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What sickens me most is that these people don't believe they're wrong. I won't generalize every individual who's ever made a stupid comment, but I can tell you

What sickens me most is that these people don't believe they're wrong. I won't generalize every individual who's ever made a stupid comment, but I can tell you anecdotally that these 'brogrammers' resent being called out for sexist remarks and turn to like-minded cliques where acceptable discourse includes long-winded rants regarding the harrowing campaign of persecution set upon them by the likes of 'liberal whiteknights' and 'feminazi bitches'. These guys aren't actively conspiring to exclude women from tech (in fact, they tend to jump at any superficial opportunity to demonstrate the opposite), but they're angry about being called sexist and they really don't want to capitulate to the suggestion that their behavior merits serious adjustment (which is not surprising considering the correlation of ego with 'brogrammer'). The surplus of cash and minor acclaim only emboldens their resolve; there is a subconscious belief that their financial success has conferred the wisdom to authoritatively determine the appropriate bounds of sexual commentary for a professional setting and anyone who can't deal with sexist bullshit can just get the fuck outta tech because the startup is king and sensitive women (and men) just can't handle the heat of 60 hour weeks spent reclined in front of a widescreen LCD. These chauvinistic kids really need a wake up call, but frankly, I fear the money is just too good for them to ever really care.

srconstantin 14y ago
I went to school with these guys. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them, but I do have a little. They did find a place in the sun. Right now their skills match what the market wants. So, like everyone else, they're going to remake the workplace in their own image. Working there sounds like it would be acutely unpleasant, but from what I understand, it's basically the same as a big chunk of finance culture. When tech stops being faddish, those people will go back to finance (which is so demonized anyway that Mother Jones doesn't report on what it's like to be a woman in finance).

srconstantin 14y ago

I went to school with these guys. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them, but I do have a little. They did find a place in the sun. Right now their skills match what the market wants. So, like everyone else, they're going to remake the workplace in their own image. Working there sounds like it would be acutely unpleasant, but from what I understand, it's basically the same as a big chunk of finance culture. When tech stops being faddish, those people will go back to finance (which is so demonized anyway that Mother Jones doesn't report on what it's like to be a woman in finance).