This lecture was appealing to me for many reasons. Firstly, she graduated in my major. I admit I was interested in hearing her story. Secondly, the lecture interested me because she is a powerful women in a heavily male dominated industry.
The lecture was interesting for many reasons. One part that amazed me was when she compared graphics from Halo 2 to Halo 2: Anniversary. She explained how motion capture has made an awesome difference in the way graphics can be achieved, and how better graphics enhances storytelling. She also explained how user generated content and empowering the player has become an essential part of Halo.
However, the most important part to me was when she explained her challenges of being a women in the field. She had some statistics about women as well. 43% of people that play video games are female. Only 18% of women go into Computer Science or Information Science. This is actually down from 35% in 1985.
Also, technology is a great background to have. By 2018, the U.S. will have 1.4 million new jobs in the tech field, and only 61% of those jobs will be filled.
Ross laid out three obstacles that can get in the way of women pursing technology degrees. These three obstacles are:
- Lack of Support
- Lack of Exposure
- Lack of Understanding
She explained how these obstacles played a part in her life. She didn't have a problem with lack of exposure. She started off as a Engineering major, and had full support of her father who was also an engineer. She soon found it hard in a male dominated major to find people to study with, except for the one other girl student that she knew. That is where lack of support came in. Lack of understanding followed when she couldn't figure out what to do with an engineering major, so she switched to Technical Communication. She stared off with an internship at IBM, and worked her way to where she is today. She also discussed how hard it was beginning at Microsoft as a women, but how he liking of sports helped her bond with her male coworkers.
I felt elated after hearing her talk, mostly for selfish reasons. I often feel behind in my major. I didn't have a computer until I was 14, so the technical parts of my major often make me feel very intimidated. However, after hearing her talk I feel more confident than ever.
I felt elated after hearing her talk, mostly for selfish reasons. I often feel behind in my major. I didn't have a computer until I was 14, so the technical parts of my major often make me feel very intimidated. However, after hearing her talk I feel more confident than ever.
Also, the fact that she is a woman that has accomplished so much was very inspiring. I think this is more so because she climbed her way to the top in a very male dominated business, and that is an accomplishment worthy of taking notice.
I feel that in a patriarchal society, or a male-dominated society, young girls are often denied the privilege of being told we can be scientists, doctors, and engineers. I know I was never told I could be these things, but I should be a teacher or a nurse instead. I know if I ever have a daughter, I will be sure to tell her she can be anything.
Now I think I'll go play some Halo.
I was wondering how that talk she gave last week was. It's cool to see that she overcame that gender barrier and became a very successful person in Microsoft. Halo and video games have always been portrayed as male interests. But Bonnie Ross being the head of Halo makes the game much cooler. Nice work!
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