How could she be proven to be good, as too many people would avoid her in the first place because she was female?

Unfortunately in ths male dominated sector, people would not use her purely because she was female. many men would feel threatened that a woman knew more than they did about things that would be traditionally male knowledge areas.

This is my opinion. As to whether I would use someone or not, unfortunately a woman would have to prove herself to be twice as good as anyone else for me to consider her in this area. Sad but true.