99% of code is written by people who won't file a lawsuit, most companies don't want to deal with the 1% chance of getting sued. In any case, Atwood's argument

99% of code is written by people who won't file a lawsuit, most companies don't want to deal with the 1% chance of getting sued. In any case, Atwood's argument isn't that the code of conduct will change behavior. He pretty explicitly says women are like children, and you should just emotionally manipulate them rather than solving their problems: Even if you do believe these things [that a code of conduct doesn't improve safety], why would you say them out loud? ...runs counter to everything I know about empathy...a feeling of safety is, in fact, what many people are looking for. The quickest way to turn a child's frustration into a screaming, explosive tantrum is to try to fix their problem for them. This is such a hard thing for engineers to wrap their heads around, particularly male engineers, because we are all about fixing the problems. It's pretty amazing to see someone with mainstream mood affiliation so openly admitting this.