The role-model issue is huge. When you look at the kinds of people doing certain things and realize none of them look anything like you, it's easy to cross it o

The role-model issue is huge. When you look at the kinds of people doing certain things and realize none of them look anything like you, it's easy to cross it off your list of possibilities because we're reasonable beings who conclude, "well, if no one that's like me has followed that path, there must be a reason for it." And honestly, it's true -- being a woman in tech still sucks a lot of the time. You have to fight harder to get respect because you don't look like other competent engineers that people have come across. You have to prove yourself every time you meet someone new. You face skepticism that you wouldn't if you were a man (particularly a white guy.) And I know this because I'm guilty of this too.