I think the issue is what it takes to convince a person you are technical. As a man, if I join a conversation while other people are talking technical, I will g

I think the issue is what it takes to convince a person you are technical. As a man, if I join a conversation while other people are talking technical, I will generally be assumed to be technical. I can easily imagine women not having the "technical" bit default to true. You highlight a real issue, though. Given the percentages, if a technical conference has a large percentage of non-technical attendees, it is likely women will be seen to have the "technical" bit off. Certainly more women in tech would fix it, but that isn't the solution, because we won't get more women in tech if they continually feel uncomfortable. Conference organizers could do more. Instead of "attendee"- and "vendor"-type badges, they could have more detailed badges that are noticeable quickly and easily. I know I would appreciate knowing at a glance, in any technical conference, how technical the person I'm talking to is. Saves us time talking past each other or covering ground we both already know.