This paper provides an analysis of students' choices and rationale with respect to gender and diversity in hiring software professionals. The study population included students at two universities who were asked to hire a software developer and a program manager from a pool of four candidates for a fictitious software company. As part of a written assignment, students provided reasons for choosing and not choosing candidates. To understand the role gender played in selecting candidates, the study included two candidate pools. The first candidate pool included four candidates. The second candidate pool differed from the first in that the descriptions of two of the candidates, represented by opposite genders, were switched. This paper reports on the following questions: 1) Does gender matter in the rate of selection among candidates?, 2) Does gender matter in how the candidates are perceived?, and 3) What statements about gender and diversity did students make? Through analyzing students' work, our study shows that gender plays a role in the rate of selection: the female candidate is more popular. Assumptions about candidates vary with gender. Finally, some students use diversity as a hiring criterion while others openly reject using gender and diversity as criteria in hiring.