We Want Change in Actions not Only Numbers
As a young woman pursuing a career in tech, I am often told by male colleagues that any attention or offer I receive from a company is simply because I am a female. Let me tell you firsthand how frustrating it is to be told by a man that the only reason you got a job was because of your anatomy, not your knowledge or skill set. Unfortunately, this perception of women in technology is held by a lot of men and in turn is not helping the epidemic of gender bias in the workplace. The medium article entitled “The Problem with Women in Tech isn’t the Women — it’s the Men” written by Ross Fubini, was inspired by the problematic op-ed written by entrepreneur John Greathouse in The Wall Street Journal. He claims that women should use their initials when first reaching out to their male colleagues to receive more respect. Oh yes, let me make it easier for you and hide my gender so that you don’t have to worry about your own gender bias in the 21st century. In the medium article, Fubini cites research done by Freada Kapor-Klein which shows that better male-female balance in a company is corresponded with better financial success and happier employees. So, if we know all this, why is it that women are still being patronized and not respected in their field? As Subramaniam states in Ghost Stories of Darwin,
“The exclusive focus on increasing numbers of women has led to helping women achieve science’s idea of a scientist rather than disrupting such normative ideals.”
This statement is directly related to how I feel when companies and colleagues act as if the only reason women get the job is because of company’s quotas and not their talent. Because of this mindset, in turn women are not respected or taken seriously in the workplace, specifically tech industries and STEM fields. If there is nothing being done to combat or bring awareness to gender bias, then we will have a lot of John Greathouse’s (Old white men) in the industry telling women they shouldn’t disclose their gender to demand more respect. Instead of going around the problem we need to face it head on, just as Ross Fubini is doing in the Medium article. What Ross Fubini does here is important because as women we need more men advocating for us. It is exhausting to constantly be patronized and then have to explain to our colleagues why what they said was distasteful. From these sources and class discussions, I am hopeful there will be a new wave of feminism not only practiced by females but males as well as I believe this is when we will see real change.
Written by Sabrina Iqbal.
Sources:
Fubini, Ross. “The Problem with Women in Tech Isn’t the Women — It’s the Men.” Medium, Athena Talks, 1 Oct. 2016, medium.com/athena-talks/the-problem-with-women-in-tech-isnt-the-women-it-s-the-men-7bc25ce96dc6.
Subramaniam, Banu. Ghost Stories for Darwin: the Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity. University of Illinois Press, 2014.
