10 Words to Use When Talking about Sexism in Science and Technology

Drawn from "What Really Keeps Women Out of Tech," The New York Times, Oct. 10, 2015.

Want more vocabulary to describe sexist power structures in the workplace? Go to "10 Words to Describe Sexism in Hollywood."
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stereotype
    a conventional or formulaic conception or image
    The researchers also found that cultural stereotypes about computer scientists strongly influenced young women’s desire to take classes in the field.
  2. indoctrinate
    teach uncritically
    Given that many girls are indoctrinated to believe that they should be feminine and modest about their abilities, as well as brought up to assume that girls are not innately gifted at science or math, it is not surprising that so few can see themselves as successful computer scientists.
  3. ambient
    completely enveloping
    We need women and minorities to enjoy an ambient sense of belonging in those professions if the future they create is going to be one in which all of us feel at home.
  4. pinpoint
    the sharp point of a pin
    But these complaints won’t necessarily pinpoint the factors that keep women and minorities away from studying computer science in the first place.
  5. nebulous
    lacking definite form or limits
    Men sometimes scoff that if young women let such nebulous factors deter them from careers in physics or computer science, the women are exercising their own free choice, and if girls were tough enough, such exaggerated stereotypes and feelings of discomfort wouldn’t discourage them.
  6. barrage
    the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area
    Not to mention that the men who controlled access to the computer made me listen to a barrage of sexist teasing if I wanted to be given that day’s code to run my program.
  7. gender
    properties that distinguish organisms on the basis of sex
    10, 2015 TECHNOLOGY companies know they have a gender and diversity problem in their work force, and they are finally taking steps to try to fix it.
  8. deter
    turn away from as by fear or persuasion
    Men sometimes scoff that if young women let such nebulous factors deter them from careers in physics or computer science, the women are exercising their own free choice, and if girls were tough enough, such exaggerated stereotypes and feelings of discomfort wouldn’t discourage them.
  9. discomfort
    the state of being tense and feeling pain
    Men sometimes scoff that if young women let such nebulous factors deter them from careers in physics or computer science, the women are exercising their own free choice, and if girls were tough enough, such exaggerated stereotypes and feelings of discomfort wouldn’t discourage them.
  10. cultural
    relating to the shared knowledge and values of a society
    The researchers also found that cultural stereotypes about computer scientists strongly influenced young women’s desire to take classes in the field.
Created on Mon Nov 23 09:57:07 EST 2015 (updated Mon Nov 23 10:38:33 EST 2015)

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