[Daryn]

I've worked in IT for a very long time and my job titles and duties have changed over the years. In the 70s, overt sexism was rampant. Vendor support personnel would address me as honey, little lady, sweetheart, missy, darling, etc. and doubt my technical aptitude at every turn. I worked for IBM for awhile and my basic training included being taught to accept full on harrassment. It was expected. Times have changed on that front. And I think women are more accepted in the industry. However, mostly I still don't see them in the senior most positions.

As for Medusa's initial comment about communications, I'd say that if a woman has a very direct communication style that is seen as masculine and usually not acceptable. Years ago, I had worked about a 12 hour day on a stressful project (it was day 3 of this) and I was handling 2 really critical issues. A woman came with a minor issue and I told her she'd have to wait until the other problems were solved. She complained to my (female) boss and I got disciplined. My immediate response was to ask if one of my male co-workers (used his name) would be getting talked to if he'd done the same thing (and he would have) and I was told I was not him. I have issues about being too direct in communications than almost anything else.