I read the article on two levels, despite El Reg doing its best to make the guy sound like an ass.
1) his suggestions are a bit daft and frankly condescending. You shouldn't have to un-gender yourself to work in IT - you should just be good at it.
2) but they also seem like they came from someone who did perceive a wrong and was making suggestions. For example, the classical musician blind testing - which I had heard of - it was probably very suitable for that field.
Take github - would it make sense to stick to gender-neutral moniker? The original article may make you think about that strategy, whether you choose to do so or reject it. Could small adjustments to job sites help?
His contribution is a data point, no more, no less. For all the righteous self-back patting from all the enlightened commentards who would never ever discriminate, we still do seem to have a diversity problem. Its causes are complex and not easy to solve and it seems churlish to me to burn the guy at the stake just for opening his mouth with what seems like a well-intentioned but awkwardly presented suggestion.
Ladies, if you bristle at his "hide yourself " suggestion - I agree with you. But there might still be some insights to glean.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
