I've noticed that the tech industry accords Asian women more respect that they are generally shown in other industries.<p>I believe that other industries, especially law and political lobbying/activism, claim to value women, but actually they are just making up for one kind of bias (believing that women are incompetent) with another: wanting to have attractive women around, and therefore giving them disproportionate respect and reward. White women especially seem to fit the preferences of these employers in this regard.
It's all down to your coworkers. Every single bad thing that is talked about in this piece? I've encountered, and I work in tech. I've been desperately searching for another tech job for the past 2 years and striking out every time. Even when I get a second interview, or I have a great 4 hour interview and get along great with a potential new boss. Then there's the places that won't even give me the time of day, who repeatedly reject me for even the most entry-level helpdesk/desktop support type of position. It doesn't help that this is not a big town either.
> <i>When the world started behaving appropriately toward me… I was gobsmacked.</i><p>(throwaway account to say) As a transgender guy, I have experienced a similar contrast in how I was treated as a female and how I am treated as a man. There were certainly clear cases of discrimination, but I never expected the moment-to-moment differences!<p>As for the change to a tech job. I suspect there are multiple reasons for such a change. As @yetanotherphd mentioned, she's Asian, so probably got a boost from that (not saying it is right, just saying that stereotypes probably benefited her in this case). Some tech industries do seem to have a younger and more meritocratious population. Also, some tech industries are simply in better financial situations, and this can have many effects (e.g., instead of yelling at her about answering the phones while scrubbing toilets, the employer could have hired another employee).
@sostephosays, just a note on here (because I don't know how to comment on Tumblr, probably because I don't have an account) that I like your writing, and you should keep at it.<p>The programming skills will come with time, just focus on improving your craft one project at a time and constantly push yourself to learn something new. I've been in this industry for over a decade, and considered experienced in a number of languages and areas... but I am still learning. You'll get it.
<i>When the world started behaving appropriately toward me… I was gobsmacked.</i><p>Let me be clear that you should treat everyone nicely. There's no reason not to. But what that woman was experiencing is a manifestation of the commonly-held belief that being 100 pounds overweight is a negative quality that is <i>entirely</i> changeable (as evidenced by the fact that the person in question lost the 100 pounds). I don't know why we should regard this as surprising.