Girl geeks speak from the heart
by Jan Kabili

Girl geeks in the Get Deeply Geeky session at BlogHer have been speaking from the heart. A number of women have been telling their stories about working in traditionally male areas of technology. I've heard a lot of emotion in the voices we've heard, and applaud these women for telling it like it is.

One thing that strikes me is that I've heard these stories before in other fields. I ran into similar situations as a lawyer and as a traditional journalist. There are lessons to be learned and solutions to be had there. Some ideas for solutions:

1. Mary Hodder (CEO of Dabble) told us that she can think of only four women CEO's who have founded tech companies. IMHO, the few women technologists who are at the head of the pack have an obligation to support other women (as Mary does, by the way). That means making a conscious effort to hire, promote, and mentor other women.

2. Get out of your current work situation if it's not working for you. Start your own business or join with other women.

3. Network with other women. We've heard a few specific ideas along these lines -- starting a mailing list for women in development, helping each other with technology questions, supporting women leaders with estroswarms. Let's do it.

Submitted by Jan Kabili (view blog) on Sat, 07/29/2006 - 11:23am

Comments

 

For most Gen X women,

For most Gen X women, mentorship, while sounding good in theory, has predominantly been a foreign entity for them throughout their career. Having a "mentor" usually involved being assigned as a young, entry level associate to a very busy, high-ranking women within a company, for a short period of time in order to learn protocol.

Hence, this generation of women, especially those in technology; have learned by baptisms of fire, being their own best council and adapting a die-hard, sink or swim mentality to be successful. Additionally, networking has become a time "luxury" restricted to early career practices, due to increased home and work demands, which are generally far greater than those of their male counterparts.

Currently many high ranking women in technology are truly feeling the pangs of being; lonely, isolated and stressed at the top, both personally and professionally. These women are realizing that they can leave jobs at Fortune 500 companies and that they will feel happier and more fulfilled by doing so under the current paradigm. Perhaps a nationwide, social network is needed to allow for "reverse" mentorship and cross-industry collaboration, in order to "revive" these women, so that they feel empowered and encouraged again to break through the glass ceiling, rather than burning out and passing the torch back.

I believe that we can overcome this dynamic and counterbalance having to act like a man in the work force by competing and telling each other to "suck it up," by capitalizing on our own unique gender capacity for networking and collaboration. By creating a nationwide, cross-industry social network for professional "power" women, ambition can be supported at both the top and bottom rungs of technology, finance, legal and business organizations.

Such a network additionally gives us all an opportunity to broker deals, "cross pollinate ideas" and ease each other's stress, which I believe is key in evolving our industry and women's role in technology and business.

The benefits here for all women are obvious ones, we need more women at the top to yield greater change in business communication styles and to create family/lifestyle friendly workplaces.

Submitted by mintyfresh on Sat, 07/29/2006 - 16:24
 

As a woman who will be in

As a woman who will be in the technology field in just a few years, I would love it if a resource such as you proposed was set up. I know what education I need but beyond that, I don't have the first clue for trying to break in what is a male dominated industry (gaming).

I also think more women would be attracted to tech jobs if there was a support base for them.

Lexicon Indigo|Blogilepsy|SmutWriter

Submitted by Indigo Black on Sat, 07/29/2006 - 19:36
 

Thanks Indigo - I agree...I

Thanks Indigo -

I agree...I remember being in the same spot in collage. I had to intern a couple of places before I finally figured it out. What would get your attention in collage and encourage you to use something like this or make it worth your while?

Would you ideally want to "read" something about peers and people further up the pike and then be able to make contact with them or get an internship through it. Would a blog, email, IM etc.. be the best for you?

-Minty

Submitted by mintyfresh on Sat, 07/29/2006 - 20:52
 

Hi Jan, Thanks. Just wanted

Hi Jan,
Thanks. Just wanted to note that I do have 3 engineers, an xml geek and a css geek who are all women at Dabble. We hire women engineers because they are really good, and because they bring other things to the table than the men engineers do, and we really like the balance.

Also, Heather Schlagel is doing a geek girl mail list, to talk about this stuff. I don't have her current email and she told me at Blogher she'd changed companies. So.. let's see if Elisa Camahort can get it to us to add more women.

Note too that there is a feedback loop in speaking, where people who speak are often seen as leaders in their fields and asked into management, and then due to the title and leadership there, asked to speak. We set up a speaker's wiki here, after Blogher 2005, to help expose more women who might be good to speak at different events:

http://www.socialtext.net/speakers/index.cgi

Follow the directions on the front page to add yourself.

mary

Submitted by Mary Hodder on Sun, 07/30/2006 - 13:27
 

Good ideas Mary.

Good ideas Mary. It's great that you're hiring women. I think you offer a good role model -- not only because of your business acumen, but also because you propose and follow up on concrete strategies like those you mention here. Let us know if Elisa sends you Heather's email. Otherwise I'd be happy to follow up -- after Elisa gets the couple of days rest she so deserves.

Jan

Jan Kabili
Blogher Contributing Editor Technology & Web
Also blogging at The Unofficial Photoshop Weblog and The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Submitted by Jan Kabili on Sun, 07/30/2006 - 15:56
 

Hi Minty, I definitely think

Hi Minty,

I definitely think that exposure, either through written material or a guest speaker or both, of the fact that there are women in tech jobs and that they are successful in the feild is a must. I think blogging may be the best avenue, that way women from all over the world and in different areas of tech could contribute their knowledge and advice.

I'm a hands on sort of person, so for me I would definitely want an internship program to be available.

Lexicon Indigo|Blogilepsy|SmutWriter

Submitted by Indigo Black on Sun, 07/30/2006 - 14:18
 

Women in tech

I wish that I'd found a resource like this when I was in IT and then a software engineer working with all men. It would have made a big difference. There probably were resources out there, but I didn't know about them!

-----------------
Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Badgermama - personal & mommyblog
http://liz-henry.blogspot.com

Submitted by Liz Henry on Mon, 07/31/2006 - 11:09