Why I won’t give talks about being a woman in tech
I personally know several successful professional women who have a policy of refusing to belong to any women-only groups.  Their reason is that in their experience such groups are populated by people seeking reassurance.  The result is that they offer the &quot;support&quot; of lowered expectations.  Which won&#x27;t help you succeed.<p>One also pointed out to me that if a group of men were to form a men&#x27;s only business club, that would be seen as sexist.  It is no less sexist to form a women&#x27;s only club, but nobody sees fit to criticize it.<p>This is not a bias against women in general.  They just refuse to deal with people whose identify first as women, and only secondarily as professionals.