fester@math.berkeley.edu (07/14/88)
(Valerie Maslak) >And yes, support in computers pays more than support in other areas; >that's why I'm here, too. But support is support, and it's not >where the action is. Just because we are technical support doesn't >mean we're still not at the bottom of the hierarchy...plus ca >change, etc. There is more to the support issue than action, pay, or prestige. There is the fact that support staff are generally the first fired when a company needs to start bailing out. I think this is a truism, but in the event its not I cite two examples: the applications software company to which I consulted last summer, where things were going very badly (boy did I learn alot about lousy management !) and where almost 100% of support staff was fired while I was there; and a small AI company in Cambridge where an acquaintance of mine works, where a large number of women were recently laid off. I asked her "Were they disproportionately support staff ?" and she said "Yes, that was a big reason, but that doesn't entirely account for it." In any case, if women are disproportionately support staff, and support staff are the first fired, then we have another indirect reason as to why women are "last hired, first fired." This is particularly an issue in the computer industry, where some significant number of companies are small ones that stay x < 5 years, and then go out of business. Lea Fester fester@math.berkeley.edu