The only answer I have is to question 1, which is that there is a huge shortage of tech talent these days. Almost every tech company is scrambling to double the size of their engineering departments and the pool of applicants is just so sparse. How great would it be if women and minorities where also interested in coding? That being said, I'm not sure society is really going about it in the right way and the whole movement does feel awfully forced. I don't have the answers. I'm not sure if anyone has the answers.

The advice to not be alone with a member of the opposite sex is not new. Women have been receiving this advice from time immemorial. It's kind of interesting that men are giving this advice to other men now though. People actually listen and care when a woman says she's been sexually harassed, and the accused male can have his reputation ruined which is indeed a scary prospect. Sadly, like you said, there are malicious women who will take advantage of this and you definitely don't want to be in a room alone with someone like that. I don't completely disagree with the statement that men, like women, need to be careful to not be alone with a member of the opposite sex that they don't know and/or don't trust. But it is a bit on the cautionary side. It's like advising someone not to go to a beach because they could get attacked by a shark.

I feel you. My dad was a mechanical engineer and hates it when I say I'm a software engineer. He grumbles on and on about certifications I don't have and lives that aren't in peril because of the work I do. Software engineer has become a standard job title in the industry though, so you're fighting an up hill battle. =)

Liz here. I knew what the interview was going to be about going in to it (even the part about ESR) so, for the record, I'm not annoyed. I was happy to talk to Roblimo about it.