Why is tech such a boys’ club?
Thomas Heath
Branding & Messaging Advisor ? LinkedIn Expert ? Specialist in Talent Attraction through Employer Branding
The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem", a bi-weekly blog...
“Less than 20% of women represent tech employees.”
That was an opening statement by Christina Lock, CEO of Catch Talent, who moderated a panel discussion at a recent Charleston Women in Tech (CWIT) meeting entitled: The Male Perspective on Women in Tech.
For the first time at one of their meetups, CWIT invited some of the top male tech leaders from the Holy City to answer questions on why they thought there were such a limited number of women working in their industry.
Sitting on the hot seats that night were: John Mistretta, Exec. VP of HR of Blackbaud; Marc Murphy, CEO of Atlatl; Chad Norman, Chief Marketing Officer of Catch Talent; Chris Rickborn, COO of BoomTown; Fred Robinson, Chief Architect of Benefitfocus; and Don Taylor, CTO of Boxcar Central.
As a father of two daughters and a big supporter of women’s empowerment in our community, I went to this event curious about the real reasons for the lack of diversity in the tech world. I have to say, I was surprised at what I discovered.
After asking the panel to name some of their personal women tech heroes, Christina inquired: “What do you feel women bring to an executive team?”
Chris Rickborn of BoomTown, a real estate-focused tech company with 110 female employees to 130 males, answered: “Women bring diversity, which brings different opinions and perspectives.” Chris went on to emphasize that his company’s rapid success could have never occurred without the contributions from their strong female leaders.
When the men were asked whether they had witnessed any gender bias in the tech industry, all of them said they had not seen it personally in Charleston. And I believed them. I’m sure it exists in other communities, but my impression was that these male leaders were sincere in their support of wanting more women in tech.
Christina continued: “What solutions has your company taken to improve gender disparity?” John Mistretta of nonprofit software manufacturer Blackbaud mentioned that they recently had an executive women’s conference and a women in tech event, which over 200 women attended. Blackbaud also recently rolled out conscious bias training. “It really opens up your eyes to how you think and how others think”, stated John.
“I think the easiest way to move the needle is maternity policy”, is how CEO Marc Murphy of Atlatl, a sales optimization software company, answered the disparity question. When he came on board, Marc polled all the tech companies in Charleston and discovered that Atlatl was on the lower end of leave time. “So I went to 12 weeks of maternity leave immediately”, he said. “You can get a huge return on that because it allows more women to stay with you. It has played a role in us hiring some really great women this year.”
As I'm at my 500-word limit, look for a Part Two on this series in two weeks. What I can say I discovered that seems to be the main issue here: Lack of pipeline. Stay tuned.
"The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem" is a twice-a-month 500-word blog by Thomas Heath, CLC that explores the world of business from an entrepreneur's perspective. Its goals are to educate, enlighten and get conversations started. Join Thomas with a Share or Comment, he loves to respond. Be sure to follow him here on LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram: @AskThomasHeath.
Helping leaders think more clearly, act more intentionally and live life more fully. Also focused on supporting leaders build more optimal cultures | Coach, Neuroplastician, Strategic Advisor/Consultant, Facilitator
7 年It's a simple thing, but we need to be aware of symbols. Having an all-male panel talking about the male perspective on women in tech just reinforces that tech is a boys' club and the men hold the power. And if these men in Charleston really wanted women in tech, they'd find ways to include them. Based on my experiences to date in this community compared to my years in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've noticed that people here tend to be more content with the status quo environment (work and community) rather than push boundaries. Established individuals like the status they enjoy -- which they may not even register in their consciousness.
Principal Recruiter at HubSpot - I hire Product Managers and UX Designers ????
7 年Big ups to my former boss (John) and coworker and fellow recruiter, (Chad) for taking on the hotseat. I have to disagree that this behavior isn't going on in Charleston. I've had hiring managers ask "well, is she going to be able to travel?" or "this position requires late nights sometimes...is she okay with that?" which were not asked of male candidates I've presented. There is still work to do here, and it starts in school, continues with support programs and scholarships, as well as great leaders to teach their teams how to interview and consider, lead and motivate women and men without bias. I'm glad to be here to help!
Strategy Coach I Speaker I HR Exec I Mixtroz Co-founder I 37th Black Female to Raise $1M pre-seed (tech) I Game Show Winner (Press Your Luck! Season 6, episode 4)
7 年I believe the problem is widely known and talked about. People are getting real comfortable regurgitating the known, it's time to take real action to correct it! I, for one, am an #UNHiddenfigure; if you can't find "me" to hire me or to fund my company...you're really not looking! #awomansopinion #lesstalkmoreaction #mixtrozmagic. PS. Thomas we need to catch up??
CTO Berlogix
7 年Women are more likely to be bullied in the workplace. There are no laws and many are not enforceable or provable against bullying. Bully engagement is not always between male and female colleagues. I watched people bully others since the first day of working in corporate environments, I've seen women get sexually harassed simply because they couldn't be pushed aside with bullying them. They wear women or men down until they subdue to power, and quickly stop once they see your weakness. which then, indicates to you where you stand. Women in tech either accept this behavior, or dissolve into mediocre powerless positions protected from this behavior. Men in tech may understand this tactic. respect for authority basis is sometimes taken too far, or what I seen.. Someone assumed they had power over others, bullied, rallied people against the target, lied and did as much as possible to intimidate. Target requested remediation, HR fired them because the easy thing to do is get rid of the least amount of people to keep the company afloat. Women in tech fear that example. because it's constantly happening.