Actually as far as I can tell computing has a reputation of being especially this way.
Personally I don't really understand why you'd want to defend the "there's nothing wrong, ignore this woman" point of view. You acknowledge there's a problem, although you don't think it's specific to this industry. Why take the course of action/defend the point of view least likely to improve the situation?
And your sweeping generalization of computing is based on? Some things you read on the Internet? A story you heard once from a female coworker?
I don't know how your shop is but in my shop this shit does not happen because we are overly selective with our hiring and extremely quick to fire. One tactic we have in interviews is to take the applicant to dinner and get him drunk with a female colleague present. Multiple otherwise-awesome applicants have earned a circular file at dinner.
> And your sweeping generalization of computing is based on?
The same thing as yours. My personal experiences and what I've heard. You have no more evidence that there is nothing especially wrong with computing than I have that there is.
> "but in my shop this shit does not happen"
That you've heard about. Although I suspect that if you share the same kinds opinions around your coworkers as you are sharing here, you've made a fair number of your feel uncomfortable and unwelcome without ever realizing it.
> One tactic we have in interviews is to take the applicant to dinner and get him drunk with a female colleague present.
Wow. IANAL but using a female coworker as a honeypot is probably opening your company up to liability. The standard for harassment or unfriendly working environment is what a reasonable person would consider the same. I'd vote in favor of the plaintiff if a colleague of yours asked to perform this duty ever sued your company. As a matter of policy you're knowingly putting an employee in a situation where they are more likely to be harassed specifically for the purpose of seeing if they get harassed.
Well, it's your ass on the line and not mine; for that I am thankful.
You're right, you're not a lawyer so you should be less willing to throw the word 'liability' around. You're armchairing your way to a legal conclusion based on two facts and a situation you're unaware of. Namely that this colleague was the one who came up with the idea and enjoys the responsibility. Look at her angle. She gets a less hostile workplace by helping screen out the creepers who will come after her later.
Feel free to armchair lawyer someone else because you really suck at it.
Feel free to armchair lawyer someone else because you really suck at it.
Armchair lawyering -- from my experience it usually looks and sounds much better to the practitioner than it does to any trained lawyers. Those practicing it are often convinced that they speak with authority, even though they're laughably wrong.
I see. So someone bans a female from a conference for not having sex with him, and the person who points out that this is embarrassing is disrespectful? I simply don't understand your logic (or lack thereof).
Please do not disrespect the industry you and I are a part of by kidding yourself that we are different and somehow a problem.