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This blogger concludes that the problem is not that there are too few women in computing, but that there are too many men:

"I'm waiting to read the headline: 'Women too smart for careers with computers,'" says Laird, "where another researcher concludes that only 'boys' are stupid enough to go into a field that's globally-fungible, where entry-level salaries are declining, and it's common to think that staying up all night for a company-paid pizza is a good deal."

Words to live by. Regrettably, I am living by them as one of the boys.
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You write: "gender diversity in IT means a larger and more competitive workforce." What do those words mean? "Competitive," for example, requires an object. Who competes, and against whom? One answer is that the participants in the workforce compete against each other, and any economist will tell you that the result of such competition is lower compensation in whatever terms you want to discuss (wages, benefits, etc.)

Is there any evidence that great implementation of is what's missing in the world? If you want to support the idea that we need more girls to become programmers then that's the evidence that you need because programmers do implementation.

I'm more inclined toward something else that you wrote: "in a world dependent on innovation, it means the ability to design technology that is as broad and creative as the people it serves." What's going to get you across the finish line that you describe there? The ability to manage and finance go-to-market on a compelling design? Yes. The ability to write a bunch of C++, Java, Flash, or any other implementation technology you'd care to name? No.

Why would a smart woman enter comp sci? Pure programmers are never going to be my highest paid or most valuable people. By coincidence, it turns out that some of my most valuable people happen to have programming skills, but their value to me arises mostly from other characteristics.

Women already have it hard enough – give 'em a break! Discourage them from entering comp sci and instead teach them valuable skills like evaluating, managing, designing, and financing technology.

in my always-humble opinion, of course.

I now have two young sons, and I'm interested in teaching them coding in a few years. I don't know if you're interested, but I'd appreciate a follow-up post listing online resources and computer languages for parents who want to teach their kids coding regardless of what their school is teaching.

Finally, re: the several comments about interesting kids in programming, no one mentioned teaching them how to program videogames. Come on, the vast majority of kids are gamers these days – PC/Mac, Xbox, Wii, Playstation and now the iPhone. Teaching teenagers how to program games will/could lure a lot of them into computer science.

I now have two young sons, and I'm interested in teaching them coding in a few years. I don't know if you're interested, but I'd appreciate a follow-up post listing online resources and computer languages for parents who want to teach their kids coding regardless of what their school is teaching.

Finally, re: the several comments about interesting kids in programming, no one mentioned teaching them how to program videogames. Come on, the vast majority of kids are gamers these days – PC/Mac, Xbox, Wii, Playstation and now the iPhone. Teaching teenagers how to program games will/could lure a lot of them into computer science.