In the last part of our conversation at last year's VMworld, I asked VMware CEO about her views on how women are perceived in high-tech companies and if she felt any gender bias in her career. A year earlier from the interview, Carly Fiorina was ousted from HP and women were (and still are) underrepresented in management positions in comparison to men. Probably a consequence of less frequent upward promotion for women to managerial positions.

"Because I built these companies [VXtreme and VMware] myself, I had the opportunity to prove what I can do [...] It's a little harder for women to prove what they can do in the high-tech industry [...] People tend to promote people that are like themselves", admits Diane Greene.