ubuntu is my boyfriend.

[boredom_amused]

Before browsing this forum I had no idea that women made up such a small percentage of users and of those who do, most seem to be using it because of their partner. Is this a reflection of the larger trend of males dominating the computer world? Is this why it is so difficult to find funny science/tech-y shirts that will actually fit me and not look like a smock?

I came into Ubuntu as pretty much a total outsider and newbie. I set it all up and got everything working, no dual boot or anything I just took that leap of faith and have it on my desktop and laptop. Any problems I figured out with help from the forums and I'm proud of that. So why do I still feel uneasy that I'm suddenly in the minority? apparently a really tiny one?

[IYY]

You shouldn't feel uneasy but rather proud, but the lack of female GNU/Linux users is indeed a problem. It's not just Ubuntu, but all distros that suffer from this trend. The problem is the same in computer science and engineering departments at most universities, espeically in North America.

It's interesting how once, a long time ago, computer science was the field with the highest female:male ratio in universities. Nowdays, it's probably the smallest.

I guess the problem could come from the fact that women seem to dislike fields that have to do with anything technical: cars, engineering, computers... I don't know why they do this, because women are just as capable as men in those fields, but that's the way things are. It's possible that society is to blame: boys are given toy cars, robots and legos whereas girls are given barbies and pink ponies.

[Henry Rayker]

I don't think it stops at what kinds of toys boys and girls play with as children; I think society's perception of females who are interested in mechanics, computers and the like are partly to blame as well.

My girlfriend is an engineering major and when she tells people that, they act kind of shocked or surprised; I think some women feel uncomfortable with this kind of attention. It seems like girls hate being singled out or to be told they are in the "weird" minority..

[boredom_amused]

I know I shouldn't feel uneasy, but it's kind of disturbing to think that less than 5% of users are women when I'm sure computer users in general are way more representative of populations.
Would you say then that Linux's perceived technicality is the main deterent? and if so, why are men way more willing to overcome this challenge? I don't think it's so simple that women dislike technical fields per se. There's something else, and I don't what it is.

[matthew]

Before browsing this forum I had no idea that women made up such a small percentage of users and of those who do, most seem to be using it because of their partner. Is this a reflection of the larger trend of males dominating the computer world? Is this why it is so difficult to find funny science/tech-y shirts that will actually fit me and not look like a smock?

I came into Ubuntu as pretty much a total outsider and newbie. I set it all up and got everything working, no dual boot or anything I just took that leap of faith and have it on my desktop and laptop. Any problems I figured out with help from the forums and I'm proud of that. So why do I still feel uneasy that I'm suddenly in the minority? apparently a really tiny one?

I wish I knew. If you think of any ideas that might help you and other ladies feel as welcome as we truly wish for you to feel please let me/us know.

If nothing else, at least know I'm glad you're here.

[Henry Rayker]

I think it has to do with a lot of factors.

The prime deterrant for new users (of either gender) is likely to be the technological aspect of it.

As for what keeps women away, specifically: I'd say some of it is the fact that there are so few female users in the community. Some (I'd be willing to say most that I have come to know) women seem to feel uncomfortable going into an almost entirely male environment. So the problem is its own cause, to some effect.

Another thing I'd say is that, while computer users overall should be better distributed, I think the amount of women at higher levels of computer knowledge drop off. On average, the males I've known have been more knowledgeable about computers than the females.

One reason why males seem to overcome the challenge could be that men are more impulsive. I would say that, of my closer friends, I am the most computer literate, however, I've completely destroyed my system far more times than they have. It seems to be a sort of bathtub curve. The people who have crashed their system the least have the most "average" amount of knowledge. The ones below that level of understanding crash their computers more (due to viruses) and those above crash more (due to experimentation).

EDIT: I feel the same as matthew. If anything can make more women feel better about their presence here, let us know. I'm glad that at least some are able to overcome the fear and step into something new.

[boredom_amused]

I wish I knew. If you think of any ideas that might help you and other ladies feel as welcome as we truly wish for you to feel please let me/us know.

If nothing else, at least know I'm glad you're here.

The funny thing is, I do feel welcomed. Even the cheesy people in the promo material made me feel welcomed.

[matthew]

The funny thing is, I do feel welcomed. Even the cheesy people in the promo material made me feel welcomed.

That's encouraging as is your willingness to just jump in and try things. I think you have every right to be proud of yourself (and not because you're a woman, but because of the sense of accomplishment that comes from embracing and figuring out complex stuff). If you keep this up you might just find yourself loving it so much around here that you go from a brand-new neophyte user to an apprentice helping other newcomers with problems you have already learned to solve, and next thing you know you're staff or something...well, that's my story anyway.

[boredom_amused]

I think it has to do with a lot of factors.

The prime deterrant for new users (of either gender) is likely to be the technological aspect of it.

As for what keeps women away, specifically: I'd say some of it is the fact that there are so few female users in the community. Some (I'd be willing to say most that I have come to know) women seem to feel uncomfortable going into an almost entirely male environment. So the problem is its own cause, to some effect.

Another thing I'd say is that, while computer users overall should be better distributed, I think the amount of women at higher levels of computer knowledge drop off. On average, the males I've known have been more knowledgeable about computers than the females.

One reason why males seem to overcome the challenge could be that men are more impulsive. I would say that, of my closer friends, I am the most computer literate, however, I've completely destroyed my system far more times than they have. It seems to be a sort of bathtub curve. The people who have crashed their system the least have the most "average" amount of knowledge. The ones below that level of understanding crash their computers more (due to viruses) and those above crash more (due to experimentation).

EDIT: I feel the same as matthew. If anything can make more women feel better about their presence here, let us know. I'm glad that at least some are able to overcome the fear and step into something new.

hmmm... all of my male tech-savvy friends and relatives (save for my 12 year old cousin who thought it was really cool and was really excited by the stickers that came with the cds i ordered) discouraged me greatly from using linux.
Maybe the male-impulsiveness has something to do with it, but are men 95% more impulsive than women? I still feel like there's this black box that i'm really curious about. Maybe I'll be a super nerd and talk to a prof and make this a research project.

[boredom_amused]

That's encouraging as is your willingness to just jump in and try things. I think you have every right to be proud of yourself (and not because you're a woman, but because of the sense of accomplishment that comes from embracing and figuring out complex stuff). If you keep this up you might just find yourself loving it so much around here that you go from a brand-new neophyte user to an apprentice helping other newcomers with problems you have already learned to solve, and next thing you know you're staff or something...well, that's my story anyway.

hahahahaha we'll see, we'll see. thanks for the vote of support.