I've found this to be mostly true in the work force but there are sometimes barriers in place which can prevent you from getting to the point where people can observe that you know your shit. I also have some thoughts/observations on the matter, if you're interested in discussing...

• An employee shouldn't have to be above average to get the same respect as an average employee with a different set of equipment.

• The current environment primarily harms women who have more "feminine" or "soft" demeanors. It's easier to avoid if you are clearly not someone to fuck with but you shouldn't have to change everything about yourself to succeed (or just avoid sexual harassment).

• Petite women get more crap than taller women.

• However, being tall, extroverted, and "less girly" still isn't enough to make the average male engineer assume you are an engineer when you're in a group.

I'm in manufacturing on the Gulf Coast, so pretty limited experience. But yeah, I found school to be much more meritocratic than work. I worked with one of the first ever female chemical engineering graduates from a major university, and I am not old. We haven't been in this space for very long.