Ellen Pao, an employee at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in Silicon Valley, has sued the company for gender discrimination. She said she was excluded from company events because of her gender, that co-workers made comments about her being too aggressive, and that there was some kind of retaliation against her if she argued with a married co-worker.
Although Pao lost her lawsuit against her former employer, she has brought the sexism that exists in Silicon Valley. And now a new survey of more than 200 women working in the tech has revealed even more about Silicon Valley's men's club. The survey reveals that the respondents, executives, investors and others working in the sector, had been treated differently because of their gender, and unfortunately, 60% of them were found to have experienced some form of sexual harassment.
Some of the research findings were:
· 84% of respondents had received comments that it was too aggressive.
· 66% had felt excluded from opportunities and social networking due to their gender.
· 88% had customers or colleagues who preferred to speak to a male employee rather than women.
· 75% were asked in the interview about their marital status and whether they have children.
Those who conducted the survey said: "What we realized is that although many women have similar stories in their workplace, most men say they are shocked and unaware of the problems women face in the workplace.".
Many women reported being told they were too bossy, being left out of company events, and receiving unwanted sexual comments from their superiors.
· One respondent said: “At company X where I work, there is a common joke that women will either be very bossy or very shy, nothing in between.”
· Another said she was excluded from a networking event because it was “for men only.”.
· Some female venture capitalists said that founders and CEOs of startups preferred to address their male partners instead of them in meetings. “Despite my background and skills being clearly more relevant, the founder wouldn’t look me in the eye and never really listened to the questions I asked him,” said one.
· “When I'm with a male colleague who is my junior, people who see us assume I work for him,” says another Silicon Valley employee
· Male colleagues often have the opinion that when a woman is pregnant she is no longer useful at work or that having a second child is a disaster for her career.
Some women have also found themselves in very difficult situations with their bosses, colleagues, and clients:
· “A hiring manager told me straight up that if I slept with him I would get a promotion.”
· “A customer once told me to sit at his feet if I wanted him to buy my product”
· “I had a colleague who sent me flowers, gifts, etc. for several months. Another CEO asked me to go through a door first so he could see me walk in and when I mentioned it the people in charge at the company told me to take it as a joke. I also had another colleague who once told me he liked married women and touched my hand (I am married).”
Although many problems faced by women in Silicon Valley were highlighted, many said they regretted remaining silent and not reporting them anywhere.
