"reactions like yours where women are challenged and questioned for seeking knowledge in the first place" No, come on, that's grossly unfair. I would never ch

"reactions like yours where women are challenged and questioned for seeking knowledge in the first place" No, come on, that's grossly unfair. I would never challenge or question a woman for seeking knowledge. I would never treat a woman any differently. You're implying that I'm doing something objectionable like those who grope or make sexist jokes. I'm saying that I'm not interested in anyone's gender, and I don't think it should be a property of interest to anyone except for dating. I think that saying "hey! you're a woman! this special event is just for you! there's the main event as well, which we'd love you to come to, but there's also this special one just for you" is offensive. Perhaps I've missed some part of the community, or I don't attend the right (wrong?) conferences, but I've never seen anything that discourages women. The only possibility is that they see an existing low proportion of women and then conclude it's not for them. Well that's their loss and their prejudice.