> I almost always avoid commenting on issues like this just because -- as a guy -- there's no upside to saying anything and a lot of potential downside. I cert

> I almost always avoid commenting on issues like this just because -- as a guy -- there's no upside to saying anything and a lot of potential downside. I certainly understand your position on this, but I want to point out something interesting: your hesitance to speak because you might say "the wrong thing" actually has an effect in itself. Nobody wants to make other people feel uncomfortable. If you're a woman and entering a room makes people worried about "saying the wrong thing," then you feel bad... reinforcing the impression that a woman somehow "shouldn't be there." It's awful because a well-meaning person ends up preserving the situation they're actively trying to prevent. You claim that there isn't much of an upside to a guy speaking in this situation -- there is in fact a quite large upside. By taking place in a conversation like this, you're sending a social signal that this kind of behavior -- talking about these issues in the open -- is encouraged and normal. It sounds like you're worried that this will backfire, but I can tell you from experience that it doesn't when handled correctly. The basic rule to pull this off is to stop seeing certain classes of people as 'others.' It's harder to do than it sounds, because you'll find that lots of your cognition has this stuff hardwired. Eventually you'll recognize when you're thinking this way and take corrective action.