[venomsnake]

> Create a collaborative environment Stanford research studies document that women are more likely to dislike competitive environments compared to men and are more likely to select out of them

That is not how it works. Tech is as pure marketplace of ideas as possible. So while we should all collaborate after the decisions are made, the process before them is by definition adversarial. We must nitpick and deconstruct each other's solutions. Because we programmers cannot work if we don't understand anything in full. To grok it.

[tracker1]

There's a huge difference between, "I'm not sure I understand where you are coming from." and "You are a god damned idiot, what the hell are you thinking." ... I have to admit, I've thought the latter on more than one occasion having to fix a bug, or do a feature enhancement in a piece of software. I try to be more sensitive in my actual interactions though.

You can review, advise and even critique without being outright abusive. I tend to take similar arguments when people want to use curse word filters... tone is a hell of a lot more than specific verbiage.

[malandrew]

   There's a huge difference between, "I'm not sure I 
   understand where you are coming from." and "You are a god     
   damned idiot, what the hell are you thinking."

True, but I don't see how this is a gender issue, but an issue with how specific individuals handle competitive and potentially abrasive environments. Women are as capable of handling competitive and abrasive environments as men and I've met plenty of men that can't handle competitive or abrasive environments and end up opting out.