by, for, and about women in science, technology, engineering, & math

“Evil HR Lady” writes that she doesn’t think illegal discrimination is keeping women out of the technical world. (She quotes Michael Arrington’s ludicrous assertion that “Success in Silicon Valley, most would agree, is more merit driven than almost any other place in the world. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what sex you are, what politics you support or what color you are. If your idea rocks and you can execute, you can change the world and/or get really, stinking rich…” … has he considered that age, gender, politics, color, socioeconomic status, or other factors irrelevant to the quality of someone’s idea might affect their access to the connections, money, and time that are very relevant to their ability to execute the idea?)

Fortunately, Rikki Kite at Linux Pro Magazine has a great response to this.

And on the front of actually doing something about supporting women in the start-up world, the PITCH: Women 2.0 Start-up Competition is looking for early-stage startups with at least one woman on their founding team to compete for the opportunity to pitch their ideas to well-known venture capitalists; plus all applicants will get valuable feedback from the team of experienced judges.

Meanwhile, Jolie O’Dell writes about the importance of encouraging young girls to develop technical interests to grow the next generation of women in technology now, and Felicia Day responds with an account of how her home schooling experience exempted her from some of the pressures teenage girls typically face. (Oh, and if you’re interested in a hilarious online mini-sitcom that lovingly mocks the World-of-Warcraft-style gaming culture, check out Day’s fabulous The Guild.)