The underrepresentation of women in the tech industry is not only ethically wrong but also an impediment to innovation. This talk breaks down how to build a culture of equality and inclusion.

1. The Feminist Tech Company
Building a Culture of Equality and Inclusion
Julian Scaff
www.jscaff.com
This was originally presented at the Wonder Women Tech Conference in Long Beach, CA on 7/17/2016
https://wonderwomentech.com/speakers/julian-scaff/

2. My Experience
22 years as a
visual & ux designer
& creative director
for tech companies and non-profits
11 years as a
professor/academic
in the U.S., Europe, Middle East

3. The tech industry has a problem…

4. Female employees in the tech industry
70%
30%
women
men

5. Female employees in technical positions at Google
83%
17%
women
men

6. Female employees in technical positions at Twitter
90%
10%
women
men

7. Why are women so
underrepresented?

8. Computer programming was
invented by a woman!
Ada Lovelace
Invented computer programming in
1842, a mathematical model of an
“Analytical Engine”

9. Boys outperform girls in math on the SAT exam…

10. Boys outperform girls in math on the SAT exam…
…but in the classroom they are equal

11. Men are not inherently better at
technical jobs than women

12. It’s a problem of culture

13. The cultures at tech companies
are not friendly to women

14. There are 3 things organizations
can do to fix the culture problem

15. 1. Change internal culture
• Break the cycle of “bro” culture
• Talk about gender issues
• Talk about communication
• Ask every employee to help

16. Beware subtle sexism
• Many men don’t realize they’re being
sexist and need training
• Terms of endearment and talking
about women’s physical appearance
• Using a different tone of voice for
female than for male colleagues
• Judging women differently than men
for expressing emotions
• Sexual humor and innuendo

17. 2. Promote women
• Aim for a gender balance in
management and leadership
positions
• Having more women leaders will help
change culture

18. Work/Life balance
• Harvard Business Review identified
work/life balance as one obstacle for
women seeking leadership roles
• Supporting work/life balance for both
women and men improves
productivity for the entire
organization

19. 3. Recruit & Communicate
• Communicate externally that you are
a gender-equal workplace
• Explain HOW your organization’s
culture is gender inclusive
• Sponsor organizations like WWT,
Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code,
etc.

20. Why should organizations care?

21. Women are good
coders!
A study by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
and North Carolina University found
that female coders made fewer
mistakes than male coders.
(In spite of this, many tech
companies perceive otherwise.)

22. Diversity drives
innovation
“Studies show that companies with
different points of view, market
insights and approaches to problem
solving have higher sales, more
customers and larger market share
than their less-diverse rivals.”
National Center for Women &
Information Technology

23. A feminist organization is a
more effective and more
innovative organization