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Comment by jordo37 | Hacker News Reader

Great to see LadyCoders getting more attention here on HN. From my time working with awesome women in startups and in a big tech shop it seemed like this was always a challenge given social norms. That's why I backed LadyCoders on kickstarter and I can't wait to see how they keep growing.

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Thanks for supporting women in tech.

Is anybody against women in tech? Serious question, I'm all for anyone who wants to learn how to program, regardless of gender or age, and I can't imagine anyone not supporting it.

Also: Hey Tarah! Just saw this was you. Great job with LadyCoders, I hope it gets even better.

I think the majority of people are not against women in tech.

Most of the issues are fairly unconscious bias. Some people just assume women aren't as good at tech jobs as men are. Some people assume pretty women are stupid. Some people are simply uncomfortable around women, so don't put themselves into a position where they will be around them.

Issues with actually getting women into tech jobs range from their manner of speech (for example, raising their voices at the end of sentences) to being overly modest about their job skills.

Hmm, that's interesting, I would never have guessed that the manner of speech is something that might need improvement. I guess the points you mentioned apply to any job (and probably gender), though.

To add to this, I know that when I'm nervous I smile a lot and laugh to try to ease my own tension, so I can understand how an interviewer would take that as being naïve or not serious about the role, when it's really just a case of anxiety mixed with imposter syndrome.

There are assumptions that are made of certain speaking patterns. The voice tonal thing makes it sound like everything is a question.

"I think I would be a great fit for this company?"

Ohai, Stavros! Thanks!

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