Women and leadership positions in tech

Katharina ProbstEngineering Manager, Netflix

“So essentially you're offering to just [sexual innuendo]?”

State of the world

The percentage of women in tech is low

Women make up 26% of the computing workforce in 2014 [1]

<< 10% African American, Asian, and Hispanic women

26%[1] http://bit.ly/1hNYxcE

...and it’s gotten lower

2014: 26%http://bit.ly/1hNYxcE

1991: 36%

... unsurprisingly the number of women in senior leadership roles is small

[1] http://bit.ly/1IShvJz (NCIWT study)

Silicon-Valley technology startups: 4 percent of senior management positions; Fortune 500 tech: 11% of corporate officers.

4%

... and the pipeline isn’t great

[1] http://tek.io/1nbpMxI

In the mid-1980s, 37% of computer science majors were women; in 2012, 18% [1]

18%

Why does it matter?

Research suggests that diverse teams perform better.[1]

Diverse teams have more constructive debates.[2]

If nothing else, let’s not restrict our talent pool.

[1] http://bit.ly/1UvLs8S, http://tek.io/1nbpMxI [2] http://stanford.io/1WcXWSn

[1] http://bit.ly/1IShvJz (NCWIT study)

“56 percent of technical women leave at the “mid-level” point” [1] 56%

Majority of women in technology leave mid-career

[1] http://bit.ly/1IShvJz (NCIWT study)

Mid-career & leadership

10-20 years experience.

The time many take on leadership roles.

Leadership: tech lead, architect, manager, director, etc.

An insider’s view

There are those who stand in the way...

“I was supposed to interview somebody for a [technical] position, but he refused to be interviewed by a woman.”

“I went to pick up my speaker badge at [major tech conference] and the guy handing out the badges said: ‘You’re a speaker?? Noooooo.’”

“I can’t tell you how many times somebody assumed I was a recruiter and couldn’t believe that I was a hiring manager.”

“One hint of their attitude towards women is that they call all of the men by name and all of the women are “hon” or “honey” or “sweetie”.”

“I would say I am my worst enemy.”

Unconscious bias: everybody has it.

The “queen bee” effect: some female leaders hold back other women.

There are also those who help.

“One of my VPs [...] (male) was particularly supportive and [...] expose[d] me to higher-level business and management challenges.”

“I want people to treat me the same they treat men, and for the most part, they do.”

“Throughout my career, I have sought out strong technical female leaders as mentors and have had some great experiences with that.”

“My husband takes the kids to the doctor, plays single dad when I travel for work, and is home as much as I am when school is out.”

What’s it like?

“I love to help others succeed, to watch people grow.”

“just as I get great satisfaction from solving a technical problem, I get great satisfaction from helping others do the same.”

“As a professional I get to see how the most brilliant people in the world change it for the better”

“It’s incredible what a well-aligned, motivated team can accomplish.”

“Most of the time I just don’t think of myself as a female leader. I just think of myself as a leader, and exactly where I want to be.”

My experience: concentric circles

Inner circle(s):Supportive/gender-indifferent.

Larger environment:Not.

Daily focus: the job itself

Positive environment.

Mentors.

Leaders are exposed to larger environment more often

More cross-team interactions.

More recruiting (rich ground for “interesting” experiences!).

More public presence.

What to do (for women)?

Find the right environment for you

“find[...] a work place with a culture where you don't have to change completely to fit pre-defined notions of the definition of a leader.”

“if you're having trouble breaking through or being successful as a leader, don't assume it's all you.”

Be open minded.

Some people treat everybody poorly.

What to do (for leaders)?

You set the tone.

Don’t accept bias.

What to do(for everybody)?

Be aware

Explicit bias exists and happens every day.

Implicit bias is real!

Environment is created by everybody.

Don’t treat people badly even if you don’t know them.

Concentric circles: fix both.

Inner circle: must be positive.

Larger environment: easier to live with if not positive, but difficult long-term.

Katharina Probsthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/katharinaprobst

@probst_kathrin

BACKUP

Why move into leadership?

Why move into leadership?

“I love technology, but I am even more fascinated by people.” [1]

“strategic planning”

“I realized that I got great satisfaction (and believe I provided strong value) in mentoring/growing engineers [and] achieving goals through others.”

[1] All quotes in this presentation are from women I know personally.

Other motivations

Sometimes it’s the only way to advance your career.

More power (is this really true?)

Why did the chicken cross the road? -- To show the opossum that it could be done.

Why do women leave?

Many leave because they are not in the right environment.[1]

✘ Bad experiences✘ Little/no support

[1] http://bit.ly/1IShvJz (NCIWT study)

Find a mentor (or two)

➔ Can be somebody more experienced

➔ Can be a peer

➔ Can be male or female

Become a mentor yourself!