Like all women in the technical industry I work in a male dominate environment. After all women hold less than 25% of the tech jobs in America. (Even more disheartening women only hold 11% of the executive positions). This is why I was very upset to learn that women are leaving the industry at a 45% higher rate than men. So, we will begin seeing even a bigger gap in the years to come.
As I am sure it is true with my fellow 25 percenter’s, through my career I have found I am often the only woman on a call, in a room, or a part of a team. I have worked hard to prove I belong, or to prove I know what I am talking about. In some situations, I have felt I had to prove it daily, though I will say there were many times I was trusted and respected without question.
Technically The Reasons
I have had my solutions over looked only to know I was right in the end. I have had my statements ignored only to be repeated by a male co-worker and touted as a brilliant idea. I have also been turned down for jobs stating I wasn’t “technical enough” when not one technical question was asked of me during the interview, while a male counterpart was given lots of technical questions for the same job.
I do preface this with I do not believe most of our male counterparts have a negative intention. I do not believe most of them recognize they do it. Much like the scenarios in “Witch-vs-Strong Leader” I believe (a lot of ) this is a product of our society and a conversation is needed to make it change.
I talk a lot with my fellow female technology teammates, and we all have similar experiences at least at some point in their careers. The rewording of statements. The “mansplaing” of the technology. The constant interruptions and being spoken over, so that you feel you must speak faster than anyone really should to get out a thought. The feeling of being passed over for a deserved promotion. The questioning even after proving the knowledge. Being called emotional for expressing an opinion. The need to fend off the advances and flirtation. We won’t even discuss the pay gap shown up to 21% – that’s .79 cents to the dollar folks for the same job!
A Simple Statement
It is no wonder that women are leaving the tech industry in droves. But I love what I do in the cloud and tech world and I don’t want to give up. While I may not be happy with it, I can see the reasons many are choosing to find a new career. Even with my passion for the technology and my thirst for knowledge I will say that it does get difficult to stay focused on the end goal with the continuous challenges.
I found myself in a situation last year that caused me to begin to question my choices and my value in the industry. An engineer made a simple, yet impactful comment about me, in front of co-workers and a customer that “she’s not even technical” and questioned my ability to lead the workshop. He didn’t really know me, nor my resume. I had only brief conversations with him at this point, so I had no idea why he felt he was all the sudden the expert on my technical acumen.
I know I should have never let his words impact me, but for some reason at that moment I felt every condescending comment ever said to me, every pass over, and every challenge I have faced in my career from my xy chromosome colleagues. I wanted to say some not so nice words to him, I wanted to begin handing out my resume, I wanted to be anywhere else than that room. However, I kept my composure and dealt with the customers challenge and moved on. Though I hate to admit it, his words stayed with me for a while after that meeting. That along with a series of other events made me start questioning my career path. Was all of it really worth it?
For The Love of Technology
In the end though, I know I want to stay in the technology world and continue to do what I love to do. I want to grow and learn with technology. I just wonder how many other women like me let a statement like that be their last straw and walk away from the industry they once loved? I wonder what needs to happen to make it change? How can we make it better for the ladies coming in, for ourselves, for our daughters?
I think we need to at least be sure to keep the conversations going. Let our male counterparts know when they have made a mistaken assumption. We need stand up for ourselves, ask for the raise, and most importantly support each other. 25 Percenter’s Unite!