“I’d say one in 20 comments here is from a women. Maybe even less.” – How do you know? As you also wrote, on the net nobody knows if you are male, female or a pony -unless- you disclose it yourself.

As to why a woman geek might not usually want to disclose her gender, comment on slashdot (purely technical, on stuff you know and would have commented on anyway) with a female name instead of a male or neutral one for a week or two, it might give you a few hints.

This is just an observation from my own experiences. I’ve often wondered what prevents all the women around me from becoming more computer literate as I think technology is an area where women have much more to contribute. It would be very interesting to see what happened if that invisible barrier was ever broken down.

I also find it extremely frustrating when women get defensive and jump at every potentially sexist remark – you ladies know who you are – please stop making the female gender a laughing stock.

We need to reach middle school age girls for high school is too late. Expect that it will take some time. Supporting organizations like Women in Science & Technology is a place to start. They can provide the role models to girls.