#ILookLikeAnEngineer smashes stereotypes in the tech industry

The ads, however, drew backlash from jerks complaining that since she’s an attractive woman, she can’t possibly be a developer. “If their intention is to attract more women then [sic] it would have been a better to choose a picture with a warm, friendly smile rather than a sexy smirk,” complained one.

The reactions “illustrate solid examples of the sexism that plagues tech industry,” she wrote Saturday on Medium. “I’m sure that every other women and non-male identifying person in this field has a long list of mild to extreme personal offenses that they’ve had to tolerate.”

Irritated with the response, Wenger ended her post with the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer encouraging Twitter users to smash the misconception that engineers are white males.

Just updated my Medium post! #iLookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/szMTCuRVu0

— Isis Anchalee (@isisAnchalee) August 3, 2015

The response has been overwhelming. Topsy measured 23,000 tweets — and growing — using the hashtag. Here are some of the most popular responses:

#ILookLikeAnEngineer who could use more sleep. No need to run my creds, I’ll still be an eng without your validation. pic.twitter.com/KhCBh8LPNL

— ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (@EricaJoy) August 4, 2015

Just a few of the faces of @MITEngineering… Tweet yours with #ILookLikeanEngineer pic.twitter.com/JCLd6Fn2qU

— MIT (@MIT) August 4, 2015

I was one of the earliest engs @Pinterest; I’ve worked on infra, api, web, ads, homefeed & more #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/vn0aS58JIv

— Tracy Chou (@triketora) August 4, 2015

#Ilooklikeanengineer Industrial Engineering Technician I enjoy walks on the beach & discussing theoretical physics :) pic.twitter.com/cY8zGZdnmB

— Yung Abeed (@JiggyJihad) August 4, 2015

#ILookLikeAnEngineer Love to build with Ruby on Rails & Ember.js, currently helping build Skynet at my 9-5 job, nbd. pic.twitter.com/6qXs4BzcK6

— Iheanyi Ekechukwu (@kwuchu) August 4, 2015

I enjoy low-level systems engineering. I study database theory. I’m a mentor to many. #ilooklikeanengineer. pic.twitter.com/uaFSaZge6e

— jonathan barronville (@jonathanmarvens) August 4, 2015

#MomOps to 3 {autism, T1 Diabetes, & Tethered Spinal Cord} Ops, Infrastructure, Full Stackaroni #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/zcr3NrmfEK

— Carmen Caelestis (@Caelestisca) August 4, 2015

I’m female, wear pink and I’m pregnant. I’m also a full stack software engineer. #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/3PV9BepNYy

— Jolene Hayes (@JCHayes) August 3, 2015