You know what, I actually think I agree with you more here then you probably think I do.
I don't actually think that all workplaces should become banal, corporate, photocopies of one another.
What articles like this seem to show by the commentary they elicit is that many of these things aren't conscious choices.
I think if a company consciously decides to foster a work environment that promotes a specific culture (within the boundaries of the law), that's their prerogative. But for me, the key word there is "consciously".
And it seems that a good portion of this phenomenon currently isn't conscious. And I feel that is incredibly harmful.
This article tries to portray this topic in a way that I think is very useful, which is to say, it's not making a moral judgement. It's saying "hey, these types of actions have a consequence. That consequence is that it will negatively effect your candidate pool, and probably make you unattractive to investors."
People are free to read that and say "I don't care about that. To me, having a company culture that reflects my values is worth the negative consequences."
I'd be happy with a culture that is at least aware of this (which our current culture appears not to be).
No place that hires attractive women or even hints at human sexuality as being a positive thing, apparently.