I like this whole 'men and women in IT' discussion. It has certainly been entertaining. There are so many stereotypes and exceptions thrown around the forum this week, you have to duck to keep from getting whacked. It seems clear that there is no one way to look at it. People are different and deserve to be treated as individuals. For some of us, it is helpful at least initially to try and categorize people so we have some hope of relating to them, at least initially. Our challenge is to dive deeper to see who the person is and relate to what we find rather that to settle for the stereotype. Sometimes the stereotype is right-on. So. Still get to know the person and relate to what you find. "It depends" seems to be an appropriate answer, but demands more explaination, which will help uncover what makes us tick as we explain what we mean (thereby helping us relate to each other).

However, please lets agree to throw out the nature vs nurture debate. The whole thing is predicated on an old-fashioned notion of equality rather than fairness. Everyone with kids knows that both are important and influential and that kids are individuals. I