The following article originally appeared on TT's Trade Talk blog on June 17, 2015. Click to view more posts on Trade Talk. Speaking In Code Part 1: The Female Perspective on Life in Technology by Katie Burgoon, VP Global Human Resources As head of HR at TT, I like to think we make a concerted effort to stay on top of important workforce issues in the news, whether those topics have surfaced at TT or in the greater tech industry. And one of the biggest topics of debate right now, at least in our industry, is that of women in tech. Or more specifically, the lack of women in the technology industry, particularly in engineering and leadership roles. Much of the news is negative, unfortunately. In the past few months alone, you haven’t had to look hard to find discouraging headlines, whether on a national scale (Why are women leaving the tech industry in droves?) or specific to Chicago (1871 won't launch delayed women-in-tech vertical as an incubator). Of course, most working in tech probably don’t need a headline to tell them that—just by doing the “eye test” at industry events, it’s easy to see that women are vastly outnumbered. But it’s not just about numbers, either—it’s about whether if we, as an industry, see women as equal to men. With Techweek Chicago approaching, we’re reminded of last year’s controversy, when the conference sent out invitations deemed to be sexist and emblematic of the problem by many in the community. It could be a chicken-or-egg question, determining whether a sexist culture has developed because of a lack of women, or if that culture has in fact led to the lack of women. It may be a bit of both, but either way it’s an issue. That said, there is good news too. Last month, Crain’s highlighted ThoughtWorks, a Chicago-based company that has found a great deal of success with women in technical jobs. I recently had a great time at the ITA Women in Tech Poker Night, where I met many women making a difference in Chicago tech, and I read this inspiring piece on Sonja Khan, who is interning at Facebook this summer and loving computer science. Additionally, the fact that the media is covering the disparities in the industry is a positive in itself—after all, in order to solve a problem, it first needs to be recognized as a problem. But even with these small victories, it’s clear the industry can do a lot better. And that includes us too—TT is not yet where we want to be. But we know the value of a diverse workforce, and we recognize that companies must take an active role not just in giving female technologists a chance, but in creating a culture that will allow them (and anyone) to thrive. There’s still work to be done, but we’ve made great strides on both fronts in recent years, and we want to take an active role in making that culture of inclusivity a reality. As such, we’re beginning a monthly “Speaking In Code” segment this summer. We’ll be posting Q&As with talented women at TT, talking with them about their paths through the industry, their recommendations for the next generation of female technologists and more. We hope this will encourage others to view technology as an appealing, interactive, cooperative and energetic field versus the “isolated, heads down, introverted role” we once believed it to be. Please keep an eye on Trade Talk for those posts over the next few months, and certainly feel free to share with me your thoughts on this post. Equality of opportunity is vitally important in our industry, and it’s something I am—and TT is—passionate about. Sharing these stories is a small step, but one that we hope will inspire more people to join the conversation.
"Giving female technologists a chance" is code for lowered standards, affirmative action for women and discriminatory hiring which disadvantages men. Native Asian and Indian women have long competed on equal footing with their male peers. Their attitude has always been to strive for excellence and show competence. Now TT and other companies want to implement a policy which gives advantages to wealthy North American women who already have been born into privilege. A sensible hiring policy would implement gender and race blind hiring standards. Gender and race blind hiring would allow any person regardless of race and gender to demonstrate their skill in a fair setting. Instead, TT and others have decided to disadvantage men while lowering standards for women. This is a bullshit policy designed to garner publicity and nothing more.
Hi Guile- I think you may have misinterpreted the message in my blog. We want to see the gender gap close in technology and are doing what we can to encourage more women to get into this field. We aren't implementing new hiring policies. Our hiring decisions have always been based on skills and talent alone, not on gender/race/nationality/etc, and that is not changing.
I understand your point. But on the other hand...would you rather see male coders competing for their jobs with other females, or with machines? Which is overall the greater employment issue in every industry? Discrimination or mechanization?
Katie, thank you for responding. If TT is truly hiring on a gender and race blind basis, that is good for your firm, employee and community. Please understand if I'm skeptical about your statement. Many tech firms have been vocal about their gender biased hiring and some firms practice a soft form of discrimination. This tends to benefit white female engineers for the most part.
Think about this for a moment. Tech firms on a hiring spree. Many firms are bending over backwards to include women while reducing the number of male engineers. The New York Times has put out an article titled Technology's Man problem. Being a man is considered a negative. This is the simplistic and biased narrative that a "reputable" news outlet perpetuates. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/technology/technologys-man-problem.html?_r=0 The article only portrays the men as uncouth, boorish frat boys who drink beer and sexually harass women. It ignores the decades of contributions that men, many from disadvantaged backgrounds have made to the field. If TT is hiring based on merit, good for them. However, there are many firms that flat out reserve engineer slots for women and have lowered standards for them. I'm sick of the "All men in tech are sexist" narrative. How the hell is replacing one form of bias with another going to lead to progress? As I said before, something smells like bullshit.
And I submit that a couple decades from now, when AI machines have made coders as relevant as travel agents, all this stuff about male and female will seem rather quaint.
Read through Katie's article again. Here is a quote: " It could be a chicken-or-egg question, determining whether a sexist culture has developed because of a lack of women, or if that culture has in fact led to the lack of women. It may be a bit of both, but either way it’s an issue." The article assumes that a pervasive, sexist atmosphere exists throughout the tech industry. Men are the perpetrators and women are the victims. What is even more troubling than the assumption that men have created a hostile environment is the sexism inherent in Katie's article. Women are assumed to be weak, defenseless and have little agency.