Comments on: Killing female software entrepreneurs at birth?

By: melt

melt — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:36:26 +0000

Charlie, I didn’t quite realise how right you were, until I went to an International Gaming Expo yesterday in London. The men were all in suits, the women were in… hardly anything!
Different industry, I guess!

By: Charles Gutjahr

Charles Gutjahr — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:23:31 +0000

Were all the men dressed atrociously too? When I went to JavaOne I was warned that if I wore a shirt I would be overdressed, and they weren’t joking. I think it’s a sign that men don’t even expect women to be at nerd conferences… if they did then maybe they would make more of an effort ?

By: Nadia Shaik

Nadia Shaik — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:22:13 +0000

“But why is software, and particularly the business of software, such a male-dominated environment?”…
do you think the more obvious reason could be that women are generally thought to like more colour, flair and pizzazz? and using this as an excuse men (unknowingly) have made that separation and have sort of dominated the world of software development / engineering / management :) It also works the other way round where more and more women distance their interest from the likes of ‘geeks’ only so that they can live up to the age old image of ‘colour, flair and pizzazz’ :D

By: Justin Standard

Justin Standard — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:13:56 +0000

Great question. The ratios of men to women were definitely much higher than those typically seen in a software company.

Is it because of the roles of m0st of the attendees? (They were primarily developers, founders, entrepreneurs, and software executives.)

Is it because women in software are less likely to request that their company sends them to a conference (possibly related to the child-rearing stereotype, as most professional women also have families)?

Is it because more men than women follow Neil and Joel’s blogs? (Most attendees followed one or the other.)