Why Don’t Women Understand Technology?

Searching for answers to these questions with women who produce, develop, explain technology and adapt it to the future in different fields of the technology sector. I spoke. The answers I got took me on a journey in time. It has been a long and grueling journey from the past to the present, but what I have achieved in the end is too certain to leave any question mark.

It has been said for years why women do not understand technology, what are the main reasons why this ‘knowledge’ takes root in society, Do women really not understand technology? Let’s take a closer look at the answers I got from the women I asked the question…

The women waiting for prey and babysitting in the cave are no longer in the cave;

• Elif Çetin’s reaction to the question “Why don’t women understand technology?” 🙂

Elif Çetin is one of the women with whom I sought an answer to this question. Developing technology and science-oriented strategies by understanding and explaining how the future will be shaped; Ms. Elif, who offers professional views on the effects of companies and individuals on the lives of all of us, took me to the first stop of our journey in time with her answers. We can say that the reaction She gives when she hears the question is the summary of everything she said… I have summarized what he told me below for you;

Thousands of years ago, when people lived in hunter-gatherer societies, women’s duties were clear; waiting for men out hunting, looking after babies; “to be a co-creator and a facilitator”.

We still see the traces of this point of view today. Social roles attributed to genders It is so ingrained in our culture that there is still a perception of the world where women are at home and men are outside. We have not been able to internalize the fact that both sexes can own both tasks, regardless of gender.

In this case, while women focus on the tasks that social roles impose on them, their participation in the business world is declining. By the time they come to the tech sector, women are already segregated.

When we come to the technology sector, a workspace that does not ‘sleep’, works hard and has no day and night comes to mind at first glance; Let’s think about Elon Musk’s Twitter and the employees who sleep in the office… This kind of busy working life is popular in societies. ‘not suitable for women’. Instead of choosing such a tempo, Ms. Elif said to women, “Become a teacher, be a civil servant, be a banker or something; He says that there are directions such as “let the time be clear”…

However, despite all this, women are present in all areas where technology is produced and developed, as in every field. The data that Ms. Elif shared with me, The rate of women in the technology sector is 26% worldwide. is showing.

As Ms. Elif emphasized, the main problem in the way societies define technology lies. We forget that both the fire and the dishwasher are technology. Although the concept of ‘technology’ has come to represent a single focal point after the introduction of information technologies into our lives, technology actually dominates every aspect of our lives, and we see that women’s presence is quite strong in every field from engineering to technology narrator.

Again, according to Ms. Elif ‘The future will change dramatically’. And what awaits us in the future by getting rid of the titles like men and women; we should focus on what we should do and produce together. Instead of looking at this situation as ‘women do not understand technology’; We should be able to evaluate it in terms of people and technology. Because saying that women do not understand technology means rejecting science, R&D activities and innovation. Because women exist in all these areas, they continue to produce and develop.

Another topic shared by Ms. Elif, which was also stimulating for me, was on the transformation of perception into culture. To summarize, if If we keep saying ‘women don’t understand technology’this expression, which is a meaningless perception for now, will turn into a kind of ‘culture’ and it is much more difficult to manage and transform the perceptions that turn into culture…

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report study It takes 132 years to bridge the gap between men and women. But we do not have such time. Ms. Elif, the concept of gender in the future will be very different from today; He draws attention to the fact that the professions of the future will not have a male-female distinction and adds; What we need to worry about will come!

In this process, taking critical steps in strategies and policies from countries to companies; taking real steps for gender equality, not ‘showy’ needs. R&D studies and academic development should be supported.

Lastly, Ms. Elif draws attention to the fact that the statement “women cannot advance enough in technology because they cannot find enough female role models” is far from reality. His suggestion is that we go outside the mold to get inspired and role models. By learning to look globally and staying true to our goals; our focus on the future without separating people or sectors, produce, learn and teach each other together our journey together…

The distance that has opened for centuries between women and technology is now closing;

• Senem Aksakal’s reaction to the question “Why don’t women understand technology?” 🙂

Another of the women I asked the question is Senem Aksakal. Ms. Senem is a passionate ‘gamer’ and at the same time, he continues to take part in different positions from QA specialist to game designer in different formations in the game industry.

As a woman who is in one of the sectors where technology is most intertwined, Ms. Senem heard the question “Why don’t women understand technology?” somewhat surprised.

Before moving on to the answer, he wants to correct the question; “Why is there a judgment that women do not understand technology? I guess it would be more accurate to say ”… Her answer continues the time travel that I started with the answers of Ms. Elif.

Talking about the impact of social roles imposed on genders, Ms. Senem draws attention to the interaction of ‘technology’ with life in the industrial revolution and its aftermath. In this process While women largely stay at home, men are more sociable and more involved with ‘technology’. As a result, there is an involuntary distance between women and technology. Technology is beginning to take shape as a development where men interact and women stay away.

However, it is clear that this is no longer the case in the 21st century. Because in the last century, women began to be involved in education and working life. This has been going on for centuries. Breaking the ‘women don’t understand’ & ‘I don’t understand’ cycle and enables women to reveal their talents in every field.

Although there is still time for the inequalities of opportunity, discrimination and impossibilities for women to disappear completely, Ms. Senem emphasizes that all steps are valuable, even if they are small.

Prejudices are another barrier that slows women’s advancement in technology. As a member of the gaming industry, Ms. Senem Although it says that it is an equal sector regardless of gender, He also points out that there are some problems.

At a table where men and women from the gaming industry sit together, the answers to a question about who is doing what are generally answered. The technical side points to men, and the answers to design and aesthetics point to women. says for example. This is a simple example of prejudice in the industry…

However, despite everything, the support given by women to each other in the gaming industry is also remarkable. In some cases, for women positive discrimination We also see that; Our wish is to create a more equal system that will not require positive discrimination.

“Girls do this, boys do this” coding has haunted us since childhood;

• Merve Arslan’s response to the question “Why don’t women understand technology?” 🙂

A more micro interpretation of time travel is that we answer the question together, another woman who has a presence in the gaming industry. It comes from Merve Arslan.

Ms. Merve explains and emphasizes how social and cultural codes permeate our lives, especially family and social environment. Starting with the parents ‘a girl can do this, she can’t do that’, We know that the rhetoric “boys can do this, they can’t do this” affects everyone’s life. This naturally affects the fields that women tend towards in the future. Correct guidance of families becomes critical.

Despite all these social codes, many women who are interested in technology cannot access technology. Because even at this point there is inequality of opportunity. Imagine an internet cafe or PlayStation cafe. Here are these social areas where boys can easily enter and connect with ‘technology’ even in those years when access to the internet, computers or consoles was not that easy. ‘not suitable for girls’‘ the grounds would be filled to the brim with men…

This situation, which we can easily explain with such simple examples, can even be said to be at a good point if we look at the point we have reached. Because every day, we see women who are struggling against everything and who have made a place for themselves in different sectors, such as giant technology companies. A woman who could not enter the internet cafe 15 years ago because it was a ‘man’s job’, today he can work on artificial intelligence… He will always continue to do more, we know…

If women didn’t understand technology, you wouldn’t be reading this article right now!

• Simay Dinç’s reaction to the question “Why don’t women understand technology?” 🙂

When I asked the question “Why don’t women understand technology?” Simay immediately started the conversation by mentioning Hedy Lamarr and added by looking at me from the screen; ”If women didn’t understand technology, we wouldn’t be able to have this conversation right now. Someone couldn’t play games on the same screen with their friends thousands of kilometers away.”.

Besides being a beautiful and successful actress who made her name in history, Lamarr is also an inventor. One of the most important inventions today It formed the basis of many technological standards and developments, from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth. A great example to show that even at the very beginning of the road, women are a part of technology despite all the impossibilities and obstacles!

Simay Hanım is the founder of Women in Games Turkey and also a game producer. After his first answer to the question, he gives a very clear message; Women understand technology. What we need to do is focus on the results rather than examining the reasons for this ignorant point of view that they ‘don’t understand’. In short, to respond by producing and showing presence…

Producing women are everywhere, in every sector. In the gaming industry, their numbers are increasing rapidly every year. Ms. Simay emphasizes that women have a hard time feeling like they belong to the game industry because their representation is low, because they think they are not understood.

But with the number of games with a female main character, meaningless prejudices that cannot put women and technology side by side The number and representation of women in the world of technology and gaming is increasing rapidly.

Another critical point is that parents can gain awareness about technology and the world of games and make the right directions, proper education and awareness of the young population; the creation of gender-neutral productive denominators through solidarity.

Ms. Simay says that in male-dominated sectors, especially for young women, it can be difficult to know ‘where to start’; however, he mentions that there are many organizations working to pave the way for women on this path. Women in Games Turkey is one of these organizations. and guides many women.

As a result of all this, the message given at the end is again very clear; creating a common denominator as a whole, not as a woman or a man develop and grow together; focus on benefit and develop…