When we think about Silicon Valley, the center of technology, we start to imagine an intelligent, futuristic, wealthy world, full with people open to new ideas, with brilliant minds and dreams. Actually, we’re imagining a utopia, which it really is for the men in the tech industry. However, the few women who managed to enter this world view it as a nightmare, rather than a utopia.

According to some studies conducted in 2017, in large companies such as Google, women represent only 31% of employees and Facebook only 35%, and women of color represent 4% of employees. Moreover, women working in technology quit their jobs twice as fast as men.

And now, when we see these horrifying statistics, we ask ourselves: “How did it come to this?”. The answer of many companies and employers is always the same: meritocracy, even though, statistically speaking, enterprises led by women are more successful. This standard answer ignores the real problem: starting from the beginning of the tech industry, women were disadvantaged not because they didn’t have the necessary intelligence, but because stereotypes of people who would be “fit” to work in this industry were created.

Let’s find out a couple of things about how the tech industry actually started and developed. In 1960, a big software company, System Development Corporation, hired two male psychologists to find computer programmers who would fit to work for the company. This is how the psychologists selected 1378 programmers, out of which only 186 were women and they created the “perfect candidate” profile. From this study, they drew two conclusions: the perfect employee liked to solve problems, both mechanical and mathematical, but also that programmers "do not like activities that involve socializing and are more interested in office life than personal life." Following this study, several companies no longer gave importance to the education, skills and potential of future employees, but selected them based largely on the two previously mentioned criteria. This is how the incredible harmful stereotypes developed, which are valid to this day.

“The best technologies and products are made by people who have different perspectives and views. And I think women and men really have different perspectives", said Marissa Mayer, a former CEO of Yahoo. Today, important technology decisions are largely made by men and the consequences of this can already be seen. For example, the first version of the praised Apple "Health" application could measure blood alcohol levels, but could not track menstruation. Everything from big smartphones to artificial hearts have been designed to better suit men.

Moreover, the "working" atmosphere in Silicon Valley is discriminatory against women in the field. In a 2015 interview, well known millionaire and investor Chris Sacca boasted of hot tub parties at his home to meet new entrepreneurs, discuss business and even decide whether to invest in their start-ups. Sacca also mentioned how impressed he was with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who "can stay in the jacuzzi for over 8 hours to discuss business." However, Katrina Lake, CEO of Stitch Fix, has heard about Sacca's party and she said, “As a woman, I don't want to go to Lake Tahoe to hang out with some men in the hot tub. How many women would like to sit in a bikini and drink beer while proposing a business idea?”. This is why, the chances of women in the field to create a successful company are becoming very few due to the way business is done in Silicon Valley. In an area where you have to have many connections to excel, Silicon Valley makes it almost impossible for women to succeed.

It's 2021; we live in a world where technology is one of the most important things, having a huge influence on the economy, society, but especially on our future, and women do not have enough say in the industry. Everyone is looking for the next Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, but does anyone think she could be a woman? Does anyone think of the next Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper or Margaret Hamilton?

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editorial: Sofia Ene

graphic design: Antonia Vlad

translation: Sofia Ene

DP(desktop publishing): Antonia Vlad