1. Culture of Women in Belgium
Right as Pattie began her undergrad studies in 1981 the first IBM personal computer was released.The still very unpopular field was dominated by males and to the extent that Pattie Maes was going to be involved was not yet discovered. Belgium has a fairly low gender gap compared to manyplaces around the globe, but women struggle to become top mangers or high level employees. Globally the 1980′s was a big era for females.Sally Ride was the first U.S woman in space. Also in 1986 the Challenger space shuttle exploded killing a female teacher on board (Discovery 2012). Women were in the work force, even the science field at the time Pattie was entering with her Bachelor’s degree, but there was a higher rate of unemployment for women than men. Belgium has been an industrialized country for many years, so technology was used in the country. Women mainly used technology in their jobs. Businesswomen would use
computers at work, but many workers in the service sector also used forms of technology. However, for a women to learn and know how the technology was created and how it processed was very rare (Annoy & Ombaert 2007). Belgium is a country very similar to it’s surrounding neighbors of the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany. The location of Belgium has had many influences
on the cutlure of the country. Focused on literature arts for most of it’s early history, theater, opera, and literature were a main focus for many citizens. The scientific research that did exist in Mrs. Maes time period and continues to be a main focus for Belgium are space travel, biochemistry, medicine, and statistics. Pattie Maes was entering a field that was not only uncommon for women to enter, but was also uncommon for Belgium scientific studies.