project Manager. Fine with me, that would never bother me.

    Some of the people from that state owned place grumbled a bit, not overtly but it was there, about the woman in charge.I ignored it. Over time, it became clear she was very much out of her depth. totally so. I think on some level she knew it, but did not want to show it. She became increasingly bombastic. The whole project failed a sad death.

    I learnt later on, from speaking to someone else involved as a contractor, like me, that she was a strongly skilled technical person, but not a developer and that she was promoted to satisfy BEE rules. I felt very sorry for that woman. She was used and put in a very, very difficult position. I am sure she was very competent in her field, but what they did to her was not fair. Imagine being told to lead a team of software devs, outside contractors, and so forth when your previous exp did not gently show you those ropes at all.

    Reply

  12. dawith

    March 23, 2015 at 19:37

    AG political correctness crap again. It should not be in games. Or in game websites. A woman crying about inequality on a gaming website is just plain SAD and Boring.

    Reply

  13. CAE9872

    March 24, 2015 at 10:07

    I would have thought the answer to that articles question would be an easy yes. Of course they would – sexism isn’t isolated to USA or anywhere else only.

    And I imagine the extent is pretty similar worldwide as well.

    The interesting part of the article is the management angle which is probably spot on. Unfortunately.

    Reply

  14. Michelle

    March 24, 2015 at 12:47

    I’m a programmer/developer, I love console gaming, anime and asian tv series/movies.

    I’m really good-looking(so I’ve been told…everyday), I work at an IT organization where surprisingly there are more females here than males, and they are in management positions, they really know how to code.

    There is respect for the opposite gender and everyone gets a long quite well.

    I’ve been sent on personal-development courses and will be sent on Oracle courses later, even though I’ve only been here 4 months. It’s quite awesome, we have regular company functions and team building events.

    I’m very thankful to have my first job here, not everyone in other organizations can say the same.

    Reply

    • Brady miaau

      March 24, 2015 at 13:33

      glad to hear that. company culture makes a big difference

      Reply

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