SxSW: End to Brogramming: How Women are Shaping Tech
Leah Cheyrnikoff, the moderator started off with this quote from Newsweek:
A combination of that very traditional Wall Street wolf-ism among Northern California’s venture capital boys’ club and the socially stunted boy-men that the money men like to finance has created a particularly toxic atmosphere for women in Silicon Valley.
On the panel were : Danika Laszuk, Nicole Sanchez, and Nellie Bowles — all successful women in the technology field.
Danika said that she started in the tech industry pretty much by accident. She did grow up in a house where you father was a tinkerer and so she was very interested in computers – but she studied play writing in college. Nellie’s path was also by accident – she wanted to be a science writer and started writing about tech parties and somehow that got her in to the tech blogging world. Now she finds herself (recently) in court blogging about the Ellen Pao and Kleiner Perkins case. Nicole didn’t imagine herself in the tech world even though she went to fancy schools and was in school with Mark Zuckerberg – it never occurred to her. She called this a tragedy – and I agree – all three women got in to tech by accident … pretty much the same way I did.
Nicole said she likes tech – it helps her get things done faster. She said you just have to see someone who looks like you do it and then you believe you can do it too.
Leah asked the panel how real are the gender issues in the tech world. Nellie says that with much of her research she has found that these issues are well founded and sexism is very real. Danika says that in addition to these overt actions, there are also a lot of things in the culture that don’t fit with the lifestyles of most women. The tech world can foster working from noon to late in the night and this doesn’t work for most people who want a family (not just women). Nicole says that while this is all true and scary it’s not all negative – no one has ever made her feel really horrible – not everyone is out to get you (this is the experience I have personally so I love that she said this).
Nicole brought up the fact that there isn’t always intentional bias – the market looks for people who look like them – so finding investors for example as a black woman is extremely difficult before she is like a ‘unicorn’. Nellie talked about ‘pattern matching’ – investors look for people who fit a certain image. They look for a 22 year old white man who went to an amazing school (Stanford or Harvard). It’s a very specific image that investors look for and that image is not us (women).
Leah mentioned that men are raised differently than women – they are raised to be more confident and more aggressive. This makes it hard for women to break in to the industry. Nicole mentioned that she wants to come across as confident but doesn’t want to come across as an ‘arrogant know it all’ – we worry about that. Unlike most women Nicole loves to pitch. Most women though seem to often apologize – and sometimes they like to talk about the team – what the team has done versus what they personally have done. Danika talked about how when a man is assertive in negotiating for a raise is seen as a good employee – if a woman does the same thing she is seen as aggressive instead of assertive. You see this in the pay gap.
Dankia talked about how diversity is great for business! Racial, gender, etc etc. This diversity breeds more innovation because everyone thinks differently. This is going to make companies stronger. She has been lucky that she works at a company that values diversity (Jawbone). This does mean that those doing the hiring have to work harder to find these people for the betterment of the company.
Another good point that was brought up is that men probably also want to spend time with their kids and coach teams – it’s just that we always pin this on women because it’s a cultural norm. It’s unfair – especially to me as a woman without children to be pigeon-holed in that way.
Nicole brought up a great point – a horrible – but true point. She was a meetup for tech people at SxSW a couple of years ago and a black woman approached her and started talking to her about the tech world and Nicole’s first thought was ‘what do you know about tech’? Men aren’t the only ones with these prejudices – women have them too. So, we need more women talking to women about tech and getting them thinking about what they can do. In addition to the employers hiring more from more diverse pools we also have to hold universities accountable for teaching more women what they can do.
Nellie says that finding a mentor is the most important thing. She had to force herself to be a mentee – she sort of latched on to people and forced them to teach her. This mentor doesn’t have to be a woman, but you might have to force the issue with men because of fears they might have about being inappropriate. Nicole mentioned the difference between a mentor and a sponsor. A mentor will help you get and keep a job, but a sponsor is in charge of pushing you to the next level. These two roles can be (but don’t have to be) the same person. Danika took a different approach – she created her own personal board of directors – instead of one mentor. She has someone on her board who is an amazing manager and someone who is a killer deal maker and someone who is a great marketer – she crafted her board around these different ‘super powers’. This group of mentors or advisers will help you with different topics and at different parts of your career. I like this model – it’s kind of what I have because I can name several mentors in several different areas of my career.
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