[revelation]

That argument was not an attempt in what you so non-chalantly call "oppression Olympics", but rather to illustrate what some people might ascribe to discrimination is really just common-place.

You are also misunderstanding the "small pool of women CS graduates". It's not to suggest that theres no discrimination, but that theres possibly not much you can do at the stage of post-graduation. That this is a result of discrimination that starts very early in childhood and teenage years.

[simonv3]

Think about all the kids who don't see women in the tech fields and thus don't see it as a viable career path.

The "small pool of women CS graduates" argument is bunkt because CS is a meritocracy - so many men prove themselves through code rather than having gone to a college, and the only reason women don't is because they're discouraged at every turn - upon being hired, in the work place, at social gatherings.

Why does the graduates argument pose a problem for women while its so often celebrated when men skipped college or dropped out of college and became successful within our field?

[yummyfajitas]

Why does the graduates argument pose a problem for women while its so often celebrated when men skipped college or dropped out of college and became successful within our field?

Is there a large pool of women who download python, work "learn python the hard way", and put some repos on github?

If not, then just as there is a small pool of female CS graduates, there is also a small pool of female autodidacts.

[simonv3]

Good job! You've discovered that the problem isn't one of women not getting into colleges.

Edit: I'm not saying it's not part of the problem, but the problem is obviously not just that.

[cafard]

Where do kids see people in tech fields, unless their parents work in them? Maybe you could count the math & science faculty of high school or college, maybe it's popular culture?