I have some of these same thoughts on a daily basis, so thanks for sharing this. What I also took away from Ford about women in STEM (and specifically, computer science) is that many sciences fields favor a person who is aggressive, argumentative, and most of all, masculine. Our society currently sees these characteristics as positive for the workforce, while typically feminine characteristics (empathetic, collaborative, observant) are regarded as negatives. When in reality (or at least, to me), all of the characteristics can be positive in a variety of workplaces and a variety of fields. It bothers me that I would need to be more aggressive in I wanted to really hold my own in a STEM field. Just because a person is less aggressive or argumentative does not make them any less intelligence, hard-working, or capable of great programming/work products, in my opinion.