My SXSW assignment this year to cover the women in business track started off with a bang at the “Sausage Fest” panel. A big theme this year is the lack of women (or the lack of support women receive) in tech related careers. There were two men in the entire room (brave souls) and probably 75 rather strong women including one in the front row who was knitting. I didn’t know how this was going to turn out.
Let’s start with the facts before discussing controversial gender issues. Only 11% of startups have female founders and only 8% of all venture capital goes to women-owned companies. The industry has a big ratio problem. That is what Alexia Tsotsis, writer for TechCrunch and Rachel Sklar, Editor-at-Large of mediaite.com thought they wanted to talk about – five months ago.
As we started the discussion, Alexia said it has dawned on her that the issue is not getting women into new media and tech, but removing the curtain and elevating women that already are in the industry. I agreed. But who’s to say the ratio is not the way it is because of natural interest?
There were also the obvious topics ventured into one could expect from a panel with this name:
How women in the audience felt discriminated against once they had children, how women typically don’t raise their hands to speak up as men do, and how women are used as promotional tools in the tech industry (how many cute girls in tiny t-shirts have you seen at SXSW handing out swag or running booths?).
Also through a show of hands, the audience said many felt that an opportunity had been squandered for them, and had been told to “watch their tone,” because they were a woman. At least 90% of the hands were in the air.
I honestly can’t say I can relate to that in my career with PepsiCo, which makes me very thankful. I believe, and PepsiCo supports the idea, that opportunity is a function of competence and proven results and for this they are recognized as being one of the best and diverse places to work.
If the true issue is elevation then there is much needed to be done, specifically in the tech industry, to raise the profile of its few, but talented females. Women in conferences and as guest speakers, profiling and selecting them in top 10 lists, and evaluating companies for venture capital based on its merit were a few of the discussed ideas. These are principles that should exist when evaluating any talent but it seems the tech industry is just behind on this notion.
There are organizations like Girls in Tech that work to support engagement, education and empowerment of like-minded, professional, intelligent and influential women in technology. Much to my amazement, the one guy in the room that raised his hand to speak said that he had no idea that women felt so invisible in the industry and that he felt it was just a matter of making men aware of the issues. Hopefully it is just that simple.
