A month ago, I had coffee with a young female entrepreneur. Near the end of our conversation, I asked her a frank question: “Have you ever experienced sexism from the tech industry?”A month ago, I had coffee with a young female entrepreneur. Near the end of our conversation, I asked her a frank question: “Have you ever experienced sexism from the tech industry?”
What followed was 30 minutes of brutal and uncomfortable stories. Blatant propositions by older men. Bait-and-switch meetings. Condescending behavior that didn’t recognize her achievements, talents, or her right to be treated as an equal human being.
Sadly, I’ve had this conversation with countless women, and every time I come out shocked by the sorts of things men do, both consciously and subconsciously. One friend told me she is marginalized and ignored by software executives during meetings, even when she is the most senior person from her company in attendance. I have another female entrepreneur friend who nearly lost her company because of one investor’s obsession with her looks.
Recently, Newsweek’s Nina Burleigh wrote a long feature on how women are marginalized in Silicon Valley. It outlines more gut-wrenching stories of how women are being treated in the fastest-growing industry in the 21st century. It reminds us that 96 percent of venture capitalists still are men, and that only a small minority of venture-backed companies have women CEOs, despite the research showing that female-led companies have higher returns on average than male-led ones.
Read more at?INC.A month ago, I had coffee with a young female entrepreneur. Near the end of our conversation, I asked her a frank question: “Have you ever experienced sexism from the tech industry?”
What followed was 30 minutes of brutal and uncomfortable stories. Blatant propositions by older men. Bait-and-switch meetings. Condescending behavior that didn’t recognize her achievements, talents, or her right to be treated as an equal human being.
Sadly, I’ve had this conversation with countless women, and every time I come out shocked by the sorts of things men do, both consciously and subconsciously. One friend told me she is marginalized and ignored by software executives during meetings, even when she is the most senior person from her company in attendance. I have another female entrepreneur friend who nearly lost her company because of one investor’s obsession with her looks.
Recently, Newsweek’s Nina Burleigh wrote a long feature on how women are marginalized in Silicon Valley. It outlines more gut-wrenching stories of how women are being treated in the fastest-growing industry in the 21st century. It reminds us that 96 percent of venture capitalists still are men, and that only a small minority of venture-backed companies have women CEOs, despite the research showing that female-led companies have higher returns on average than male-led ones.
Read more at?INC.
