Anonymous wrote: He just said that maybe fewer females in tech is cannot be attributed exclusively to prejudice. he doesn't deny the existence of bias, he says there are also other things at play.
Decades of cumulative prejudice. In elementary school, a doctors appointment meant that I apparently missed a math assessment test. Teacher just randomly placed me in a remedial math group. My mom had to go to the school and demand to see the assessment test (which they couldn't find) in order to get me in the appropriate group. A few years later, similar problem. I ended up missing two weeks of math classes with my normal cohort before getting re-assigned. middle school, math teacher was smitten with IQ tests, and only wanted to pay attention to the boys with high IQs. She actively gloated at how much I would hate having math class with her, so I went and got myself into the advanced algebra class instead. High school, one math teacher was annoyed I was daring to double up on math classes and when she found out I had broken up with my boyfriend, called my mom and asked if I wouldn't drop the class so a boy could get in "now that her boyfriend won't be doing her homework for her". (he was copying my homework). The following year the calc teacher actively would spend time in class complaining that he had a female in the class at all. Comp sci teacher gently consoled me that it was probably ok that I couldn't afford to apply to many colleges because I was just destined for marriage anyway.
Not very long ago, back in college, a professor during his office hours ignored my questions about the programming project and informed me that it sounded like I wasn't getting laid enough if I woke up with programming questions. He later informed me he'd be willing to take me on as a PhD student if I'd drop the attitude (and sleep with him?).
Decades of people, men and women, thinking that it was perfectly OK to mock and belittle and exclude a female for just wanting to be in the appropriate STEM classes for her abilities. The women in tech have to actively fight to be there and remain. Any (young, white) guy can roll up and it's just assumed that he has earned a shot at a seat at the table. And his profs probably didn't try to get sex just for answering some fucking programming questions.