Two sides to every story?

We all have our biases.

Ovation, a data management company, set up a sexy shoeshine stand again this year at the SEG Annual Meeting, a science & technology meeting for subsurface professionals. This cynical and spurious subordination of women by a technology company in our community should be addressed by the immediate adoption of a code of conduct by SEG.		Ovation wants to liven up a boring tradeshow. They hired a small business, owned and run by women, to provide their customers and prospects with shiny shoes. The women are smart to capitalize on their looks to make a living. Anyone who thinks they're being exploited, or that this is an inappropriate way to attract customers at a scientific conference, needs to get over themselves.
Last year I picked on one of the marketing strategies employed by SeisWare, a Calgary software company. I implied that the women in fitted dresses handing out beer tickets were probably marketing consultants, not scientists, and I was not alone in my misgivings. My interpretation was that the sexy gimmick was a stand-in for more geophysics-based engagement, something many vendors are afraid of.		On Tuesday, one of SeisWare's geologists called me out on this. On Twitter, in the open, where these conversations belong. She was one of the women in tight dresses; the others were also geoscientists. She had chosen the dresses, felt great about them, and been excited about the chance to represent the company and look awesome doing it. She was saddened and frustrated by the negative remarks about those choices. I need to check my assumptions next time.
Evan and I went to the excellently named Euclid Hall on Monday evening. It was full; whilst waiting, the maître d' told us the place was full of exploration geophysicists, to which we replied that we were geophysicists too. She went on to say that she was studying the subject at CU, prompting a high-five from Evan. Then she said, "I shouldn't say this, but I worry that I won't be taken seriously, because I'm a girl."

 

What's the other side to this story?