Does the fact that she pays attention to hair, designer bags, her figure, and shoes make her any less of a developer? I was appalled to hear her say that she was told by a Microsoft Employee that they do not hire “pretty” developers! Is it possible to be “pretty” and smart? I have to believe that this was the opinion of a limited group within Microsoft as I know plenty of attractive women who work there! Do we think that attractive women get enough of an edge that we shouldn’t trust their skills even after they are proven? (To be fair, I’ve not seen her handed anything without merit)

After mentioning this to one of the guys at the office he replied by saying “cat-fight!” Do we have to get along with every other female developer just because we’re the minority? I know that I don’t. Do you think that all Caucasian people in India are friends? This is sort of the same things. If two women don’t become best friends is it possibly a personality conflict (or something more serious) or must it be a jealous cat fight? Are women so inherently catty that they can’t work well with other female devs? Is the fight for more female devs actually a bad thing for many women? I don’t think that this is always the case as I know many women who work very well together.

After discussing for a little while it came up that this isn’t the first time she has felt this way so it isn’t specific to her current work situation. She has also talked with a couple of other female devs and they agreed to seeing the same problem! Is this a common occurrence for other female devs? I’m really sorry to hear that my friend is going through this but I’d be interested to hear if anyone else is facing the same difficulties. I’m wondering if this is a serious issue or just a problem for a few.

On a positive note she has never felt at all discriminated against by the guys! Good stuff.