[Carol]

This is an age old problem, everywhere, not just on robot teams. When I first joined the corporate world (a long time ago but we won't get specific about that) in a male dominated field, I had the same problem. Men are, on the average, more aggressive than women and push their ideas more effectively. I noticed that many women - including myself - would state an idea as a suggestion. They would say "don't you think that doing this would be better?" rather than "I think this is better and here's why". I had to consciously train myself out of this passivity (partly natural and partly taught by society as expected of women) in order to get ahead. You can't always be "lady-like" and still get your point across.

Sometimes though, you will have problems with men that think subconsciously that just because you are female, your ideas don't count. I would like to think this attitude is disappearing but it still exists in many ways.

One example of attitudes. Many years ago when the concept of Take Your Daughter to Work Day was proposed, it was designed as a way for girls of certain ages, who are often overshadowed by boys at school, to see that there is a role for women in the workplace other than in traditional jobs. When my then 10 year old daughter heard about it, she said "that would be great - every time we go on a field trip the boys push up front and girls don't get to see anything". The whole focus of TYDTWD has since changed and expanded, (and I don't want to get into a debate about that), but, the problems still exist.