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This is the worst article that I've ever read on this subject . It struck me as "us-vs-them" written in a "valley girl-ish" style. It's like the Legally Blonde of the IT world. Here's a small sample from the article (admittedly out of context -- so read the article and decide for yourself):

* the new wave of “normal” (read: cute) girls entering the IT workforce
* we women have seen the fun you guys have been having, and we want in
* What happened to the Birkenstock and flannel wearing woman developers of the past?
* Also, we think it’s sweet when you guys are on your best behavior for us.
* “If you could be smarter or more beautiful, which would you choose?” ... “Smart, of course.”

Why not ask that last question of the Birkenstock wearing, non-cute woman... ? The author doesn't strike me as the kind of person who was ever unsure of her looks. And besides, how is this ANY different from MEN whatsoever? The average male computer nerd is NOT Antonio Banderas or Brad Pitt!

The entire premise of the article is flawed, because FEWER, not more women are entering IT. Last I checked it was less than 12%. Furthermore, even after graduation and a few years of development work, most women LEAVE development for a less technical role. In my experience it's between 70% - 90% of women that leave development to become analysts or project managers. It's a major problem and has nothing to do with looks or how men treat women in the workplace.

If you don't believe me, I DARE you to start an all woman software development project/team/company and watch the EXACT same result (or possibly worse, as a lack of diversity is troublesome for any team). Why hasn't anyone tried this? Thesis anyone?

I can't believe how many votes this article is getting. I almost think it's the natural reaction to "support women (artificially) in IT" -- and THAT is exactly the problem. Women and men work well together when people treat each other like people, and nobody tries to hard. I think the forced effort is where we all get into trouble.

"Thesis Anyone?" CBegin is one calling for a theory when it is his idea. Why is he expecting others to do his work.

Women in the IT field are trending down. Perhaps the author is calling out to women to consider IT, or stick with it. Perhaps she is even training future mixed gender teams to be normal. I have seen women dismissed or put down because their presentation was slightly off, errors that men would have been helped through. Also in consulting I have seen the attitude of the entire team shift when an attractive female developer or project manager came in, which creates discomfort for everyone.

I did think it was poetic that cbegin's conclusion of his comment was the premise of the author he disagreed with:

"Women and men work well together when people treat each other like people, and nobody tries to hard. I think the forced effort is where we all get into trouble."

>> "Thesis Anyone?" CBegin is one calling for a theory when it is his idea. Why is he expecting others to do his work.

I think it would make a great study. But you see BillRob, there's a fundamental problem here. I'm a guy. If I were to do it, it could be criticized as being a biased study -- especially if my hypothesis held up. I think this study would be best conducted by a woman. If anyone is interested, I have ideas about how best to execute it. I'm not anonymous, you know who I am. Message me.

>> I did think it was poetic that cbegin's conclusion of his comment was the premise of the author he disagreed with:

No. If her article was in agreement with my view as stated above, then she would have simply wrote it as a descent way to introduce ANYONE into a project team. For example, here's a paragraph from her article, modified, so that it would not be framed as an artificial issue of sexism:

"Also, other people appreciate when you are polite and respectful in a place of business. However, everyone enjoys a tasteful sense of humor and a little fun in the workplace. It’s an awkward balance in the beginning. My tip: wait for the cues from the new person. If they touch on some more controversial topics, then they're inviting you to do so as well, just make sure everyone understands the cues to stop as well! Once you reach this balance you won’t remember what it was like before – positive introduction of a new team member is key to building an awesome dynamic."

It's still great advice. But instead of just writing an article about people working with people, and strategies for being successful in that, she chose to make it an issue of sexism. I could replace "girl" and "woman" throughout her article with [insert-minority-here] to serve my own political agenda. Could I not write the exact same article about Indigenous peoples of the Americas? [Perhaps minus the "wives" part, which was ridiculous anyway.] Do you see what I'm getting at?

That is why I say she's trying too hard.

But that's not the worst part. It's okay to make such a point from a certain perspective, people do it all the time in writing. However, in her doing so, she manages to insult what she calls the non-"cute" and "Birkenstock and flannel wearing woman developers of the past" -- the very people I would hope she is trying to help.

If you were a woman who enjoyed a "nerdier fashion sense" (for lack of a better description) and read this article, how would you feel? If it was me, I'd chalk Sara Chipps up to one of those mean girls in high school that drove me to hang with the nerds in the first place.... (since we're stereotyping...)

Just my opinion and my vote.

Cheers.

I think your criticism is misplaced. It's obviously an opinion piece and she's speaking from her experience. And she's clearly speaking to young women. I thought it was great.

>> I think your criticism is misplaced. It's obviously an opinion piece

My criticisms are opinion pieces as well.