I don't think overt sexism is any more prevalent at tech conferences than it is in any other predominantly male gathering. In fact, I would bet it's actually less prevalent at tech events: for every aggressive jerk at a tech conference, there are 10 quiet geeks who would be scared to death to talk to an attractive woman. Try going to a male-dominated sales conference for comparison. I'm not condoning the behavior, only pointing out that it is hardly unique to tech.
Could one of the anonymous downvoters provide some rationale for their disagreement? I'm open to evidence that the tech industry suffers more harassment claims than other male-dominated industries. Or is your disagreement based on the idea that the tech industry should be held to a higher standard? That sexism is ok for those other people, but not for us because we're expected to be more civilized?
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I don't think overt sexism is any more prevalent at tech conferences than it is in any other predominantly male gathering. In fact, I would bet it's actually less prevalent at tech events: for every aggressive jerk at a tech conference, there are 10 quiet geeks who would be scared to death to talk to an attractive woman. Try going to a male-dominated sales conference for comparison. I'm not condoning the behavior, only pointing out that it is hardly unique to tech.
Could one of the anonymous downvoters provide some rationale for their disagreement? I'm open to evidence that the tech industry suffers more harassment claims than other male-dominated industries. Or is your disagreement based on the idea that the tech industry should be held to a higher standard? That sexism is ok for those other people, but not for us because we're expected to be more civilized?