Making Women Feel Welcome in Silicon Valley
In a male-dominated industry, some say it can be difficult to find a place for women in the tech world. However, this does not mean that women aren’t fighting as hard as they can to be respected every day. The issue is that women should not be asked to fight harder than men to earn their well-deserved roles. The unethical actions behind the scenes of every company are often swept under the rug, but recently the pot has been stirred. Women are demanding respect and equality, and they deserve it.
Several stories told in the New Yorker Article, The Tech Industry’s Gender Discrimination Problem (Kolhatkar, 2017), documented how women are mistreated and ignored in the tech industry. This is an industry that is not only dominated by male CEO’s but also male investors. Kolhatkar (2017) said a Tesla employee, AJ Vandermeyden struggled as one of few in the company, “…she couldn’t help thinking that the company was setting her up for failure, so that it would have cause to fire her”. The first ethical issue here is differential treatment. While many believe, “…that businesses don’t need to worry about ethics, because they are not rational beings that must adhere to a moral code…” it is still important for an organization to address individual concerns such as, “…how employees are treated…” (Boon, 2017, p. 228). AJ Vandermeyden worked hard every day to prove herself, and nothing was ever good enough because she was a woman. The managers that set her up for
failure used descriptive ethics to reason their way through the situation (Boon, 2017). Instead of considering her for a promotion, the easiest way to avoid the conversation at all was to force her to fail. Women in the tech industry were being treated like they weren’t smart enough to hold higher positions, but now they’re fighting back.
The conversation about the inequality of men and women in the tech industry is affecting many people. The most obvious victim being women, but this is not only affecting employed women in the industry. Women who were considering a future in tech may no longer wish to risk a career path that is controlled by powerful men. Not only are their peers underestimating them, but also they are being catcalled and pursued in inappropriate ways. Outside of the companies, investors are also greatly impacted by this conversation. Loubier (2017) states that, while “most investors are males” there are still women investors out there who could potentially pull their offers. Within the company, the loss of respect for CEO’s and higher positions is unimaginable. The reputation of the company is tarnished because of the power these people have, and it causes their employees to be ashamed of whom they work for.
This strong movement for the equality of women in the tech industry brings us to the obligations we owe to the public. As women in Silicon Valley, it is our responsibility to glorify the impact that women have in the workplace, and I suggest we do so through this campaign. I believe it is most important to highlight gratitude and self-improvement because these women deserve to be lifted up and appreciated for their hard work. The gratitude we express for these strong women shows them that we hear them and want to show how grateful we are for them speaking out. The need for self-improvement comes from within the women themselves. Our obligation is to help them realize that what they are doing is benefitting their personal careers and others. As the AAF (2011) states, “advertisers should never compromise consumers’ personal privacy in marketing communications, and their choices as to whether to participate in providing their information should be transparent and easily made”, so the campaign will be conducted only with women who are willing to come forward and share their stories.
My recommendation for this campaign is to expose the truths about what it is like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry, and let the women tell their success stories that haven’t been heard. The women must volunteer to share their stories.
As a company, the best advice I can provide is to be truthful with any and all information released, but also to live out these demands in our own lives. I would advise that there be statistical proof that our company is practicing the same message that we are preaching about. The most trusted companies are the ones that prove they are trustworthy, and spreading the truth is the best way to earn the public’s approval.
I would be a proud part of this movement and would do it all over again if I had the chance to in the future. Women rightfully deserve recognition for their hard work, and I don’t believe that men are any more powerful than a woman can be. If they are given the opportunity to thrive in an environment, they certainly will. I believe it is important to help women find their voices in this situation especially in times like this when they are being shut down. A campaign for women’s rights in the workplace could change the dynamic of our world forever.
Works Cited
Boon, B. (2017). Ethics 101 (57-245). Adams Media: Avon, MA.
Kolhatkar, Sheelah. (2017, Nov. 20). The Tech Industry’s Gender Discrimination Problem. Retrieved from
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/20/the-tech-industrys-gender-discrimination-problem
Loubier, Andrea. (2017, July 24). The Upside to Exposing Silicon Valley’s Gender
Inequality. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrealoubier/2017/07/24/the-upside-to-exposing-silicon-valleys-gender-inequality/#1b35fa8f2919
Principles and Practices for Advertising Ethics (1-11). American Advertising Federation.
*This analysis was written for my Communications Ethics & Law class where we read about companies that participate in unethical and inappropriate actions and analyzed the outcome of their decisions.*
Photo: Christian Rondeau