I would say that sexism in IT is not the major issue, there will always be places where there might be some, but I frankly never encountered those and women were treated well in all the places. Point that @mdkess makes about when female dev is bad it kind of is more visible and projects more to others is also good. I worked with some exceptional girls that code like best of us. However some other roles in IT might be better for women to start, like BA and QA and project management where frankly they excel.
What IT or tech industry could use more is professionalism which would also help with work/life balance. I think that would bring up pay which I consider low, even though it is better then other fields. It would benefit from more women entering the field, but how to attract them is tough problem to solve.
GP was bizarrely tone-deaf in his comment, but BA, QA, PM are a could vantage point form which to attack gender inequality.
They are jobs expect less technical prowess, and thus leave open an opportunity for a woman to show crossover talent (a BA knows how to write SQL? Wow!) and chisel away stereotypes.
Now, it's a ridiculous rigamarole to have to go through, but it may be strategically effective in wearing down barriers.
What IT or tech industry could use more is professionalism which would also help with work/life balance. I think that would bring up pay which I consider low, even though it is better then other fields. It would benefit from more women entering the field, but how to attract them is tough problem to solve.