[coroxout]

I definitely feel like many employers look for young men. There seems to be a particular mindset associated with being young and male that employers look for: the earnest young coder who'd rather spend his evening in front of a screen than go out (I can relate to that part!) and is happy to stay late in the office doing unpaid overtime in exchange for feeling like part of a gang.

I believe women and older candidates get less of a chance at interview because they are seen as less likely to be interested in putting up with that and may disrupt the clubhouse feel of all lads together.

Obviously it's not absolute proof but I know plenty of fellow programmers who've been expected to work 60+ hour weeks on 37.5-hour contracts, where anyone who's reluctant gets shunned by coworkers for not getting into the company spirit and is let go quickly. And those places have been almost all male and mostly under 35.

This is of course not just to the detriment of women, older men and anyone with a family, but also the young men who get manipulated into working hours they're not being paid for.