"Welcome to the most prestigious and sparkling awards ceremony of my career."
Let's celebrate male audacity. No more to say, just enjoy the show and the fabulous trophies in this Hall of Shame.
- N°01
I need to recruit a woman to fill my quota and keep a good company image, and also break the white alpha male vibe in the team.
- N°02
After explaining an architecture concept to my CTO
Alright madam, you know everything.
Always flattering to be compared to Hermione Granger.
- N°03
Oh, you're in tech? You do front-end and design, right?
Old but gold.
- N°04
At university, during a group project with a classmate. The (female) professor said:
I don't think you really coded on this project. Your classmate did everything, he helped you a lot.
Coming from a female professor… nothing more to add.
- N°05
But being a woman is an advantage, you attract tech recruiters. Plus you're pretty, so it must be easier for you.
I just ignored that one, otherwise I was about to spit bars like Eminem.
- N°06
Being interrupted in a meeting, then watching a man repeat the exact same idea two minutes later and get applauded for it. Having my own field of expertise explained to me by someone less experienced. Manterrupting plus mansplaining, combo deluxe.
I handled that one during 1 year.
- N°07
Hey guys!!! Oh and uh… girl.
Still happening today.
- N°08
Yeah but you're a girl, but not really a girl, you code, you wear hoodies and stuff…
*sigh*
"We would like to thank the academy, and more importantly, the endless supply of male confidence that made these awards possible."
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does "being a woman in tech" really mean day-to-day?
- It often means being one of very few women in the room, dealing with assumptions that you must be on the front-end or design side, being interrupted in meetings, hearing the same idea you just raised praised when a male colleague repeats it, and getting unsolicited comments about your appearance or recruiter "advantage". The technical work is the easy part. The social and political navigation is what wears people out.
- What is manterrupting and mansplaining?
- Manterrupting is the pattern of men interrupting women significantly more often than they interrupt other men, especially in professional settings. Mansplaining is a man explaining something to a woman in a condescending or oversimplified way, often on a topic where she has more expertise than he does. Both are well-documented workplace dynamics.
- Why do diversity quotas in tech get criticised?
- They are criticised by people who frame them as "lowering the bar", but in practice quotas usually exist because hiring pipelines have systematically filtered women out for years. The honest version of the conversation, like in this article, is when a manager admits the quota is about company image rather than fairness — which is its own kind of problem.
- How can men be useful allies to women in tech?
- Notice manterrupting and hand the floor back ("I want to hear the rest of what she was saying"). Credit ideas to the person who first said them. Avoid commenting on appearance in professional settings. Push back when colleagues default to "she must do front-end". Hire and promote based on work, not vibes.
At least he gets credit for being honest.