There’s a revolution hidden in plain sight happening right now: women are coming into their own as leaders. They are changing the game by employing their feminine skills–big picture thinking, empathy, inclusion, collaboration–to create a more cooperative world and work environment. They are in fact transforming the meaning of power, from power over to power
with and for others. They are transforming a society based on domination to one of collaboration, transforming a culture that reinforces and rewards linear way of thinking to one that appreciates the power of a holistic way of thinking.
A decade ago, my friend Jane Margolis asked herself why so few women worked in the field of computer science. The results of her research are in her book Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing (MIT Press). When asked about their interest in computer science, 44 percent of female students tied it to social issues, a holistic perspective that contextualized computing: they were interested in how they could apply their computing skills for social good. Only 9 percent of males described their interest in this way. Instead, the majority of male students offered a more linear response: they focused on coding and the computer as a machine. Many female computer students eventually experienced a crisis of confidence in their work, because the prevailing preference for linear thinking in the field of computer science undercut their wider view. When Carnegie Mellon included more holistic criteria their admission process to computer science, the number of women in the program increased from 7 percent in 1995 to 40 percent in 2006.
Can we shift the reward system to emphasize the more holistic perspective needed to grasp our interconnected, global world? Not only can we, but we must. Our world has grown too complex to be limited to linear thinking solutions. It demands a more holistic perspective, and women can lead the way.
I call these women Iron Butterflies because they have a will of iron and the touch of a butterfly. They are paradoxical: bothstrong and vulnerable, orderly and flexible, determined yet inclusive. They are midwifing a new era of collaboration and cooperation. They are realizing the power of those often marginalize “soft skills,” such as relational intelligence, holistic perspective, and inclusion.
If you are one of these women who loves technology, sees the big picture and feels a social responsibility to use technology for the greater good, embrace it. You are changing the game, you are a leader, you are part of a larger transformation happening, part of this revolution hidden in plain sight.
By providing opportunities for like-minded women to work together and support each other, Girls in Tech is part of this revolution of women realizing their collective power and make a difference by guiding the direction of technology and its use. As poet Matthew Arnold said in the 1800s, “If ever the world sees a time when women shall come together purely for the good of humanity, it will be a power such as the world has never seen.”
Now is our time and you are the women.
Guest blog entry written by: Dr Birute Regine, author of Iron Butterflies: Women transforming themselves and the world www.ironbutterflies.com FB @ironbutterflies twitter ironbutterflies
