OK, I've been to a women in IT thing....

Please, for your own safety, DO NOT invite me to any more of them

I knew there was a reason I didn't attend any 'Women in' sessions in the UK.

So perhaps the US wasn't the best place to actually start as they tend to be a little more emotional than us Brits.

I actually had to leave the session - entitled 'Women of the Cloud', because I couldn't take any more.

I still believe that by drawing attention to the fact that you are in a 'minority' group within an industry - you stand out for the wrong reasons.

It is a fact that women were just not that interested in IT 20 years ago - so it is no wonder that they are not that prevalent in top positions in the present day.

It is changing. Slowly but surely as the younger generations begin to take more of an interest. It is not something that will happen overnight.

Then we come to some of the things that were said.

One person said women were jealous of other women in power. That is absolutely not the case in any situation I've been in.

Others said women supress their personality in the workplace, because they feel they will be penalised for it.

Only if you are an annoying idiot that everyone wants to slap should you supress your personality - in fact I can think of a few people I've met down the years that really should supress themselves more.That goes for men as well as women.

Another likened the way women in IT are treated and made to feel about progressing their career to a women in an abusive relationship. "It takes seven attempts to leave an abusive marriage, and the same amount of times to leave a job you are unhappy in."

Apparently.

Then we were advised to mentor a woman and help them progress in their careers. Well, if they are capable and good at their jobs, of course people are going to help them progress their careers. If you are male or female and crap at your job, nobody is going to want you around. It really doesn't matter what gender you are.

I went in there, really hoping that my mind would be changed about this whole subject, when in fact my biggest fears were reaffirmed.

Women are not doing themselves any favours by having these closed sessions.....

I just don't want to attend one again.