Lots of things to consider here. First, use your professional network of fellow women in engineering and ask them how well their company/boss treats them before you apply anywhere. This should get you a list of better companies to work for. If you don't have such a network, now is the time to develop one. Conferences and user groups are a good place to meet other women in Teleology. The SQL PASS organization, for instance, has a Women in Technology group that you can become active with. You can connect with the men in your network too, but honestly if the harassment didn't affect them, they may not have noticed it.

While I might not ask directly during the interview, you can look for clues. First how are any other women especially receptionists, secretaries, HR personnel treated by the men you see them come into contact with? If these people are not treated professionally, women engineers likely will not be treated well either. If there are no other women around, that is usually a bad sign too.

If you can, get a tour of the office space and look at how people interact with each other and what the spaces look like. Does it seem like a place with a lot of juvenile joking going on? Then pass. Unless you enjoy toilet humor. Are there obnoxious pictures or perhaps a copy of the screed from that Google engineer on women posted on the walls or bulletin boards? Do people make jokes about you being a EEO or Affirmative Action hire? Is the tone of voice they use when talking to you dismissive? Is there anyone who gives you a creepy vibe when you walk by or are introduced? Pay special attention to this as it only takes one creep to ruin a perfectly good workplace.

Check out how people look at you when you are there. See if anyone mistakes you for the secretary or unabashedly stares at your boobs. As you walk around the spaces in a tour, see how other people (male and female) are treated as well. Is there a difference in how women are spoken to compared to the men. If you get complimented is it for something you have accomplished or for your looks?

Do they make a big deal out of being a merit-based organization? This is sometimes a code phrase for "only white men are promoted here" in my experience. They manipulate this by making sure the people they want to hire/promote get the choice tasks and everyone else does not, so they look like the "right" folks accomplished more at the end of the year in the "Objective" measures. There are some good places that claim this too, but check out the organizational structure. If all the people of color and women are in the lower ranks and none of them have been promoted to a management position, your career will be dead at that place. And you will very likely get sexually harassed.

Does the interview seem to simple for the skill level of the position? This is often a sign that they are only interested because you are female (especially if you are young and attractive). Does the interviewer seem dismissive of you and your skills?

Do they bring up how women do in their workplace? Having a company culture that celebrates diversity and is willing to talk about it up front is a starting place. Not a deal breaker if they don't bring it up though. Conversely, if they are all excited about possibly hiring their first babe, you may want to pass. Places that haven't had to worry about harassment before often don't deal with it well. If they refer to you as a girl, pass. You are an adult woman not a girl. They rarely take you seriously if you are a girl to them.

Check out the Internet for stories about the company.

Lots of things to consider here. First, use your professional network of fellow women in engineering and ask them how well their company/boss treats them before you apply anywhere. This should get you a list of better companies to work for. If you don't have such a network, now is the time to develop one. Conferences and user groups are a good place to meet other women in Technology. The SQL PASS organization, for instance, has a Women in Technology group that you can become active with. You can connect with the men in your network too, but honestly if the harassment didn't affect them, they may not have noticed it.

While I might not ask directly during the interview, you can look for clues. First how are any other women especially receptionists, secretaries, HR personnel treated by the men you see them come into contact with? If these people are not treated professionally, women engineers likely will not be treated well either. If there are no other women around, that is usually a bad sign too.

If you can, get a tour of the office space and look at how people interact with each other and what the spaces look like. Does it seem like a place with a lot of juvenile joking going on? Then pass. Unless you enjoy toilet humor. Are there obnoxious pictures or perhaps a copy of the screed from that Google engineer on women posted on the walls or bulletin boards? Do people make jokes about you being a EEO or Affirmative Action hire? Is the tone of voice they use when talking to you dismissive? Is there anyone who gives you a creepy vibe when you walk by or are introduced? Pay special attention to this as it only takes one creep to ruin a perfectly good workplace.

Check out how people look at you when you are there. See if anyone mistakes you for the secretary or unabashedly stares at your boobs. As you walk around the spaces in a tour, see how other people (male and female) are treated as well. Is there a difference in how women are spoken to compared to the men. If you get complimented is it for something you have accomplished or for your looks?

Do they make a big deal out of being a merit-based organization? This is sometimes a code phrase for "only white men are promoted here" in my experience. They manipulate this by making sure the people they want to hire/promote get the choice tasks and everyone else does not, so they look like the "right" folks accomplished more at the end of the year in the "Objective" measures. There are some good places that claim this too, but check out the organizational structure. If all the people of color and women are in the lower ranks and none of them have been promoted to a management position, your career will be dead at that place. And you will very likely get sexually harassed.

Does the interview seem too simple for the skill level of the position? This is often a sign that they are only interested because you are female (especially if you are young and attractive). Does the interviewer seem dismissive of you and your skills?

Do they bring up how women do in their workplace? Having a company culture that celebrates diversity and is willing to talk about it up front is a starting place. Not a deal breaker if they don't bring it up though. Conversely, if they are all excited about possibly hiring their first babe, you may want to pass. Places that haven't had to worry about harassment before often don't deal with it well. If they refer to you as a girl, pass. You are an adult woman not a girl. They rarely take you seriously if you are a girl to them.

Check out the Internet for stories about the company.