I think the OP has a point - and its much harder to see when you're a member of the majority. There IS a culture of drinking in the programming profession. And

I think the OP has a point - and its much harder to see when you're a member of the majority. There IS a culture of drinking in the programming profession. And some comments I see here remind me of comments I have seen when when other demographics complain about feeling excluded in this profession: "stop whining," "deal with it," etc. I think that there is some fear that these complaints will somehow "ruin the fun" for everyone else. I do think that the average age of conference attendees has much to do with it (and probably has more than a little to do with some of the other issues i.e. sexist treatment). A little maturity can go a long way towards easing these issues....