Women in tech
I got an email from a woman this past week sharing an infographic on women in tech. Intriguing information (see below). Then I read the Quora piece on "Why Do We Need More Women in Technology". Continuing on in my reading my friend sent me the WSJ piece on a study called "Women Executives make Venture-Backed Companies More Successful". All of these pieces are tied together.
More women are entering tech for a variety of reasons and btw more people are entering tech because it is an exciting part of the economy to be a part of. You can build a company for relatively little money with the hopes that your idea will disrupt an industry or fill a huge void in the market. I am simplifiying it but you get the picture.
None of us should be surprised that having gender balance in a company and having women in the top management have a better chance for success. Women and men look at things differently. We each react to situations differently. We manage differently.
This past week I was talking to a group of investors about the many women that I have invested in. I recently did an analysis of my investments and discovered that almost 70% of what I have invested in is either a woman who started her own company or a woman was one of the partners. What I have discovered is a host of things. Most of the businesses have slowly evolved into something bigger than the original idea as most do. Many of the women really reach out to me quite often be it they have having an amazing day or a shitty day and they just need someone to tell. Women are deep thinkers about decisions that involve people. They want to do the right thing. Doesn't mean that men don't too but I find that women are harder on themselves than they are on the people around them. They are great managers. Perhaps it is just part of their maternal dna. They always need to cross their i's and dot their t's which is a good thing and a bad thing. They are in for the long run. They really listen and weigh all their options. They tend to create companies about topics that they are passionate about that fills a void in their own lives.
Bottom line, everyone needs a good female in their life which is why companies with females at the top are better for investors. Glad to see that the picture below is up on the upswing.
Comments (Archived):
I hadn’t seen these infographics yet! Thanks so much. I’m a mentor for a program called Technovation Challenge that pairs up high school girls with women in tech. We mentor them from conceptualizing an idea to biz plan, marketing, and then Google actually lets them prototype the app on App Inventor. At the end of the program, the girls pitch to VCs and one team (after competing nationally) has their app produced by Google. The app has to be a STEM app though.Anyhoo – they’re visiting my accelerator in a couple weeks and this would be great to show them. A lot of the girls get recruited by their teachers and the others are on the fence because it takes some nudging to help them believe, they are strong, capable, young women and they can do this kinda stuff! Gotta support the girls in tech to help them grow into strong women in tech.
What an awesome program. Where is it located? Do you have a link to it?
Yep here’s a link: http://iridescentlearning.o…They’re looking to expand this year by double I believe, but last year it was NYC, LA, Boston + 7 sites in the Bay Area (where they’re located). And great companies get involved. So Google in Cambridge hosted us, but Microsoft, LinkedIn, Adobe, Twitter, etc host as well.And here’s a link to a piece I wrote on my experience: http://bostinno.com/channel…You’d be perfection as a speaker. 🙂
very cool. i am going to read it all.
Awesome! If you want to connect to the NYC folks directly, the contact is Angelica Torres angelica (at) iridescentlearning (dot) org
Ha. Love it
You can use this quote from above if you ever begin a GG line of t-shirts: “Everyone needs a good female in their life.”
Excellent infographic; thanks for sharing and reminding me why I get up most days and bike (sometimes in a dress and high heels!) to our tech company; I want my four year-old granddaughter to see a very different picture in a few years.Best,Ella
“everyone needs a good female in their life”Love it.
Pando Daily did a great 5 part series on Women in Startups in the Middle East these last two weeks. http://pandodaily.com/2012/…
yup. It was a well researched and well written series by Chris Schroeder. There are some amazing stories for startups being run by Arab women entrepreneurs
Do you think that existing VC firms are reluctant to hire women lest they change the culture or boys club that’s taken shape?
absolutely not. i think women prefer to work inside large companies where they can manage and be part of a team. Of course this is a huge judgemental observation but I have seen a few women investors peel out and then go work inside the companies they have invested in. It is hard being an investor, it isn’t a communal sport.
Thanks for sharing the encouraging stats.Does it ever occur to the men (still!) making the majority of decisions in management, that even more than 50% of their customers are likely to be women?
you would think it would….wouldn’t you?
Can’t wait to throw these figures at potential angel investors 😉