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"Sexism, racism and bullying are driving people out of tech, US study finds"
More: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/27/tech-industry-sexism-racism-silicon-valley-study
One in 10 women in tech experience unwanted sexual attention, and nearly one in four people of color face stereotyping, according to the Kapor Center for Social Impact and Harris Poll, which surveyed more than 2,000 people who left tech jobs in the last three years.
The findings – which suggest that sexual harassment and complaints about unfairness are disproportionately high in the tech sector compared to other industries – come at a time of heightened debates around diversity and discrimination in Silicon Valley.
“For each person who experiences unfairness, it’s very personal and it’s very painful,” said Ellen Pao, Kapor’s chief diversity and inclusion officer and former Reddit CEO, who has been outspoken about discrimination. “As someone who has been working in the tech industry since 1998, I know it’s prevalent, and now we have the data so people can understand the scale.”
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JHan
(10,173 posts)burnbaby
(685 posts)I've been in tech since the 80s and never saw much discrimination if any. funny to read that
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Am I right?
no I am a female, white Italian with a big mouth who in my younger days was the intimidating one.
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)Different personalities result in different treatment. Bullies are good at identifying potential victims. The loud/bad-ass sort are rarely chosen. Sadly, those not touched such bullying behavior are often oblivious to it when it happens to others, or worse, see the victims as just needing to toughen up.
burnbaby
(685 posts)it makes me reflect. I would hate to think that I thought of victims who just need to toughen up.
Honestly I was trying to survive. My plate was over flowing back then.
This is was I like about DU it makes you think
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)It sounds like you worked for outliers. Or didn't notice the WHY of how few women and POC were employed there. Easy to miss if you're not suffering because of it.
burnbaby
(685 posts)Most of the schooling they used to send us on I was maybe one of two females. I also grew up with only brothers and one girl cousin the rest were boys. I don't know if that played a role in anything or not.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Instead of dismissing it as accidental. There's been too much reportage and studies done to ignore it.
burnbaby
(685 posts)my plate was full. I never looked around to see who and what may have effected others.
gypsy11
(341 posts)and have been in the tech industry since 1991- I personally have had some bad experiences in more than one company. See discrimination regularly. Grew up in a family surrounded by men, i'm the only girl.
TNLib
(1,819 posts)I've had some bad experiences personally.
wcmagumba
(2,882 posts)a large tech firm and gives me an example of misogyny in her workplace several times a week. Her dept supervisor, a man, actually has the cube offices divided by male and female, women are all together in the area furthest from his office...many of these people have the same job and classification but...women...
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)The "cultural issue" she perceives is that over about the last fifteen years tech has begun to attract people who in times past would have gone to Wall Street, Big Law or Big Accounting. Opportunities in those fields have dried up so these people, the Tech Bros and, uhh..."female equivalent" been showing up looking to make their fortune while having little or no technical skills and a wildly different mentality. A lot of people don't want anything to do with this cohort male or female and when those being ostracized are female well the optics are bad and when frat bros behave like frat bros the optics are bad.
She perceives that the Tech Bros and "female equivalent" to mostly congregate in San Francisco while the older Silicon Valley culture is mostly static in good ways and bad. She rolls her eyes at the diversity issue because all the big name companies bombard women, herself included and other visible minorities with high-profile opportunities. But she is an engineer, she isn't interested in being demoted to executive booth babe just so Apple or Microsoft or random startup can roll her out at press events a couple times a year and look diverse.
She is generally of the opinion that pre-Tech Bro technically inclined women and men are basically the same and the shaped by the same interests and life experiences. She believes the force that pushes women away is a fear of being ostracized by other girls for being uncool when they're early adolescents. She just didn't happen to care at the time, she was a lot for interested in outdoor activities and her nerdy projects, notably cable descramblers, than talking about boys at the mean girl lunch table.
ismnotwasm
(41,973 posts)As more women enter Tech, it would seem the culture would change.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)They come from the same backgrounds, graduate from the same universities and apply for the same jobs. A lot of this is multi-generational now too.
The San Francisco "Tech Bro" scene is something else entirely, that is just a drug and alcohol fueled clusterfuck.
YoungDemCA
(5,714 posts)That seems to me like it would be a definite barrier to a change in corporate cultures.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)I'm going to laugh in her face. She seems to be thinking her personal adolescent experiences are the most important thing here? Even though the firms she works for admittedly DO have a huge problem with lack of diversity. But I'm sure she believes she is "exceptional", while dismissing other women as air heads. Wow, that's special.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)She thinks that a fear of being ostracized by other girls as a teenager discourages girls from doing "nerdy" stuff during those formative years and those years of tinkering in the garage is an integral part of the education of a nerd. She will tell you her desire to steal cable is what started her down this path.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)cars and such. Not sure why a "computer nerd" would be required to jump into some male domaine in order to prove somemthing. It's awesome she is doing what she loves- it's sad she is falling for such binary and dismissive thinking about other women though. But not a shock that she'd pick that up as part of a rite of passage into their club.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)Had peer pressure, bullying and gender roles been vanquished in 1983? Do male nerds automatically get letterman jackets?
She felt she was free to explore her interests because she didn't care whether the cool girls at school liked her or not. Her life was was centered around mountain biking, astronomy and computers. None of which were school activities. If she had been rendered a social outcast because of it she believes she would have made other choices.
She believes there is a certain self-education process that goes into the creation of the archetype nerd innovator and that will apply to men or women, she just believes that social pressure from other girls lead girls away from that path.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)I don't know what to say. It's awesome she carved her own path, it's sad that wasn't expressed without belittling other women. Is it a coincidence she ended up in a field with the same belittling attitude?
Like you explained, she has a lot incommon with the IT assholes who believe they're innately better than women- it doesn't all sound positive though.
And "creation of the archetype"!?!? All I can say is "Howard Roark laughed."
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)because you have an axe to grind with somebody else.
I have never heard her belittle anybody except for stock analysts and business reporters.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Maybe you didn't notice but it's right there. Same sort of dismissive sexist crap guys say about young girls - it only sounded new and fresh to you because a woman said it.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)please don't let me interrupt.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Because only "exceptional" women can break through and think like the dudes do. Because THATs normal, and other women just could never cut it because they like girly stuff too much. lOL.
If you can't see how wrong headed that crap is, well it's gotta be that love is blind.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)But don't let me get in the way of your righteous lather over somebody you will never meet or know as anything other than an antidote but for whom you have invented an entire backstory.
TBA
(825 posts)If you are older, how can you know about the cool new stuff?
I was coding when most of my interviewer were in diapers. And yes ... I've kept up.
burnbaby
(685 posts)I've forgotten more than these kids today know
IronLionZion
(45,404 posts)It can vary by company and team of course, but there is often an undercurrent of people being literally put in our place by the managers who assign people to tasks based not on any skills, experience, or which state we live, but only on looks. You'd have to see it for yourself. If Trump ever found out what sort of people work on federal contracts, his head would explode. I keep wondering when he'll issue an exec order that contractors have to be US citizens. People who look like me are extremely overrepresented in the lower level jobs in tech.
About 3 years ago, I decided I've had enough of people assigning me to projects. I'm going to apply for assignments that I want or change companies. 3 years later, 3 companies later, life is good for me now. I like my work, team, clients, and commute.
Never let someone make you feel like you don't deserve what you want or you don't belong in your own country. There is more than just one type of American.
CousinIT
(9,234 posts)EVEN TODAY go into a tech meeting at a 'liberal' employer - and you'll see VERY FEW people of color or females - if any.
Initech
(100,054 posts)
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)I think the rise of anonymous hate on the internet has spread out to the real world - the teens and 20 somethings who have harassed women and minorities online have been emboldened by groups like the MRA and have taken it out to the workplace as well.
Initech
(100,054 posts)And the mere mention of that happening is very unAmerican and unconstitutional. Free speech is more popular than Jesus last I checked. 
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)and frankly, it would serve them right if people got tired of their uppity ass and moved their biz to China and India, where they can take orders from the sort of people they hate.
