The Feminist Tech CompanyBuilding a Culture of Equality and Inclusion

Julian Scaff www.jscaff.com

This was originally presented at the Wonder Women Tech Conference in Long Beach, CA on 7/17/2016 https://wonderwomentech.com/speakers/julian-scaff/

My Experience22 years as a

visual & ux designer & creative director

for tech companies and non-profits

11 years as a professor/academic

in the U.S., Europe, Middle East

The tech industry has a problem…

with women and minorities

Female employees in the tech industry

70%

30%women

men

Female employees in technical positions at Google

83%

17%women

men

Female employees in technical positions at Twitter

90%

10%women

men

Why are women so underrepresented?

Computer programming was invented by a woman!

Ada LovelaceInvented computer programming in 1842, a mathematical model of an

“Analytical Engine”

Boys outperform girls in math on the SAT exam…

…but in the classroom they are equal

Boys outperform girls in math on the SAT exam…

…but in the classroom they are equal

Men are not inherently better at technical jobs than women

It’s a problem of culture

The cultures at tech companies are not friendly to women

There are 3 things organizations can do to fix the culture problem

1. Change internal culture

• Break the cycle of “bro” culture

• Talk about gender issues

• Talk about communication

• Ask every employee to help

Beware subtle sexism• Many men don’t realize they’re being

sexist and need training

• Terms of endearment and talking about women’s physical appearance

• Using a different tone of voice for female than for male colleagues

• Judging women differently than men for expressing emotions

• Sexual humor and innuendo

2. Promote women

• Aim for a gender balance in management and leadership positions

• Having more women leaders will help change culture

Work/Life balance

• Harvard Business Review identified work/life balance as one obstacle for women seeking leadership roles

• Supporting work/life balance for both women and men improves productivity for the entire organization

3. Recruit & Communicate

• Communicate externally that you are a gender-equal workplace

• Explain HOW your organization’s culture is gender inclusive

• Sponsor organizations like WWT, Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, etc.

Why should organizations care?

Women are good coders!

A study by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and North Carolina University found that female coders made fewer mistakes than male coders.

(In spite of this, many tech companies perceive otherwise.)

Diversity drives innovation

“Studies show that companies with different points of view, market insights and approaches to problem solving have higher sales, more customers and larger market share than their less-diverse rivals.”

National Center for Women & Information Technology

A feminist organization is a more effective and more innovative organization