[n00shie]

Why are we so OBSESSED with getting more women into the programming business, and creating an artificial population balance when the natural tendency shows otherwise?

We just need to make sure that there aren't active forces PREVENTING a group of the population from getting into the field.

Providing extra rewards and incentives for minorities to do the same job as the majority is fundamentally discriminatory towards the majority, and at the same time, further promotes gender, racial and other biases towards the minority (which I believe these rewards and incentives intended to diminish in the first place). Thoughts like "oh, she only got this job because she is a woman" will inevitably surface in the minds of other workers, even if they don't say it out loud.

Here is the only solution: drop all rewards that are based on race, gender, or other non-merit based makers. Level the playing field. Make it exactly the same for everyone to ensure a fair assessment of their skills. Then we can have real equality.