LIFT06: Why doesn't Microsoft advertise in Vogue?

At LIFT06 in Geneva it's time for the panel on "women in technology". It's a self-organizing panel: Swiss TV's Bernard Rappaz is listed in the program as moderator, but he just says a couple of words and then the three women go ahead by themselves, handing it off to each other.
Serial entrepreneur Beth Krasna asks first if it's true that women are underrepresented in technology. She goes through statistics that show that they are. For example, about women and blogs: 43% of all bloggers are women, but out of the top 30 only 3 are women, out of the CNET top 100 only 8 are women; few link to women bloggers on top blogs ("do men prefer to read and link to men?").
Kelly Richdale of startup A4vision adds that women are clearly consumers of technology (shows 1930s ads for fridges: "Give her a real thrill for Christmas", and a Toyota car ad from last month which has a very similar approach) and that today they also have purchasing power (83% of consumer purchases in the US). She also points out that diversity improves performance (companies with higher women's representation in senior management perform better). But: does that matter? (Yes, she says). What can we do about it?
Kelly gives the mike to Anina, the geek fashion model. She redoes part of the speech she gave at DLD last week, which I blogged here (I also wrote about her agency telling her to choose between modeling and blogging - "They want me to be a puppet", she just said). Kelly: "Anina, what would it take to get tech into the mainstream?" Anina: "Until the fashion industry start collaborating with technology, these devices won't be integrated into everyday life on a massive scale". "I look at these gorgeous girls on the cover of Elle or Vogue lounging on a chair and I wonder: where is her cell phone? I flip the pages and wonder: why is Microsoft not advertising in these mags? Why in the pictures models never interact with technology? The iPod is kind of the only device that has crossed the divide".

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Comments

[gia]

I thought this session was the most conscending and pathetic I have ever witnessed at a geekcon. There was nothing remotely interesting or valuable spoken by anyone and the idea that Anina somehow represents *me* was nigh on offensive. Anina is a joke.