Do you think that in a fair world, it is necessarily the case that every profession is a microcosm of the population as a whole?
Let me ask a different way: in a world where no unjustice exists, is it possible for programming to be 80% men?
Let me ask a different way: in a world where no unjustice exists, is it possible for programming to be 80% men?
Contrast this with, for example, physical professions like professional basketball, where the faster ability to grow in fitness and strength, along with certain racial advantages with height or speed means the population tends to skew in one direction - enough so that creating separate leagues allows for fairer representation.
Software development is not like that. The very fact that the majority of programmers used to be women back when it started should be enough to show that current bias' are societal or fashion-based.
> Programming is a purely intellectual activity, so I would argue that there is no gender or racial advantage one way or the other.
Thank you for so succinctly stating the blank-slate position. I don't see any reason to agree with it. You acknowledge that there are important group differences below the neck; why should there be none above it?
> majority of programmers used to be women
I read that article too. You don't mention that "programming" back then was largely data entry.