There is a lot of learning by asking questions, which works well guy to guy but there are serious barriers if you are female. I have repeatedly run into the fact that most men either do not want to talk to me at all or, if they do, it is usually in hopes of getting into my pants. Neither scenario leads to professional development. They are both equally poisonous, just in different ways. It is rare for me to run into a man who will converse with me at length about something other than whether or not I might sleep with him, in essence. That is a huge barrier to networking and professional development.
