When I started examining the issue of women in technology, I looked for studies that might explain why there are so few women in STEM careers. I have my own story, but I wanted to know why other women were leaving. I found a well-researched study by the Harvard Business Review that was just refreshed in 2014. It shows that only 26% of women who have STEM college degrees work in STEM careers and that the majority of them are in the sciences and not engineering. Women do not actually have any less potential for STEM careers than men. I say that based on a study of 8th graders taking a new standardized test that is supposed to more accurately reflect STEM potential. In eighth grade, girls and boys score about the same with girls slightly outperforming boys on the test.
While some effort has been made recruiting young women in certain areas like computer science and coding, major tech groups routinely have fewer than 20% of employees in technical divisions that are women. The Harvard Business Review study shows three reasons why women with degrees do not stay in technology fields. First, women do not get paid what men get paid in technology. Second, women do not get promoted at the same rate as their male coworkers. Finally, and this one ties them all together, the culture in technology is hostile to women.
If you are saying, “No, none of those things are true for my company,” I can assure you that, despite your best efforts, they are. I had a conversation with a CTO at a major company not that long ago and he insisted that there is no way women are paid less than men and they always promote the most qualified candidate. The thought running through my mind was “How would you know?” Seriously, how would you know if you always promoted the most qualified candidate for every tech position?
If I asked you that question, I am assuming you are going to tell me that you base those decisions on past performance, current title, and ratings from performance reviews among other things. Performance appraisals can be very subjective. Studies show that women get one third of the feedback that men receive, and women are much more likely to get subjective critical feedback rather than men who are likely to get objective feedback designed to improve their performance.
Women are also much more likely to receive comments on their performance appraisals about their attitude rather than their performance. Studies show that when a woman and a man do the same thing, like ask for a promotion or a raise, the man is typically not penalized for that, but the woman is likely to be labeled as aggressive. In addition to the double standard, performance appraisals are subject to unconscious bias.
The culture in general promotes technology as a male career. Men are “presumed” to be competent. Women are rarely given that same consideration. The unconscious bias is rampant in all levels of management in many tech firms and departments. Having a half day training in bias is not going to solve the problem. It takes constant reinforcement to bring it to people’s awareness. Even when a woman outperforms her male counterparts, it is likely that her manager will not recognize that. It is not likely the male manager says to himself, “I realize she did a great job, but I am going to promote her male coworker anyway,” although I am sure that can happen. It is more likely that the male manager simply does not recognize the double standard that exists and that is reinforced by the culture he is functioning in.
How could women, under those circumstances, get a fair shake? Next week, I will look more deeply at the HR policies that reinforce the inequality and the culture that sustains it.