The caveat for this session is 80/20. Eighty percent of the observations will apply to women and the other 20% might be way off, but it's an interesting panel.
Leah Culver, lead develop on Pownce, said leaving her computer science degree for grown-up work was a slap in the face. At college, tutors had hidden the names on test papers to make sure they didn't skew the results for gender, but in job interviews she felt she was being judged from the minute she walked through the door.
Men "pimp their shit", she said, and are much happier to promote the work they do. Is that just confidence?
And another observation: women take on more at work, naturally moving to co-ordinate things outside their remit that actually hinder their own progression.
"Gender is less of a problem and more of a dynamic that you figure out how to deal with," said Sarah Szalavitz of Veoh Networks.
"I will never say 'no I can't'," said Stephanie Sullivan of W3Conversions. "I will say 'yes I can' - I just have to figure out how. I don't let my fear stop me - I just keep pushing forward. And men are trained to go for it a little more. What's the worst that can happen?"
Culver referenced a recent discussion that said if men are stupid enough to think with their penises, then that should be exploited. Let's assume she didn't mean that to sound like an absolute endorsement...
Leah Culver
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