[UbuntuWomen] what makes a company more attractive to techie women?

[Christina Eater]

I don't work in IT, but the biggest hurdle of regular employment for
me has been working around irregular and cripplingly painful
menstruation. I'm not sure how that would be handled in a
company--more paid sick days, more flexibility in using them, or even
unpaid sick days one can use without fear of termination. I've often
joked that my ideal job would have to include at least three
sick/vacation days a month.

-- 
Christina


On Tue, Mar 4, 2008 at 3:02 PM, Esther Schindler <esther at bitranch.com> wrote:
> I've been involved in a lot of discussions with IT women that address
>  this question, but usually from the periphery. That is, someone will
>  post a message about behavior (in, say, a job interview) that's a
>  turn-off, making the woman decide that this company is probably not a
>  good choice for woman who wants to get ahead, or to just enjoy her job.
>
>  But I've been thinking about this, particularly as I continue in the
>  series of articles I've been writing about Women in IT. (Which I hope
>  you _like_, and don't make me seem like a pest. I don't want to be a
>  pest.) I'm planning to write another article, this time with more
>  input from IT women (not just CIOs, though I expect I'll get some
>  input from them), looking for the attributes/behaviors that a smart
>  company can adopt to make itself more attractive to women.
>
>  I want to make this largely about POSITIVE things that companies can
>  do -- not just the painful anecdotes. Certainly, there will be value
>  in mentioning the turn-offs. But it'd be ideal if I could enumerate
>  "7 ways to make your company more attractive to IT women" -- the "DO
>  THIS" not just "DO NOTs."
>
>  For instance, one obvious attraction is flexible work options (which
>  obviously appeals to both genders, but certainly is a Plus for women
>  with small children).
>
>  Anyway -- I'm hereby collecting input. Ideally you can share your
>  name, company, and position with me, because I need those to use them
>  in the article. Private messages are fine, though I dare say there's
>  value to be had by making this a public discussion.
>
>  I'm hoping to collect information this week and next week (though I'm
>  about to disappear for a few days to the Microsoft MIX conference).
>  Then I'll compile and turn into an article that, I hope, may make
>  life just a little bit easier for techie women.
>
>  Esther Schindler
>  (in her devilish disguise as senior online editor, CIO.com)
>
>  --
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>  ubuntu-women at lists.ubuntu.com
>  https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-women
>