If we want to be tech savvy, we have the brains to do so. Not all of us want to be tech savvy and that’s okay. However, not everyone is comfortable with those who are tech savvy.Recently, at a conference AI (Artificial Intelligence) and VR (Virtual Reality), leaders were invited to preview Titan X a new GPU (graphics processing unit) being offered by industry leader Nvidia. As part of the introduction, two GPU units were raffled off by their CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang.
The first winner, a young woman from the audience, was greeted by Huang saying “You don’t even know what a GPU is, huh?” The young woman laughed, but there were some groans from the room.”
Of course, there were groans. This was a conference of high-level professionals, male and female, where GPU’s play a critical role in the development of how graphic and visual imagery is processed in virtual reality programs and in artificial intelligence for facilitating learning programs.
As with every other corporate leader, having made this faux pax, there was a clarification of the not intended meaning. But women within the VR community were quick to take to social media.
The issue is more than another dig at women in a “man’s field.” The comment was coming from a major leader in the future development and programming of both AI and VR.
Further, according to Elizabeth Spriers, who wrote about this in Dumb Widdle Girls in Tech, the paramount insult is …
“That’s not to say that soft condescension and dumb jokes about whether lady brains can handle the complexities of technology X are okay coming from junior engineers, but senior leadership is more visible and more powerful, and by virtue of that, more responsible for how they present themselves and their companies.”
Other issues related to women in the tech world include:
- Women have grown to represent roughly 59% of the workforce as the enrollment in computer sciences has consistently decreased since its peak in the 1980’s.
- Women in the field are leaving citing a lack of female leadership, mentorship, and the male pat-on-the-head mentality.”
“… a pat on the head for doing exactly the same thing your male counterparts did to achieve exactly the same results. If they were being more direct: It’s impressive that you overcame the intellectually debilitating condition of being female to understand the nuances of deep learning. You’re really smart — for a girl.” (Spiers)
- Tech companies attempt to address the issue by hiring more women.
They claim a higher percentage of women employed, but the number of tech women in these companies is not comparable. According to Sarah M. Aoun, in This Is What Tech’s Gender Gap Looks Like, Yelp boasts their workforce is 50% women but only 21% are tech women. Twitter has 21% women but only 10% tech women. Google has 18% tech women and Facebook 16%.
- Gendered socialization extends to steering women away. Despite the growth of STEM programs for young women to enter the field, only 20% continue their STEM interests into college.
Overall, tech women are leaving the corporate field or not bothering to pursue careers in established companies that appear non-supportive or hostile. Thus creating a smaller pool of tech women to draw from.
The good news is there are other opportunities. Tech women appear to do well in new start-ups with more open minded and equitable policies towards women.
More women investors are funding tech companies owned by women. Currently, women have started 7% of tech companies that have used 33% less capital but have a higher return of 12% in revenues.
As women entrepreneurs, we might not see ourselves as wanting to be tech savvy, but …
The tech world needs more of our input. Erin Griffith, points out two disparities in There’s a Simple Way to Improve Tech’s Gender Imbalance. First is the “early adopter” effect. It means women are the ones most likely to adopt new technology. Second, tech products “… are created, financed, designed, and built primarily by men.”
“Women are more likely than men to build a personal blog, follow a brand or celebrity, or have a social networking profile, according to Nielsen. Women check their phones more often than men and play mobile games more often than men, according to Experian. More teenage girls use Snapchat than male peers of the same age. When today’s young women become adults, they will influence more spending decisions than anyone else in their household.”
In order to keep our businesses relevant, computer technology is just as important and our product or service.
Whether we are a do-it-yourselfer or outsource, we need a certain amount of computer knowledge so that our businesses are technologically up-to-date. Websites need to be mobile compatible. Smartphones, tablets, notebooks, and laptops need to synch with one another. We not only expect video and audio but also live streaming on social media platforms.
Technological advancements will continue in AI and VR or in ways we have not yet anticipated. Having some tech savvy knowledge and skills will become more critical than ever. While it may not be your thing, support and inspire your daughters and granddaughters to be part of a new tech savvy generation.
After all, no one can claim we don’t have the brains for it. And, if they do, remind them of Ada Byron, (circa 1843) daughter of the poet Lord Byron. At the insistence of her mother, she was educated in mathematics and science out of fear she would become a poet like her father.
In 1979, the US Department of Defense acknowledged Ada’s efforts for the first “computer program” of software based on Bernouli numbers.
What’s your level of comfort when it comes to being tech savvy?
You can learn more at https://www.women.cs.cmu.edu/ada/Resources/Women/ about the women who have made major contributions to the advances in computer technology.
Resources:
https://thereisonlyr.com/dumb-widdle-girls-in-tech-c73647238dc4#.yrmqstd7p
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/female-investors-female-startups-crunchbase-data
http://fortune.com/2016/06/01/women-tech-gender-imbalance/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-m-aoun/this-is-what-techs-gender_b_8545964.html
http://www.fastcompany.com/3039282/strong-female-lead/the-tech-gender-gap-visualized
https://www.women.cs.cmu.edu/ada/Resources/Ada/
Image: Pixabay 507811
Joyce – A couple of random thoughts in no particular order: I’m not tech savvy, but I know I’m perfectly capable of getting there, if I so desired. I could learn French, also, but I have other things to do with my time. I am a nurse anesthetist, and I’ve taken plenty of math and science courses along the way, and, frankly, I know that if I can learn anesthesia, I could have learned darned near anything else I put my mind to. On a different note, I wonder if the small pool of females in tech positions is because there’s a small pool graduating from colleges in the tech fields. I know that while females now make up over 1/2 of new college grads, there’s still a dearth in engineering – maybe the same is true for tech degrees? And on yet a different note, I loved the story of Ada Byron!
Joan, I do know that the figures are down for women in the tech field on the corporate side. However, start-ups appear to have more women techs. As the number of women investors increases in the tech field, there is the expectation that this will change to favor women again. I’m glad you’ve got the mindset to tackle what you need to learn. Let’s hope you only need to learn enough computer tech stuff to keep you out of trouble.
Great post. This reminds me of the thought when I was younger that some women don’t have “match brains” We need to put that kind of thinking aside and realize that we all have many capabilities and choose what we want to be great at, and tech certainly can be one of those!
Thanks for stopping by to comment, Crystal. You’re absolutely right. We try to make too much of brains being one type of another or that math and science are better with a male brain. It would be better if we let each person find what fields they feel most comfortable functioning in.
Very interesting piece! I didn’t realize there was such a disparity in the number of women in tech! I am not really tech oriented, but I am learning more each day, and I am probably a lot more tech-y than most of my friends!
Good for you, Kim. The idea is not to be afraid of it, but to learn what you can and what you feel comfortable with. Once you get over one hump, the next bit of learning doesn’t seem so intimidating.
My tech and social media savvy has grown in the last couple of years. I enjoy some of it, but would prefer not to have to deal with tech, but I know it is necessary. We do have the brains for it, just not always the drive for it.
Good point, Karen. I can think of a lot of other things we could be doing rather than the tech stuff. The other side is that we know enough to understand what’s going on and how to fix certain things. There’s a certain level of empowerment that comes with that.
Interesting post Joyce! We, as women, need to be more techie savvy as it will only help us within our own business if we actually KNOW a little bit of what is happening behind the scenes (i.e. funnels, blogging platform, how to add media to our sites,etc…) Thank you for sharing!
Totally agree with you, Joan. As I commented on Karen’s comment, There’s a level of empowerment in being able to do some of this.
I, too, have read about women not supporting each other in the workplace Joyce. I think some of it is labeled the “queen bee” effect…where we intentionally create distance among us. I would think we would show MORE support for each other, especially in male-dominated work environments.
Rachel, you bring up a good point. Women can be just as critical and non-supportive of each other in the workplace. I’m not sure where this behavior comes from and why it’s more pervasive in some industries than others.
Hi, Joyce
I am not a tech and I am not tech lover either. I am frustrated that because I am not tech savvy I am slowly down my process in blogging. Your post encouraged me to become a tech savvy so that I will become a better blogger and entrepreneur.
Have a nice weekend!
Stella
Stella, just know that you don’t have to learn everything right away. I know that it can seem overwhelming to take on another aspect of learning when what you really want to do is focus on your blogging and develop your business. There’s a lot of knowledgeable women in our group who can answer your questions or point you in the right direction. So, ask away.
I often say that I know much more about tech stuff than I care to. I’ve had to learn simple code to manage my website, although I had no intention of doing that. Although I was highly mathematical when in school, I prefer more creative and visual pursuits now. I agree that we do need to encourage more girls and women to pursue tech knowledge, as there is no doubt they can do it. It still becomes a personal choice and what interests each of us. At one point in our history women were considered the ‘homemakers’ and now we see a shift where men are taking on that role. Times are changing and if we open the playing field, hopefully, we’ll find that each person is following the interests and passions that stir them. That, to me at least, seems like it will make for a happier and more productive world. Thanks, Joyce, for sharing this topic and for encouraging us all to look at our own relationship with technology.
The world is changing faster than we ever imagined. I think that if we as women are going to have a voice in how that world is shaped that we need to be part of the technological changes as well. We know that women’s brains can function in these areas, and I think women will circle back and become more of an influence in these areas. Many parts of our culture are being more receptive to women playing an equal role, and some fields may take longer to see the value of having women being a part of them than others. I expect the world will be quite different for our daughters and granddaughters.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My own story: Just this week, I was doing some website work for my boss and came across a glitchy table — it would not allow me to add content into one of the cells, no matter what I did. So I sent a note to tech support, showing what and where the issue was. The response I got back: “You know, sometimes this is just like with a Word document! You have put your cursor in exactly the right place and double click on it to make changes!” Argh! I wrote back: “Gee. Really? Double-click in right place? Who’d a thunk it?” Please. I have built and maintained websites. Do not treat me like an idiot. Not saying I know everything, because I don’t. But what I don’t know is due to ignorance, not stupidity.
Looks like tech support needs some sensitivity training! Would be interested in knowing how the problem got resolved after pointing out that you were not the one being an idiot and stupid.
Computer usage was just being introduced before I retired and I was not quick to catch on. I knew I was getting out at the best time for me as unemployed professionals who I counselled expected more tech savvy resources & workshops. I did not think I’d ever need to learn it only to find myself as a creative entrepreneur years later. Fortunately, I had a tech savvy son who long distance taught me & supported my forays. I did overcome my phobia – still struggle with learning new stuff but I am one determined woman.
How fortunate to have a tech savvy son to launch you into your next career. Just wen we get the stuff mastered there’s new stuff to take on. I guess that’s the way it’s going to be for a while, and we just need to keep up the best we can. So, far it looks like you’ve made great progress Roz.
As a woman, I can recognize that while we’ve gained the freedom to do, be and have anything we want , we haven’t necessarily cultivated the power to cause our lives to flourish and thrive overall. I think this showed up for me and I became more aware when I worked in the corporate environment for many years. I held a lot of responsibility and gained much recognition and yet I would also drive to work in tears or close my door office door ‘power’ meetings, feeling dis-empowerment, frustrated and emotionally hurt.
Some say we too (as women) have been cultivating a masculine version of power and when we look around we can see this. The masculine way is very much about external creation – competition, its linear, logical and forceful – vs. a more collaborating flow a way of being that comes from an internal power and guidance.
That is definitely what I felt and it was very hard to deal with at times. And although I did not recognize or understand this early on it makes so much sense to me now.
As women and our embracing a masculine version of power (which was so necessary to get to where we are now because it has elevated our standard of living) it has diminished our quality of life in many ways. The truth is, we have more freedom, money, education and opportunity than any other generation of women in history. But at the same time we often feel powerless to create those things we most value and care about: love, intimacy, connection, belonging, self-expression, purpose, and contribution to a brighter future.
The good news is that there is a vibrant, life-enriching alternative to masculine ONLY power that is fully within reach for every woman and it is happening now and calling women to take on their inner power and come forth in a new way.
Your insights and sharing in this blog is opening the awareness more and more and showing what is working and not. The more we understand the more we are equipped to make conscious choices in any area – technology or otherwise. Thank you Joyce !
Totally with you on this Teresa. When I was in the business world I saw the same thing. You either had to join the boys at the table of be left behind. I think the Internet opened the doors for women to engage and try out things that worked or didn’t work for them without the usual business repercussions. We’re able to find our own way, using our own powers and still create viable businesses. I’m all for taking the feminine brain to the next level.
I love this!
Women absolutely can be tech savvy, and I know many who are. And I agree the need to become tech savvy is increasing.
Well, we all need to get with the program. Different aspects of technology will continue to play a more important role in our lives and we need women there to make sure it’s done right!
I could never describe myself as tech savvy but I did jump all the confusing hurdles to start my own blog which taught me that nothing is out of bounds for me. Women’s abilities are overlooked in so many areas and I believe that has a profound influence on our confidence to try new things. In my own tiny universe, I have gained more respect from my three sons (including a son who creates web pages and designs apps) and Hubby through forging ahead with this and making my brain work in ways it never dreamed of. This will definitely be a story and example for the Goddesses.
You discovered the inner truth, Tami. Yes, you brain can do things you never dreamed of. I wonder what limits are you going to push through next?
Interesting article, but sadly I’m not surprised. My neighbor’s daughter is pursuing a career in tech – currently working at Facebook as an intern – and she is being wooed by many of the big names in tech because she is an outlier. It is her mission to mentor women and African Americans (which she is also) and they are also very under-represented in tech.
Thanks for sharing your personal experience, Audrey. Yes, diversity is a big problem for the tech field. Let’s hope the tech companies wake up before they lose too many good people. Either way, there’s plenty of open doors that will be waiting for her and her mission.
Very interesting post. When I entered the criminal justice field in the 80s, men definitely outnumbered women. This is no longer the case. I wonder if the tech industry will evolve in the same way?
I think Kimba they eventually will have to give in. Women are poised to control over 50% of the wealth in this country and more and more women will be investing in the tech field. This will finally change the dynamics.
I find technology to be aggravating and frustrating at times. However, in today’s world, I believe that being technologically savvy and knowledgeable are requirements if you want to stay in touch with others, run a business, or be employable in an office setting. My creative side loves the options that technology offers, but anything math-related makes me run the other direction! Your statistics were eye-opening, and I really enjoyed this topic.
Agree, Meghan. Not everyone’s a fan of mathematics, but we love the technology that it brings us. And, part of that is getting some knowledge of what’s going on. I even surprise myself that I can talk some of the lingo.
Very interesting info, Joyce. Hopefully the inequalities in this field will lessen as we go forward. I’m not a good representation though, as I was literally born without that part of the brain! But all my tech folks are women at this point. And they’re fabulous at what they do.
Good strategy. If you can’t be one, then have women tech folks. I’m sure they marvel at your writing skills as much as you admire their tech skills.
I left the tech world to start my own business; however, I still mentor women in the industry via associations such as ‘Women in Technology’. I would love the female presence in that field to increase. On a trivial note: several years ago I joined a company where the IT staff was uncommonly approximately 90 percent women and there was more strife in that department than I had ever witnessed in my career.
Thanks for including your own personal experience, Rachel. Yes, I also found that condition when I worked in the business world. Some of those gals could be deadly. There’s been a lot written about women needing to be more supportive of one another rather than back- stabbing.