> Personally, it smacks as a bit sexist for organizations to say to me 'we created this program to get women into things' because it reads to me like them sayin

> Personally, it smacks as a bit sexist for organizations to say to me 'we created this program to get women into things' because it reads to me like them saying "we created this program to get women into things because they can't hack it any way else". That's how minority outreach programs read to me as a woman of color. First off: "because they (Women)" can't hack it any way else" puts the blame on the wrong party. The fault is that of society, not of Women. It reminds me of how a family member blamed me for the problems that arose my current relationship with a black woman. "Didn't you think of how getting in a relationship with a black girl would affect your family?" At first I wondered if this was a valid viewpoint, but I quickly realized that the blame was pushed to the wrong party. It wasn't my fault that the family member had a network of (consciously and unconsciously) racist people they called their friends. So all fault is that of the sexist, racist, homgeneous reality of the tech community that exists now. Women (even moreso Women of Color) "can't hack it like a white male would". Technically speaking, any woman can "hack it" just as much as any man could or more. Sadly I've found that getting jobs is very little to do with technical aptitude these days however. It's more about people thinking they'll communicate well with you (looking like them makes them think this), that you'll share their ideals to some extent (they think looking like them means this), you'll be technically adept (looking like them is of course a plus), and get along well with the other colleagues (looking like them is a plus). I'm sure you've heard the term "work twice as hard to get half as far before". Well these events exist to try and redefine that to "work twice as hard to get just as far", then maybe even eventually "work 1.5x as hard to get just as far". > My position on this issue is both a combination of my lived experience having never felt discrimination in the tech community There is possibly colorism at play here too, at least anecdotally speaking my Biracial friends seem to corroborate your viewpoint of "never felt discrimination". I've personally witnessed discrimination and racism in most of the places I've worked, but just as much I've seen sexism.