To avoid this, I often say "I really like product", which has the added bonus of neatly sidestepping most of what I do (engineering) and focusing on what I like to do.
The lack of a casual, neutral way to refer to women is a long-standing problem. I don't know what the solution is, but there's a group of women who argue that "lady" is the best term. I think it depends on the context whether "lady" is seen as being casual or formal; xojane often uses it casually: http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/where-the-hell-are-our-c...
The lack of a casual, neutral way to refer to women is a long-standing problem. I don't know what the solution is, but there's a group of women who argue that "lady" is the best term. I think it depends on the context whether "lady" is seen as being casual or formal; xojane often uses it casually: http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/where-the-hell-are-our-c...