4. Computer Information Systems Managers
White Men 91.5% African American 0.8% Asian 2.3% Hispanic 0.7% Women 4.7%
2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. 0
22.5
45
67.5
90
Attitudes of College Bound Youth (Ages 13-17)
CS is a good major CS is a good career
2009 ACM and WGBH Foundation New Image for Computing Report
6. Attitudes of College Bound Youth (Ages 13-17)
More girls tend to associate computing with “typing,”
“math,” and “boredom,” while boys are more likely to
associate computing with “video games,” “design,”
“electronics,” “solving problems,” and “interesting.”
7. 52
63
71
40
0 20 40 60 80
Percentage of women who have left tech jobs and don’t ever return
Average working hours per week in the tech industry
Percentage of women in STEM fields that experience sexual harassment
Percentage of Women Who Drop Out of Field between ages 35-40
Harvard Business Review: Stopping the Exodus of Women in Science
More Bummers for Women in Technology
8. 9
10
5
14 14
8
Return on Equity Return on Sales Return on Invested Capital
Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation
on Boards
Low/no percentage of women board directors
High percentage of women board directors
2007 Catalyst Study: TheBottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards
12. Cultural Issues
ns just want to be where we belong and contribute in a meaningfu
The Impostor Syndrome
So, Why?
13. 2010: The first time women earned more advanced degrees than men.
42% of successful Indiegogo campaigns are run by women and they raise more than men in terms of the
number of contributions and amounts per contribution.
men represent 22% of angel investors, up 50% from the year befo
orbes article claims that 2014 is the breakout year for women entr
ng far more computing jobs than U.S. schools are creating compu
“Right now, four of the 20 top-paying jobs for women are in computing…”
en, NCWIT, RailsBridge, Women Who Code, Girl Geek Dinners, G
I feel like in some ways, I was born to give this talk. After all, I’ve been a software developer for most of my career. I didn’t get interested in computing because I was trying to help improve the men to women ratio.
I got into the field because I enjoy solving problems. So, while in some ways I was born to give this talk, in other ways, it’s been the most difficult talk I’ve had to give. Why aren’t there more women in computer science?
Before we get into some of the reasons and issues, let’s look at some data.
Introduce myself
Give some background on my career
Present the dilemma
It’s really too bad that women are leaving because having them at your company is actually a huge benefit, especially when they are in leadership positions. And, having at least 3 women BODs is even better for company performance!
To be clear, women are leaving because of culture issues, not because they are raising kids
Even though in other industries, people leave the workforce for a year or two at different times in their lives—most of them go back. Sadly, this is not true in tech.
Things are changing
So, back to me. I got this, right? But even at Quick Left, I noticed a trend. Women weren’t passing our initial interview screens, yet they were behind hired elsewhere with successful outcomes. What was I missing? As much as I should know what I’m doing, I was blindside by my own integration into the culture. I started to wonder what other ways I was setting up women for anything but success at my own company.
It’s one thing to want more diverse team members in your office, but another to make a commitment to do this. How can you as founders or board members push change in your organization?
It’s one thing to want more diverse team members in your office, but another to make a commitment to do this. How can you as founders or board members push change in your organization?
If the only way to have access to the bosses or to climb the social hierarchy at the office is through the bar scene after work, you’re definitely excluding people. We have a kegerator at Quick Left, not saying you shouldn’t have alcohol, but make sure it’s not the only way people can make connections at the office.