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Meg G
1,607 PointsSrsly, all the teachers are male?
So far have tried RoR, Python, JS, Android, Algorithms. Not a single female-presenting teacher.
9 Answers
Ryan Groom
18,674 PointsMeg G I've taken many courses with female teachers. I don't see the concern. All the teachers on TreeHouse are extremely well-educated. You're here to learn, it shouldn't matter who is presenting the content to you.
Reggie Williams
Treehouse TeacherRyan Groom This is a great opportunity to listen to the original poster. You did state quite clearly "I don't see the concern". Everyone has a different experience and should see themselves represented in the industry they would like to join. Lack of representation may not be something that affects you directly but by you being here I know you have an interest in learning and invite you to learn more about this topic. As Marie mentioned we'll continue to work on bringing in folx who represent the various intersections of different identities and creating a welcoming learning environment for all. Happy Learning!
chelseacheevers
13,786 PointsSo, as many people have brought up the apparent "equal ratio" of teachers, I did some research. I compared the amount of female to male presenting teachers on the treehouse roster, and then deducted the teachers with no active courses, and was left with 61 male presenting teachers, and 16 female presenting teachers, for an approximate 26% of the teachers being female, and far less being women of colour.
The facts are, this has been a white male-dominated industry for most of it's history, and it is only now making steps to open it's doors up to more of us, much to the benefit of the advancement of technology. I am saddened to see so many comments like yours that have stood to perpetuate the norms, but hopeful to see comments like Reggie, Marie, Karla, and others. Michelle Zholman has a course on gender and sexuality, maybe it would be good to consider so that you can be an effective colleague to your future female peers. https://teamtreehouse.com/michellezohlman
A R
12,834 PointsYeah, I think there's one on the JS track and the main PHP person is female-presenting. I also feel a little wary of asking for help on the forums because sometimes it feels like the responses are more about showing off how much THEY know and not so much about being a community of learners working together...hopefully our future jobs in the industry won't be like this.
Meg G
1,607 Points@A R, I hope you don't take Ryan's responses as the only responses possible. You don't have to explain anything, I'm sorry you're having this experience, and I certainly understand what you mean. I don't have a solution for this site, other than mentioning my problem to the helpdesk when I get the chance. For you, I would recommend checking out these www.writespeakcode.com , www.codenewbie.org communities. It took me twenty years to find them, and after all this time and experience in the industry, I still find them really good for me. They're very supportive and oriented towards complete newbie and oldskool expert alike.
Bob Swaney
13,010 Points@A R and @Meg G - There are many female teachers... I was curious and found the URL https://teamtreehouse.com/teachers ... it shows all of the teachers on TTH and there are plenty of female teachers. You could probably even reach out to a specific teacher and talk to them..
Paul Brubaker
14,290 PointsA R I am sorry to hear you feel wary of asking for help on the forums, no one should ever have to feel that way! Everyone benefits from being part of a community of learners working together. I'm a male math enthusiast and I hate to admit it but I have seen this sort of thing happen often in my math and physics classes. By far the best math teacher I've had was a woman, she had an incredible intuitive grasp of her subject and her ability to explain concepts at just the right level of complexity was unmatched. Us men have often been encouraged to show off and compete from an early age and it can be difficult to remember to turn that behavior off in situations where it is inappropriate or not helpful. I know I've been guilty of it before. I'll keep your comment in mind when making forum posts in the future.
jlampstack
23,932 PointsPerhaps for the topics you've been learning but I've had pretty much an equal ratio.
chelseacheevers
13,786 PointsSo, as many people have brought up the apparent "equal ratio" of teachers, I did some research. I compared the amount of female to male presenting teachers on the treehouse roster, and then deducted the teachers with no active courses, and was left with 61 male presenting teachers, and 16 female presenting teachers, for an approximate 26% of the teachers being female, and far less being women of colour.
The facts are, this has been a white male-dominated industry for most of it's history, and it is only now making steps to open it's doors up to more of us, much to the benefit of the advancement of technology. I am saddened to see so many comments like yours that have stood to perpetuate the norms, but hopeful to see comments like Reggie, Marie, Karla, and others. Michelle Zholman has a course on gender and sexuality, maybe it would be good to consider so that you can be an effective colleague to your future female peers. https://teamtreehouse.com/michellezohlman
Henry Blandon
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 21,521 PointsAccording with American Association of University Women only 26% of computer professionals are women, the number have been dropping for last two decades. Because supply and demand you will see more men than women in this field. Any suggestion that the number needs to be equal ratio, might not be possible. The AAUW have come up with 10 ways to recruit more women into the field. (https://ww3.aauw.org/2015/03/26/add-women-engineering-and-tech/)
Karla Pozzi
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 16,765 PointsI appreciate this comment and just wanna write a little note of support for AR and Meg! Hopefully having people like us go through programs like Treehouse can increase the diversity in tech and decrease the toxicity.
I think it's been proven how important representation is for learning, feeling a sense of inclusion and belonging, and choosing career paths, so it sucks that this comment thread questions why people would want to advocate for a wider range and diversity of instructors. The instructors are great, I don't think it's a knock on them, it's an overall desire for more diversity and representation. Which by the way is a known issue in tech that pretty much all companies are trying to improve, so I recommend that the men replying on this thread get a little more comfortable listening, learning, and showing support for women and other under-represented groups if they want to be successful, collaborative co-workers.
Bob Swaney
13,010 Pointshttps://teamtreehouse.com/teachers
You can see a bunch of female instructors..it just happens that the track you are taking doesn't have them..but the sample size of the classes and courses you are taking isn't a reflection of the industry as a whole or TTH as a whole.
chelseacheevers
13,786 PointsSo, as many people have brought up the apparent "equal ratio" of teachers, I did some research. I compared the amount of female to male presenting teachers on the treehouse roster, and then deducted the teachers with no active courses, and was left with 61 male presenting teachers, and 16 female presenting teachers, for an approximate 26% of the teachers being female, and far less being women of colour.
The facts are, this has been a white male-dominated industry for most of it's history, and it is only now making steps to open it's doors up to more of us, much to the benefit of the advancement of technology. I am saddened to see so many comments like yours that have stood to perpetuate the norms, but hopeful to see comments like Reggie, Marie, Karla, and others. Michelle Zholman has a course on gender and sexuality, maybe it would be good to consider so that you can be an effective colleague to your future female peers. https://teamtreehouse.com/michellezohlman
Mark Westerweel
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 22,378 PointsNot sure what's gender had to do with it, but try the OOP-programming with Amy. You get to learn about Object-Oriented Programming while making a cool game.
Besides that, there's Treasure with CSS and stuff.
Mark Mazur Lussenburg
25,338 PointsI'm not trying to impose ignorance here - I'm all for inclusiveness for everyone. There is however one thing to keep in mind. Some job opportunities are just dominated by gender for the sole reason that the general interest in that field is higher in one sex rather than all sexes.
Social work usually sees a higher ratio of female workers (nurses, caretakers etc.) where as tech sees a higher ratio of male workers. Even within tech, the frontend field is where we see most women.
I do agree though, that there should be more female role-models, because it can be and clearly is discouraging for some people, that they aren't represented.
That does in turn also mean that when you as an under-represented person starts up in this field, you actively become a part of the shift, and you set yourself up to become a future role-model! That thought might be intimidating but it should encourage you to fight on and do your best, because you're then part of something bigger :)
wildgoosestudent
11,274 PointsIt's really important for learners to be able to 'see' themselves in a field. It was already mentioned that this field has long been dominated by white-males so it is not surprising that it is hard to have a diverse group of dev-instructors when the pool is quite small to choose from.
In my opinion, the solution is simple. For each year you are a developer, try to encourage/mentor a new person from an under-represented background. This is our sector now and it's up to us to improve its diversity.
Unsubscribed User
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 24,339 PointsUnsubscribed User
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 24,339 PointsAppreciate everyone sharing their point of view here! We aim to continue bringing folx onto the Treehouse team that represent various intersections of identities including race, gender, sexuality, and more as you're on your learning journey. Thank you for your feedback - this is something we're always discussing and will share.