FastCompany (a site I find I’m reading more and more) has a facinating article on the impact of women on Microsoft’s corporate culture.
As someone who’s worked in the software biz for a while, I’ve seen at first-hand some of the disgraceful treatment of women that seems to be commonplace in the industry. This has ranged from refering to women as “girls” and assuming they were secretaries, to men who openly stated their opinion that women couldn’t do technical work, to (in one case) blatant victimisation and undermining that led to a bright and tallented woman to resign from her job. It’s one of my great professional regrets that I seem destined to spend my career in male-dominated working environments, with all the bullshit and pointless conflict that comes with it.
Anyway, its good to know that at least one organisation can adapt its culture to get the best from its people, without losing its sharpness and (necessary) internal competition.