A talk to female software engineers about indecision , procrastination and rumination

1. Indecision Legacy
Stop thinking and Act

2. The Legacy

3. # genetic_code.rb
include ‘sex’
include ‘hormones’
include ‘gender_bias’
include ‘sexual_orientation’
include ‘physical_makeup’

4. # education.rb
include ‘school_culture’
include ‘peers’
include ‘teachers’
include ‘courses’
include ‘physical_environment’

5. # parents.rb
include ‘personality’
include ‘negotiation’
include ‘parenting_skills’
include ‘conflict_resolution’
include ‘love_expression’

6. # friends.rb
include ‘new_friend_approach’
include ‘peers_mean_to_us’
include ‘relationship_experience’

7. # national_culture.rb
include ‘religion’
include ‘government’
include ‘media’
include ‘sports’
include ‘history’
include ‘language’
include ‘gender_roles’

8. # local_culture.rb
include ‘physical_environment’
include ‘industry’
include ‘demographics’
include ‘construction’
include ‘entertainment’
include ‘media’
include ‘language’

9. # experience.rb
include ‘physical_environment’
include ‘industry’
include ‘demographics’
include ‘construction’
include ‘entertainment’
include ‘media’
include ‘language’

10. 39 filters or just 2

11. Key Indecisions

12. Men apply when they have just 60%, Women ?% of the requirements
“I want to apply for this job”

13. Men will ask, women traditional gender roles discourage
“I want an increase in pay”

14. We mostly conform to gender roles
“I want to ask that person out on a date”

15. Still conforming to gender roles
“I want to ask that person to have sex with me”

16. Anti-patterns

17. # infinte_loop.rb
loop do
puts "This will keep printing until you hit Ctrl + c”
n =+ 1
end

18. Unable to break circular argument
“Over Thinking”

19. # try_the_sauce.rb
describe Burger do
describe "#apply_sauce" do
context "with sauce" do
let(:burger) { Burger.new(sauce: true) }
before { burger.apply_sauce }
it "sets the sauce flag to true" do
burger.has_sauce_on_it?.should be_true
end
end
context "without sauce" do
let(:burger) { Burger.new(sauce: false) }
before { burger.apply_ sauce }
it "sets the sauce flag to false" do
burger.has_sauce_on_it?.should be_false
end
end
end
end

20. Parent implicitly teach
boys to pick themselves up -> no fear
girls be more careful -> fear
“Risk Management”
or
“Taking Risks”

21. # temp_failure.rb
begin
Speak.ask_question(“Why?”)
rescue Speak::TimeoutError
retry
end

22. Men see failure as temporary state
“Failure being a permanent state”

23. # stereotyping.rb
if sex == male
attitude = x
elsif sex == female
attitude = y
end

24. Some men and women are stupid, its cultural training
“Sexism”

25. # stereotyping.rb
case age
when < 16
attitude = a
when < 25
attitude = b
when < 45
attitude = c
when > 55
attitude = d
else
attitude = z
end

26. It’s our cognitive bias to label people and box them
“Agism”

27. # unique?.rb
ary.uniq{ |x| x. characteristics }

28. Society control you and your actions through social norms
“Not being unique”

29. Patterns

30. Back up your decision with research
“Prove your case”

31. When negotiating on behalf of others, women do better
“Make it not about you”

32. Practice your approach and key messages
“Talk through with a coach/mentor”

33. Use your intellect & heart
“Switch between your rational mind and
intuition”

34. Sometimes you start with the emotion, but be careful
“Identify your triggers”

35. Strategies for Learning from Failure, Harvard Business Review
“Learn from failure”

36. – “Irene Chang Britt, SVP Campbell Soup Company
“Not that I would have listened, but I wish I’d
known that it was okay to make mistakes earlier
in my career….We have to know that we’re
responsible for the results we create. We’re
victors, not victims. A mind-set of personal
responsibility is really important.’’

37. Every behavior that is wrong should be challenged,
not just for you but others
“What do you mean by that?”
“Do you really think that?”
“It doesn’t seem like you to say something like
that.”

38. You have needs and should be able to ask for them
“Respect and value yourself as something
unique”

39. Find a win-win. Work together with negotiating partner
“Negotiation is a conversation not a battle”

40. # exception_example.rb
begin
# perform some dangerous operation
# decision incoming
# load dependencies
# make decision with 100% certainty
rescue
# embrace imperfect information
# research decisions
# ‘pre-socialization’
end

41. Nobody has all the information to make the decision
“Stop thinking and act”

42. Do not let gender roles
limit you

43. • What is your goal and why is it your goal?
• Is this what you want or what society wants?
• Identify your triggers, what makes you uncomfortable?
or emotional? or out of control?
• Identify your coaches
• Practice, Practice
• How do you research your points
• How can you make it not about you?

44. • http://hbr.org/2011/04/strategies-for-learning-
from-failure
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-
progress/2014/06/28/six-ways-to-stop-
overanalyzing-become-more-
decisive/#4c8583b961c8