<i> she points out that this was an irrational response provoked by her situation.</i> It's about perception all right, but you're missing the point: she as mu

<i> she points out that this was an irrational response provoked by her situation.</i> It's about perception all right, but you're missing the point: she as much as admits that it is her own perception of the situation that might have been the problem. That is, even if the comment wasn't sexist - "just as likely to be said to a man" - she felt shamed because she believed that it was in fact sexist. Then we have commentators on tech sites who'll use her narrative to bolster the women-in-tech-are-victims-of-sexism narrative. Which you can imagine is all very self-reinforcing when scaled up.