It’s not a shocker that as a woman in the fields of technology and finance, I have received my fair share of indecent proposals and prejudices.

Over the past two years of my life, even though I’ve become a pro at navigating the land mines of boundary setting, bureaucracy and judgement in Silicon Valley, there are some occasions when I feel ultimately defeated. This is one of them.

This past week I was banned from one of my favorite conferences because I wouldn’t have sex with one of the organizers. Given that this is the third time a similar situation has happened in a year’s time, I’m learning how to swallow this pill of injustice without throwing up every time.

I’m bewildered and astounded why this is still happening in 2011. The heartbreak is even more horrific when all the people who know about this injustice won’t speak up for me. I understand why they don’t. They don’t want to be involved because they don’t want the risk of losing funding for their deals or be an outcast in the Silicon Valley boys club. I get it. I really do.