A few years back, I met a woman for coffee, and she made the comment that she was surprised to see a programmer with long hair who wore lipstick and earrings. I think that was the first time I really thought of my profession as more of a male-dominated job, one with certain stereotypes attached.

To me, programming is a natural extension of my professional me. When I started my business, I knew I wanted to work on web development, but web design just wasn’t playing to my strengths. But I love solving problems, and programming played to those interests. My parents always enforced the idea that I could do whatever I wanted in life, and I guess that thought carries over to my business today.

I couldn’t be happier with my path! It’s fun doing something that not a lot of other women do. I do often wonder why more women don’t get into programming though. It’s a great job that’s very much in demand – not only is there a huge need for good programmers, but other women owned businesses seem to really prefer hiring women programmers. And it’s a perfect outlet for a mom who loves puzzles and detail work. Plus it’s a great ‘in between’ kind of job – you can work fit this type of work in between your kids’ naps or hash out code while waiting in line at the bank.

With that said, I do tend to go out of my way to add the ‘girlie’ component into my in-person appearance, because it is so much harder for a techie mom to break the ‘computer programmers should be guys’ barrier. For instance, my office is bright pink with lots of colorful flowers and butterflies (my daughter and I picked out the decor together, since it doubles as a playroom!), and I use lots of pink and purple feather top pens and flowery, lacy notebooks at meetings. It’s a little over the top, sure. But those who aren’t very computer oriented tend to naturally bristle when you talk tech, and this puts people immediately at ease. You just can’t feel intimidated by a programmer who has a pink butterfly pen and glittery notebook, and that’s exactly what I’m going for.

I strongly recommend that anyone out there who thinks that they can’t start a certain business because it’s not generally one women start should think again! Find your passion and your best fit and go with it, regardless of whether it’s a field you normally think of as one for women. Then make it your own. You just might find that being a woman in a male dominated business is an asset, not a liability!

Susan