The True Cost of Discrimination

Feedback to my last column on the discrimination that women face in the engineering field (see BW Online (see BW Online, 03/14/06, "Fixing Engineering's Gender Gap") was insightful. Several men sent e-mails saying that gender discrimination simply does not exist in engineering and other businesses or that it is justified, that I was "beating a dead horse," and "pandering" to women. Some said I had no idea what I was talking about.

All of the women who responded shared their personal experiences in the workplace and thanked me. They said they could relate directly to what I had written. It was clear that I had hit a nerve, and there was quite a chasm between those who are discriminated against and those who aren't. Some readers did not seem to understand what discrimination means and the damage it can do to a business.