How was the Voices That Matter Professional Ruby Conference?

It was a cross between being thrown in a geek-fest mosh pit and putting on a sweater that was warm from the dryer.

The Ruby crowd is a fierce meritocracy where everyone is scary smart and each believes that everyone else is slightly smarter. They're chasing perfection and claiming ignorance. They love a good idea. They want to change the world.

The conference was 96% men.

There may be places in IT where women aren't welcome but, despite that disparity, this ain't one of them.

I ended up there with a speaker flag on my badge and it's remarkable how many men stopped me to say how much they missed us and how they wanted us both in the seats beside them and on the podium in front of them.

I'm inspired to stand up and be counted. (Short though I am).

But seriously, where is everyone? There was a time when I had to wait in line in the women's room at conferences and now it echoes in there.

While you ponder this question, you can get an actual tech update of the conference at Liana's Wrap Up and Obie's Summary.