Female Readership: Why It's So Low, and How Can We Change That?
by Derek Wilson on September 2, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Dell
You know what? We are severely lacking in female perspective here at AnandTech.
Yes we do have some female readers. But we don't have as many as we would like, and no we do not believe the stuff we talk about here is inherently gender biased. While we do provide information that we believe is as accurate and informative as we can, perhaps there is a reason we don't have as many women who are regulars here.
Women are a big part of computing from the ground up. And we aren't just talking about today: look all the way back to the beginning of computational logic and the invention of the transistor and you will find women integral in evolution of all the technology we talk about here. There is no fundamental reason women shouldn't be interested in our articles as both women and men are interested in: getting the most value out of their purchases, living a full and fulfilled life by taking advantage of technology, and understanding why they should care about technology and the issues surrounding it in today's world.
So why is it that our readership is so hugely male?
I utterly reject the idea that women can't understand the material we cover. I happen to know women who are much more intelligent than myself and could either design hardware or code circles around me. While my pride and ego could still probably use a little adjustment, I'm not so diluted as to believe that gender, race or any other broad genetic stoke makes it so that people just can't understand technology or computing.
Again, if it isn't a question of applicability or capability, then why don't more women read our articles?
I think there are a few factors at work: our reliance on a broad knowledge base as a prerequisite to understanding our articles, societal pressures and preconditioning, and the presentation of the material.
Despite the fact that there is no inherent difference that makes women less able to know the math and science behind the hardware we talk about, it is a fact that fewer women currently have the background required to gain any useful information from some of our more technical articles. I'm going to go ahead and point a finger at our failing effort at education in this country and put a good amount of burden there. Partly because I think it's absolutely true and partly because I'm human and tend toward shifting some of the blame away from myself where possible :-)
While we do try to use analogies, metaphors and other tools to relate complicated subject matter in an understandable way, we just can't go back to the beginning for every article and explain everything from the ground up. That would make every article like 2000% longer and would be incredibly boring to our core audience of people who already know many of the basics.
I am looking into trying to write a series of introductions to topics like 3D graphics, CPU architecture, etc. so that we have references we can point people back to and to provide more people with easy access to the information that will help keep their eyes from glazing over when they read our latest GPU architecture article. I'm not sure how much interest there is in this right now, so let me know if you think this is a good or bad idea. It takes a lot of work to put together primers like this, especially if I want to do them well and in as accessible a manner as possible.
Beyond education, we have to look at our culture and society. I'm not a big fan of group identity in any form, but whether we like it or not our culture does play a role in who we are. I'd say that culture has a much larger impact than many genetic properties because it is our society that takes these properties and starts turning them into things they are not.
That doesn't mean that we aren't different and that genetics don't play a role in how we think, how we behave, and who we are. Genetics and environment both have parts to play, but misunderstanding things and then amplifying those misunderstandings causes huge problems.
Some of the reason more women may not be involved in our field is cultural. Like it or not, some places in our country still push men and women in to different roles regardless of the individual's talents and desires. But it goes beyond that. It is a self feeding cycle. Fewer women than men are in technology, and because of this fewer women than might other wise try aren't interested in exploring the field.
Additionally, when we combine this issue with education, it gets even worse. While there is no difference in the potential mental capability of men and women, genetics does seem to play a role in the way people best learn things (even if we don't completely understand that role). Our educational system does not do a good job at all of offering different teaching styles to people who learn in different ways. For whatever reason, math and sciences tend to be taught in ways that are more accessible to men than women. When this causes women to perform less well in general or be less interested in pursuing certain subjects, it tends to be taken out of context in our culture to mean that women aren't as able as men in this area. Which is ridiculous.
It all comes down to our last point: presentation. We need to do a better job of reaching women by refining our approach to presenting the material. Just like in schools, we need to recognize that our audience should not be people who already sort of get what we are talking about but everyone who could potentially want to understand the point of what we are saying. We need to start exploring alternate structures for our articles and alternate types of tests and demonstrations to show the things that we already know both men and women want.
We need to do a better job of showing where the value is in technology and not just that something is a better value than something else, but whether that increase in value is worth the money. We must demonstrate the impact technology can have on people of all interests (rather than just a highly framerate sensitive gamer audience). We have got to help everyone understand why they should care about technology and all the societal and political issues that surround it, because cultivating a desire for knowledge by showing a personal impact is a huge part of what motivates people to learn more about any given subject.
That last bit is key: we need to reach out and show people how much better their lives can be when computers and technology are properly used in order to get them interested in better understanding the current and future capabilities of hardware and technology.
Luckily this is also a sort of differential equation: the more people we get interested in technology, the more people will want to understand it. The more people understand technology, the more they'll be able to gain from reading our articles. And this will hopefully be good for everyone.
But ... I'm not a woman, and we don't have any on staff. Of course, we all know women. We need to start reaching out more and trying to figure out what they want to know about and how we can relate technology and hardware architecture back to that. How do they desire technology to impact their lives. How do we integrate that into what we write about at AnandTech.
So we've identified a problem. Sometimes this is the hardest part (and some times it is not). We know that we need to reach out in different ways to present our articles as relevant not only to women, but to all people with varied interest. But we need to know how.
And we would love your feedback. We need input. We need input from everyone, not just women (though I would love to see a lot of women respond). While it is easy to see the statistics with women, we really want to reach everyone. We need to show everyone why computers and technology are more important than just as ego boosters for people who build the biggest baddest and fastest machine.
The current state and the future of technology will have a huge impact on every life on this planet. The lifestyle and activities the hardware we write about enable are universally engaging. Getting people excited about that and making the science behind the technology interesting and accessible to everyone is where we want to go.
And the best place to go for understanding is to the source. Let us know what helps you learn. Should we add more visuals, audio or other media? Do we need to approach things in ways that aren't just top-down? What kinds of analogies and metaphors really help understanding? What does interest you about technology? What needs to be made easier in your life?
Answers to these questions will go a long way to helping us address the issues we know we have in reaching out to people who could and would be interested in computer hardware but haven't yet had the interest or the tools to start learning about it. We're listening, let us know what you think.
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gloriaw - Saturday, September 6, 2008 - link
Comments like this are so frequent in discussions of this nature that it proves my point effortlessly. All women, and even many men I know, find this drivel a waste of time and energy. Men tend to overlook it easier. Women tend to go somewhere else to avoid it.~G~
v12v12 - Sunday, September 7, 2008 - link
Just whom are you referring to, may I ask?gloriaw - Saturday, September 6, 2008 - link
I think it's great that you're even asking such a question. You must be overwhelmed by the range of responses from profoundly asinine to truly insightful, because of the tremendous draw this subject causes.I have seen and experienced it all, from being welcome as a rare novelty to passive-aggressive rejection, and outright hostility. We really need to change the preconceived notion of a geek stereotype. Maybe with time, and as more geek women become more vocal, this will fade.
If you want to draw more women to your site, I don't recommend changing your content. You have a certain readership because of your content, and I think you need to be true to the people you already draw.
The big factor which makes a site more female-geek friendly is to remove the "asshole factor". Delete crappy, shallow-minded comments. Moderate your site away from discussion which is not related to the material, and keep it asshole-free.
This comment alone will cause both great and shitty responses, I am certain. Women don't want to spend the time or energy wading through idiocy. We face enough idiots on a daily basis, everywhere we go, believe me. We want useful facts, good examples, and no reflection of ego in the work or related comments that follow.
Hope this helps.
~G~
kyriel - Sunday, September 7, 2008 - link
I'm a woman who has been involved in tech as a career since 1990 and most definitely qualify as a geek. I also have seen the whole range of reactions. From being unusually popular at cisco and gaming conventions (a girl who games?? COOL!! Marry me now!!) to having users flatly refuse to allow me to touch their PC because no girl could possibly know how to fix a computer. It used to be very annoying. Now I mostly shrug it off. The asshole factor on tech sites is a definite factor for me. While I don't necessarily agree with censoring posts finding a way to reduce the number those asshole type posts would mean retaining me as a reader/participant in a discussion for a longer period of time. I think most technical oriented women tend to be very interested in exchange of ideas. We want to understand all the viewpoints even if we don't agree with them. When we run into those asshole posts it pulls us out of that heady discussion zone back to the realities we have to face in our day to day world to participate in our chosen profession. That's a definite turn off. A place where that abrupt separation occurs on a frequent basis will soon get dropped from the read list.I would recommend that you pick up a female writer. Not because I think you should have a female on staff but because I think the experience of reading tech written by a woman and seeing the ways in which your readership react to that would help you find the answers you seek. You wouldn't necessarily need to create a regular position for this. As a suggestion why don't you invite some freelance submissions from women. Alternatively you could come up with a couple of different article ideas and hold a contest for women. Reading a bunch of submissions from women on the same topic would you give you a range of women's reactions to study and learn from.
I think the introductory articles are a good idea. Unfortunately they go out of date so quickly it takes a lot of work to maintain a good introductory section. A wiki with an approved group of maintainers might work better. The gloassary mentioned by one of the others is an excellent idea and also easier to maintain.
The one thing I don't think you should do is change the focus of your site or "soften" the tech articles for easier reading. You built your reputation on being a review site for geeks. It's why your readers are here. If you change that you will probably lose more readers than you gain. In fact, I have noticed a general decrease in quality tech articles here as well as some of the other geeky hardware review sites. I have no direct evidence of this but it seems like there is a longer gap between product releases and quality reviews than there used to be. This may be the fault of manufacturers being slower to get out review samples rather than a reflection on the tech sites and their writers. It also seems like their are more articles coming out that aren't really complete. Once again this is a trend across all tech sites. If anything Anandtech is a little better about that than most.
Hope this gives you some food for thought.
v12v12 - Saturday, September 6, 2008 - link
Ah yes... the stereotypical (a-typical) anti-male rhetoric these days that nearly all loud-mouthed "fems" banter and blather about: The men of "today" are presented as dullards, the goofy-loveable-nitwit, a "whatever you say dear" pussy etc. While women are presented as: always-right, in control, wearing-the-pants in the TV-sitcom household etc.Come on, please... for every negative vice that women can drum up about men, they themselves have the same or equally comparable negative connotations associated with their gender. I'm sick of these posts, painting *all* men as assholes, egoist, bullies etc... sorry honey but WOMEN are just as mean (if you have any experience as true "adult" you'd know this socially accepted fact of life), greedy, materialistic (much more so than men), conniving, heartless... blah blah. The whole notion of "if women were in charge," is bullocks, rubbish and pure bias drivel. If women were in charge they'd be just as cruel and heartless as their male counterparts. It's already been demonstrated in countless psychological studies. You want links? Google the shit for yourself, but please get off your nonsensical "women are better" tantrum.
This isn't some anti-female rant, shit my mom, her best friends (females), are true shining examples of adult women that can hold a serious job position, run a household, love their husbands and while raising children Vs most of you fake-fems out there shopping till you drop, reading endless gossip magazines, sport fucking the next hot guy in the city... Oh and the ever increasing divorce rates. For a man to get a divorce, he's marked, but for a woman it's "liberating," nonsense again. WOMEN are the reason the divorce rates in this nation are over +50% b/c they are the extreme predominant filers. What ever happened to "through better or worse," oh I guess that's cliche now that women are nearly "equal" and so forth. Lets face it, women don't need anymore this or that, they have everything they want: equal rights, respect in their fields (if you are a top performer), pay (that whole $.76/$1 is bullshit, women choose lower paying fields and have been proven to NOT put up much of a fight when it comes to salary negotiations - google it)... they only main reason men don't "like" and or want women infiltrating every enclave of "our" hobbies is b/c women have that 1 HUGE advantage over men, which they use oh so cunningly well: Women control SEX and SEX controls men innately.
When a girl shows up men start changing their tone; some carry on as if she's just another dude, and most start pandering to her for attention b/c it's what we're programmed to do. There's always going to be a problem when the all boys club becomes, shall I say, "infected" by the presence of a female. If you'll notice, all the negative talk in reference to men's hobbies and fields of choice are done strictly by women. Men - WE DON'T CARE about all the ego and blah blah, that's how WE are and how we interact with one another. Most women don't understand this, and thus paint a portrait of purely hostility. Men and women are different, and those differences are what make us unique and interesting. I'm tired of hearing about how men's behavior is something negatively connoted, while women's behavior is supposedly non-offensive, communal, accepting, warm and friendly... That is HARDLY the case, women are just as, if not MORE competitive with one another than men are, but since it's more subtle and less understood by men and hell, women themselves, they are painted as "harmless," and positive. 100% BULLOCKS! Women aren't bad, and should not be treated as such, but have you ever noticed that the stereotypical fem screaming about being excluded from all-male clubs/groups, yet let a man try and "invade" or infiltrate a women's group and all hell breaks loose. Women are always trying to be a part of the boy's club, while men are quite the opposite... WHY is that? B/c most things that interest women - men simply have little, to no interest - aside from the few stereotypically held notions that such hobbies/activities like: cooking, arts and crafts (sewing, knitting etc.), shopping are *only* for women: Such a sad state of affairs in this society that men are painted to be unfaithful, bullying, clueless/witless dogs, while women are (or paint themselves as) angels just looking to be accepted. lmfao get out and get a life people and observe for yourselves: women behave just as negatively as men>.< Google the damn studies if you really have no common sense to know this...
The last thing AT needs is to be "Title-9'ing" themselves into "including" or pandering to so-called "women's interest." If women are interested in tech, let them come and read like everyone else. Tech is tech; it's neutrally based and therefore ANYONE with a brain and intelligence enough to SEARCH OUT and read about it, is welcomed at their own prerogative. There's no special men's-only disclaimer regarding tech... Forums are a diff matter, it's a man's territory, so you're either going to play the game as WE play, adapt and or DEAL with it and grow some thick skin. Geesh I'm sick of the faux double-standard. Pander to *READERS* not genders. The nerve of you Derek... stop the bias please. Good day all.
***And if any women or men find yourselves offended by this little rant, ask yourselves WHY – YOU - are, I'm certainly not.*** Good people are good people: men and women. Assholes/bitches are too: men and women.***
Choppedliver - Sunday, September 7, 2008 - link
I actually agreed with most of your points.Derek, you sound like a giant p*ssy. You also seem like you like to hear yourself talk because you have such a high opinion of yourself, that you want everyone else to also.
Cater to readers of technology, not genders.
Soon as this thread is done, Im done with AT, and Ive been reading every day since oh, 1999 I think, maybe 2000. Can't recall exactly.
0roo0roo - Saturday, September 6, 2008 - link
the funny thing is when people try to have it both ways. first they say the sexes are equal in every way. but they are oddly quick to take credit for things their sex is superior at, you see this when things like superior "multitasking" by women are cited.Pixy - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
They are probably reading from Tomshardware, they have some pretty good articles there.0roo0roo - Saturday, September 6, 2008 - link
i wouldn't say that, toms got a bad habit of splitting articles into a thousand pages. i find it so tiresome i rarely bother reading an article on that site anymore, too much trouble. they drove me away.moiaujapon - Friday, September 5, 2008 - link
Hey mate - glad to know you're not too diluted, even if perhaps you remain a bit deluded. ;) (yep - slow day here)