I've noticed very few of these articles look at the recent past ('80s) when women were a significant percentage of programmers. I'm too young but I have the feeling working conditions were much better back then.
You mean working conditions for programmers?
From talking to people who worked in computing back then (like my grandfather), it seems like we have it better today. Of course that's only anecdotal, and my perception of today is as coloured as my choice of people to talk to.
Would be interesting to see a more formal study.
http://www.tenement.org/encyclopedia/housing_rent.htm
Turns out, it's actually pretty accurate. But food was much more expensive, sucking up maybe ten days of income (and that's 100% groceries, which is rare enough these days, I suppose). Clothing, though, that's where you see the real change. Cheaper these days in non-inflation adjusted dollars than it was in the 1890's, in you can believe it (maybe I buy fewer articles of clothing than most people, but likely not less clothing than people in 1890).
Source: my rent is about 2 weeks of pay (which sucks and doesn't feel very sustainable, mind you)