“The Industry Is Fundamentally Broken”: Women On Sexism In Silicon Valley
Have we reached a tipping point for sexism in tech? Join five women for an honest and unflinching roundtable discussion on the past, present, and future for women in tech.
By Ruth Reader
Sexism in tech isn’t new. But 2017 has been the year that the harassment and bias that many women in Silicon Valley have long endured has come to light. Uber along with several venture capital firms have been outed for fostering environments where sexual harassment and discrimination have thrived. The fallout has been swift and public. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor is investigating wage disparity at Google, and now as many as 90 former employees are suing over similar discrepancies. (Google is also dealing with the image-tarnishing sexist “memo” leak.)
To get an honest picture of the past, present, and future for women in tech, we sat down with five of the founding members of Project Include, an organization that works with startups to make their workplaces inclusive. These women have spent decades witnessing, enduring, and fighting sexism in Silicon Valley. What follows is an edited version of our conversation late last month at Fang Restaurant in San Francisco.
