

How The Meritocracy Myth Affects Women In Technology - modfodder
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/02/06/272646267/how-the-meritocracy-myth-affects-women-in-technology?utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook

======
malandrew

        "Women account for just 6 percent of the chief executives 
        of the top 100 tech companies"
    

If there is one job role you don't want to use to point out gender disparity,
it is the title of CEO. Most tech startup CEOs occupy that position because
that person (irrespective of gender) went out and decided to start a company
on their own or with colleagues. Before a company reaches series B, it is
almost entirely unlikely that the CEO has been appointed to that position by
that company's board of directors.

For post B-round companies, it's possible that some percentage of CEOs occupy
that position because the board replaced the founding CEO and that a mostly
male VC community is likely to appoint men to the position.

You could go on to point out that the low numbers of women as CEOs in pre-B-
round companies is attributable to the difficulty women having raising money
from a largely male VC community.

Moving on from there, you could then look at the ratio of men to women CEOs in
the population of pre-funded startups so the only real bias you have left is
selection bias. Yeah, a women is probably less likely to found a company
because some may not see a path to funding because they think that as a women
they are less investible by a largely male investment community.

With all that in mind if that 6% figure remains consistent for companies
post-B, between seed and A and pre-investment, the only conclusion to make is
that something else is holding them back than a glass ceiling. I don't know
what that would be if this is the case, nor will I speculate. I just wanted to
point out that CEO (and CTO for tech startups) are the only jobs in which your
gender should be least relevant, especially in companies pre-funding.

------
nickthemagicman
Women outnumber men in universities yet there's a 1 in 20 ratio of women in
STEM.

Most women major in theatre, psychology, english....etc.

We keep dragging the chestnut of discrimination around...

~~~
EliRivers
Alternatively, it illustrates that they get put off even earlier than choosing
a degree.

Not saying that's the case; I'm saying that deciding there's no discrimination
because women major in theatre is a non sequitur.

~~~
nickthemagicman
If your point is true then the blame isn't on white male repression in the
workplace.

If it starts much earlier then it's some sort of social conditioning that is
the fault of teachers, parents, television, etc.

------
gcb0
i read the text, and there is nothing there. it starts on one argument, and
move to another

