At the conference in Las Vegas Tuesday, three women involved in software development tackled the issue in a session entitled "Women in Rails." Causes for the imbalance ranging from a lack of women in computer science programs to women leaving the field to have babies and underestimating their chances when job opportunities arise were cited.

Panelist Sarah Mei, a developer for 10 years and a Rails user since 2006, said she has been trying get more women to attend San Francisco meetings pertaining to Ruby. She also has been reaching out to Web designers as well as to women who have never programmed before.

Women, though, have kept a low profile in the community. "I think that being visible is not something women do easily," Mei, of LookSmart, said.

Also on the panel, Lori Olson, a developer for 23 years and senior architect at Labrador Technologies, said that she might consider doing more self-promotion so other women know that software development is a viable career. She said she has remained a developer despite overtures to move into management.