I graduated high school in 1984, and I can't remember one girl in junior high or high school that was interested in computers in any way, although both of the areas with computers that were set up in classrooms were put there by female teachers. I don't know if the lack of interest was due to teachers like the author had (although we had no computer-related classes in high school), if it was a social thing, or if there just wasn't interest there to begin with. I was heads-down learning to program and soaking up information - I wasn't attuned to others around me. I didn't understand why everyone else wasn't this passionate about it. Obviously, social interaction wasn't my strong suit going through school.

I had access to TRS-80 Level I's, and Apple ][e's. My parents bought me a TRS-80 Color Computer, and I purchased an assembler cartridge and was off to the races. I look back fondly as that fog of ignorance slowly lifted and I realized what these incredible machines could do.

I remember maybe two or three women in my computer science classes in college. That changed when I got my first job (in a university setting, where I'm still employed). Developers here are roughly 60/40 male/female. System admins and networking personnel skew wildly male.