If you thought the tech world was no longer dominated by men, a visit to CES - the biggest consumer electronics tradeshow in the world - might give you cause you to revise your opinion. Not because of the gender divide among attendees, which is gradually becoming more equal, but the often scantily-clad women who are brought in to lure passing trade to their stalls. They've been dubbed 'booth babes', and female visitors to this year's CES are starting to lose patience...
In this video clip, the BBC's Matt Danzico gathers views on booth babes from visitors and staff CES. "Sometimes it is a little old-school, but it does work", said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. "People will naturally go to what they consider pretty". He dismisses any suggestion that the practice may be sexist as "irrelevant".
Men liking to look at pretty women is nothing new, and it's easy to see why booth babes were originally brought in to lure groups of nerdy and potentially sex-starved geeks with money to burn. The short-sightedness as to how this might impact on a brand's image, however, is a little more surprising, particularly when not only women - a growing voice in the world of consumer electronics - but also some men profess to find the practice of employing sales models "tacky" and as reflecting badly on those brands that do it.
Most concerning of all, however, are the attitude of some of the models: "It's not like a car show where you would dress really scantily-clad" says one of the booth babes interviewed, while another, when asked how her presence might affect women visitors, looks astonished at the suggestion that a woman might be into tech: "I don't know any, really, that choose the tech world so to say over shopping, or cooking, or taking care of kids or whatever", says the model, who says she works at technology conventions "a lot".
It's easy to see why women who've worked hard to make a name for themselves as serious technology experts and writers should feel not only uncomfortable but very annoyed, too. Not only do they feel that "booth babes" paint an inaccurate picture of women's role in technology - reinforcing the stereotype that women know nothing about tech, and perhaps even preventing those with an interest from taking part.
Women have always had to fight to be accepted into the world of geekery, and nothing says 'you're not welcome here' more clearly than a hired model who's being paid to target men.
So what do you think: is it payback time for the female gadget fans? Buff naked men on stalls at next year's CES?
