

The gender gap in startups - fnazeeri
http://founderresearch.blogspot.com/2009/02/gender-gap-in-startups-part-2.html

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jlees
I found it quite interesting to click through to the previous post referenced
in that article, as well: [http://founderresearch.blogspot.com/2008/12/gender-
gap-in-st...](http://founderresearch.blogspot.com/2008/12/gender-gap-in-
startups-part-1-women-in.html)

He talks about the proportions of women in tech startups there. Funnily, the
12.7% women-in-IT percentage is more or less equivalent to the proportion of
women on my undergrad and graduate computer science courses, and also nowhere
near the percentage of female tech entrepreneurs I meet. (I've met two others,
I think.)

However, I'm just doing what I want to do because it's cool and fun. Not
because I want to fly a flag or be a statistic. I almost get annoyed when
people draw attention to the gender gap, as it makes me even more of a three-
headed monkey, and heaven knows I get enough strange looks as it is.

~~~
silencio
Me too, but at a certain point when you are established in a way, you want to
fly a small flag just to say "hey look, it's possible!" to other women.

When I was wee (oh god, I'm getting old?! but I'm only 20!) I was put off by
how many men there were and how weird it was to be the only girl in my entire
CS classes, and now I think I'm over most of it (except for the really
hurtful/disgusting discrimination, not limited to tech or gender). However, I
occasionally meet another woman or some girl barely a few years younger who
was put off by gender discrimination in tech (in general, not just startups)
permanently or was on the verge of doing so, and I try to get them interested
again in one way or another by mentoring in a way. I think in that aspect it's
worthwhile to attempt that at least. All the women I talk to about this have
found it helpful to know that there are other women in the industry that have
been successful and that not everyone is so rude.

~~~
jlees
I wonder if there'll ever really be a way to mentor/help out women in tech
without drawing attention to the gender statistics. I totally agree that
helping others get interested when they are on the verge of being put off is a
positive thing. But I still have this whole aversion to making us "special"
and thus exacerbating the attitudes. Ho hum.

