I have a suggestion for you: When you have the opportunity to have a conversation with a woman in technology, ask her about sexism in the industry. Ask her if

I have a suggestion for you: When you have the opportunity to have a conversation with a woman in technology, ask her about sexism in the industry. Ask her if she's experienced it: if she's received the sort of unwanted geek attention for which Linux conferences are famous; if she's received stupid or sexist comments (c.f. mwetzler's comment above); if she's had to fend off inappropriate advances in a professional setting; if she's had to go through the mental gymnastics that an atmosphere of sexism creates. And here's the crucial part: don't argue with her about it. Do it as a fact-finding thing, a survey. Just say you're trying to learn. Ask questions to draw her out and clarify things, but don't share your opinion (especially those above), because that will interfere with the information gathering, especially if they perceive that you're asking only to dismiss or reject what she's telling you. Women are very frequently silent about sexism because speaking up about it not only fails to address the issue, but worsens the severity of it. What started as inappropriate flirting turns into sexually abusive comments; or an argument in which an experience in which they feel quite obviously wronged, gets trivialized as a misunderstanding or oversensitivity on their part. everyone is entitled to their opinion on the matter Absolutely, but some opinions are backed up by a lot of data, and those opinions tend to be more worth having.