DISQUS

I think you're way off. The point is to highlight that, in a male dominated field, women can be successful, which may encourage other women. In this case, the prize was not for the best women's hacker team, but the best overall team. Unless the women involved are extremely insecure about why they won and or it's clear they did not actually deserve the prize, they are not going to question motives. If a group of men are emasculated and need to pound their chests ...well... sore losers simply don't warrant attention. I believe it's good to point out that they are women.

That's exactly right. One thing a white paper should do is help position the author or company as an expert on a subject -- it helps start the process of building credibility and encourages me to investigate the company further. If the white paper is all fluff, then I assume the company is all fluff.

I'm always interested in best practices. When I download a white paper, I do so usually because the author has made an implied or explicit promise that I will learn something useful -- The Business Case for RSS; Success Factors for Lead Nurturing; 10 Mistakes to Avoid when Blogging. Initially, if the paper is attractive and nicely laid out, then I'm compelled to open it. But, if the promise isn't fulfilled -- if it's a sales pitch, if it rambles, if the points are not delivered succinctly -- I'll abandon it. It's all about fulfilling the promise.