Everybody’s got a card they could play. Be it race, age, ethnicity, sexuality, economic or – as I did last week – gender. I’m not a fan of playing those cards. Especially if you do it because you didn’t get what you wanted. I’ve always believed people should be judged by their work or their character. So I can’t say my last column was a proud moment.

But I still don’t think it was far off.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1974, most of my childhood memories involve playing outdoors, getting sunburned and wearing clothes so hideous as to blind you. But on just a few occasions, I remember my mom saying something I never quite believed: that in this world, women were treated like second-class citizens.

Now, my mom was not going around organizing bra-burning parties in our backyard every Saturday. In fact, she maintained an extremely traditional home life for us. Although she worked the graveyard shift as a nurse all week long, I can’t say I remember my dad ever being charged with any ‘non-man duty’ more than making the occasional hot dog dinner.

I think she just didn’t want me to be surprised, is all. And I never was. I never knowingly ran into that wall. A statement like that is at best something to be incredibly grateful for, and at worst something most likely very naïve, but besides my mom’s warnings I never once had to think there was anything I couldn’t do, anywhere couldn’t find myself, or any role I had to conform to because I was a woman. That is, until I worked at Microsoft four years ago.

One of the conversations I heard most often was: “There are no women here”. All over campus there was enormous concern over the fact that girls are either not encouraged or not interested in pursuing careers in technology. It totally frigging blew my mind, because I hadn’t even noticed. I just assumed we were there.

Around the same time, an Australian group released the Screen Goddess IT Calendar. Featuring women in technology dressed as their favorite characters from film and TV, it intended to “smash the perception” that IT careers are ‘nerdy’ (cited as one of the greatest barriers to entry to the industry).

It was fun. It was sexy. And a whole lot of people lost their damn minds. Because apparently, smart girls aren’t supposed to be sexy. And sexy girls aren’t supposed to be smart. Not in real life, anyway. And certainly not in a technical job interview.

When I didn’t get the positions I interviewed for, the fact that it might be because I’m a woman was not the first thing that sprang to mind. That it might be because I’d dressed to the nines wasn’t the second thing, either. I dress to impress – that’s just how I roll.

But the more they emphasized how bored they thought I’d be, the more they suggested moving (but not changing) sections of my resume so the skills they picked me for having were listed in a different place – the more I wondered if I just hadn’t looked the part.

So what do you think? If I’m lucky enough to get another interview for a technical job anytime soon – should I wear jeans and a ponytail?