Silicon Valley Has One Hand Tied Behind Its Back...
By Tom Foremski - August 28, 2009
Silicon Valley is an immensely creative and inventive place. I love working here and being involved in the conversations, the people, the companies that are making the future.
Every day I meet people, I meet startups, that are relocating to here, from every and any place around the world. And they come here for those same reasons why I am here.
Yet Silicon Valley is also mired in old school thinking and culture that it needs to shed. It is missing out on an incredible resource that is right here, under its very nose.
If Silicon Valley can figure out how to effectively use this barely tapped resource, it could be so much more successful, and it could show true leadership to the rest of the world.
That resource is women. Women are rare in Silicon Valley circles. You see a lot of diversity when it comes to color of skin, but not when it comes to gender. You rarely see women in senior management, in the VC industry, in engineering, in the C-level suites of Silicon Valley companies.
To me this means Silicon Valley is trying to succeed with one arm tied behind its back. Why not use both arms? Why wouldn't we want to use all of our people resources and all of their talents?
I don't have an answer why this is the case. I've certainly never come across groups of men plotting and discussing ways to keep women out.
But I know that unless we can figure out how to involve more women in the business of building great companies we are leaving a lot of money on the table.
By figuring out how to involve more women in the business of innovation this will have a greater business impact than any technology. More than wi-fi, more than all our mobile technologies combined, more than Moore's Law.
If Silicon Valley can figure this one out it will rule the world, imho.
- - -
This is a topic I've written about for a while on SVW:
I asked Judy Estrin, one of Silicon Valley's top serial entrepreneurs, why is there a gender gap in Silicon Valley?
Kay Koplovitz: We Need More Women Entrepreneurs - SiliconValleyWatcher
Kay Koplovitz calls for more women entrepreneurs during her acceptance speech at the SDForum visionary awards.
Thoughtleaders: Where are the women in technology? Anita Borg Institute aims to shake things up
Anita Borg on why there should be more women technologists
No Men Allowed: Girls In Tech Expands To New York, LA, And Beyond
"Women in the work place are very competitive with each other and that makes the glass ceiling twice as thick," says Adriana Gascoigne.
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Comments (2)
Why no women in Silicon Valley? Because a 60-hour work week is incompatible with family life. I have a great job and two wonderful kids. But I manage it because I work "75% time". This means 40 hours a week - not 50+. If you're working 40 hours a week, you can manage. Life is crazy, but you can still be with your children when you want. At 50+ hours a week, you can't. Since all the dads work 50+ hours a week, SOMEONE has to take care of the kids - and mostly that job falls to moms. Who then can't work Silicon Valley jobs. I've long held that a working family can manage 80 hours a week of parent work time. This can be two parents working 40 hours a week, one working 50 and one working 30, or one working 80 and one working zero. In Silicon Valley, it is hard to find a job that allows your spouse to have one too. This is a huge societal problem. Among other things, it puts a huge strain on families if daddy is never around for dinner. I don't know what the answer is, but until we find it, we won't have women fully participating in the SV work environment.
Posted: September 1, 2009 9:39 AM
If you're not lazy, the number of hours won't matter; but it's really more a matter of being totally organized. That makes a huge difference. It is usually your production that matters--more than the number of hours. Just who is it that is counting hours, anyway. A lot of work can be done away from the office, too. Women have to choose, just like men. Do I wan't to be promoted? Then I'll do ALL the work it takes. If I just want a little job to help pay some bills, then I'll insist on limiting the time I give to the job. It is a matter of choice--not something dreadfully wrong with our society, stacking the odds against women. Take responsibility for your own choices.
Posted: September 1, 2009 9:40 AM