The Programming Women’s Dress Code

http://dustyreagan.com/the-programming-womens-dress-code/

by dustyreagan • 16 years ago

69 23 16 years ago

jafl5272• 16 years ago

> So, what have we learned about the woman programmer’s dress code? Unlike the men’s dress code, beards are not in fashion

Thank goodness!

sliverstorm• 16 years ago

"But, with the exception of a rare few, it seems that neither male nor female programmers give a rat’s ass about fashion"

Yup. In the end, nobody can tell whether or not you were wearing a pinstripe suit when they examine your most recent commit.

bmelton• 16 years ago

I always make sure to leave little details like that in my comments. ;-)

astine• 16 years ago

//Feb 08, 2010 - Rewrote the XML parser to use a proper SAX API - Suit.

//Feb 9, 2010 - Refactored the lexer code - T-shirt and jeans.

//Feb 12, 2010 - Rewrote much of module b to remove extra loops to make it more efficient , added security features to the web front-end, solved the halting problem - Naked

gojomo• 16 years ago

Wow, Steve Jobs even stole the black turtleneck look from Adele Goldberg!

benbeltran• 16 years ago

Exactly my thoughts! ... Not happy with getting the ideas from xerox, he also got the looks to sell them.

whyenot• 16 years ago

Well, stole might be too strong a word. Erm, I guess you could say he xerox'd her look.

mkramlich• 16 years ago

I see what you did there.

ladyada• 16 years ago

Shafi is a mathematician/computer scientist, and Jepsen and Ellsworth are not programmers - they are engineers!

Go engineers! Our wrists hurt less!

pbhjpbhj• 16 years ago

Jeri Ellsworth also appears to wear reasonably fashionable garb - http://www.downloads.reactivemicro.com/Public/Users/Henry_Co... looks almost high-fashion (couture) and http://www.techlifemashup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/jer... doesn't look unfashionable.

alnayyir• 16 years ago

I don't think the distinction between engineer and programmer is incredibly meaningful unless we're discussing

1. People with professional qualifications (I mean licensed engineers, ie Canada/UK)

2. You're comparing 'engineers' against blub Java coders

(In which case I'd agree, they're not engineers)

eru• 16 years ago

I actually dislike the job-title engineer. Programmer would be fine.

But that's because I come from a country where that word has a meaning.

Legion• 16 years ago

Between this article and the men's one, Ada Lovelace definitely wins the best dressed contest.

astrec• 16 years ago

Indeed.

As a point of interest Ada Lovelace was Byron's only legitimate child, but he is known to be father of one other, and presumed (with varying degrees of certainty) father of two more.

johnroescher• 16 years ago

Great post!

arithmetic• 16 years ago

>But, with the exception of a rare few, it seems that neither male nor female programmers give a rat’s ass about fashion.

Being what this post would refer to as a "programming woman", I can attest to this. And I think this is one of the primary reasons I (and other women I know in the computer industry) got drawn into computers - no one cares what you look like or where you're from. Heck, most people in your industry might not even see you physically. You don't have to dress up (if you do, that's totally fine). That's just crazy cool for an introverted nerd.

aohtsab• 16 years ago

>But, with the exception of a rare few, it seems that neither male nor female programmers give a rat’s ass about fashion.

Fantastic. My sister got on my case about not dressing up or, as she called it, 'showing off my body'. You're only young once, she said.

Which, I said, is why I don't want to waste my time thinking about clothes when I'd rather program. Sure, I occasionally like dressing up, but I really could care less about whether my outfits are new and original each day.

Also, nothing is more insulting than going to a programming meeting, throwing in my 2 cents, and having a guy come up to me afterwards only to comment on my earrings.

ryanjmo• 16 years ago

Shafi, is my Dissertation Advisor's Advisor. That makes her my Grand Advisor or something like that in Academic terms.

I like this quote "I can’t even begin to understand what this means in English, but it sounds impressive doesn’t it?", this is pretty much what I get whenever I try to explain to people what my PhD is in... ha.

Dove• 16 years ago

> Fine Victorian era gowns are in

Sweet. I've always wanted an excuse to wear one.

mahmud• 16 years ago

Grace Hopper is famous for something other than programming. I can't remember where, but I have seen her being quoted in a political article about strategy. I wish I had jotted it down.

Any military/polysci types able to shed some light on this?

thwarted• 16 years ago

Do you see it here? I don't see anything about strategy specifically. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper

javajones• 16 years ago

My office had the usual dress causal atmosphere until one day our new manager decided to make his mark by having dress up Wednesdays. So I decided to wear a formal complete with gloves(glad to know Ada did it too). I was the belle of the ball. I no longer work there but the guys have continued the tradition in my honor and dress in tales and top hats. :)

The Programming Women’s Dress Code

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