Brotopia

“What happens to women in tech doesn't just hurt the women; it hurts the companies, the industry, and society at large. Can we afford to ignore their loss?”

1. Women Once Dominated the Field of Programming

In the early days of computing, programming was seen as a clerical job, similar to typing or operating switchboards—a task deemed suitable for women. Women like Grace Hopper and the female programmers of the US Army's first computers laid the groundwork for early advancements in the field. These women played key roles in foundational moments, including creating software to support the atomic bomb's development and ensuring successful space missions like John Glenn's orbit in 1962.

However, a 1967 report shifted this perception. Psychologists William Cannon and Dallis Perry, tasked with defining the perfect programmer, claimed that programming necessitated a preference for numbers over people. They linked these traits to antisocial behavior, favoring introverted men over women. This publication began an industry-wide preference for antisocial, introverted men, drastically changing how programmers were perceived.

The report's biases fueled the male takeover of programming. Male dominance became self-perpetuating as women became increasingly excluded from educational opportunities and workforce participation in the field.

Examples

• Grace Hopper developed software for Harvard’s Mark I computer.
• Women were instrumental in programming the US Army’s first computers during WWII.
• The exclusionary 1967 report interviewed far more men (1,192) than women (186).

2. Computing Became “Boy’s Territory” in the 1980s

By the 1980s, cultural and societal shifts reinforced the idea of men as the natural programmers. As computers became commercialized, computing transformed from clerical work to an “intellectual” profession—aligning with stereotypes of male intellect. The emergence of the male “nerd” stereotype further consolidated programming as male territory.

Toy and media culture played a massive role in influencing this shift. Boys received computers as gifts, and video games were heavily marketed to them, barring girls' access to this technology. High school studies revealed boys didn’t naturally excel over girls in computers, but the societal labeling of computers as “boy’s toys” severely limited girls' early exposure.

The trend snowballed into academia and professional sectors. Women’s enrollment in computer science dropped precipitously—from 40% in 1984 to 18% in 2011. Even for the few women entering tech, persistent stereotypes and lack of support severely hindered their retention in the industry.

Examples

• Movies like WarGames and Revenge of the Nerds glorified male “tech geeks.”
• Families commonly gifted sons, not daughters, with early home computers.
• By 1995, women at Carnegie Mellon’s computer science program dropped out twice as often as men.

3. Bro Culture Marginalizes Women in Tech

The male-dominated tech industry developed its own culture, dubbed “bro culture.” This hyper-masculine workplace style celebrates the motto “work hard, play hard,” fostering environments that alienate and objectify women. From boardrooms modeled after strip clubs (like Yelp’s infamous "Conference Room G") to professional meetings held in hot tubs, women in tech often find themselves excluded—or worse, exploited.

Bro culture even extends into everyday work interactions and professional trajectories. For instance, Susan Fowler’s experience at Uber revealed institutionalized misogyny. On her first day, her manager made inappropriate advances, and HR dismissed her complaints. Stories like hers highlight the prevalence of sexism disguised as workplace norms.

Even supposed “progressive” ideas like tech’s embrace of polyamorous lifestyles often perpetuate inequality. While men celebrate such practices as liberating, women who participate often face professional repercussions, as revealed in anecdotes from Silicon Valley insiders.

Examples

• Yelp employees nicknamed a local strip club their “conference room.”
• Susan Fowler at Uber faced sexual harassment, ignored by HR.
• A venture capitalist admitted he wouldn’t hire women seen at certain sex parties.

4. Inherent Bias Continues to Undervalue Women’s Work

Despite their talents, women in tech repeatedly face bias that labels them less competent. Female programmers have their work scrutinized more frequently than their male counterparts. Ironically, a GitHub study found that women’s coding is approved more consistently than men’s—but only when their gender is unknown to evaluators.

Furthermore, female entrepreneurs in tech face enormous hurdles. Startups led by men are overwhelmingly funded, with $58 billion in venture capital going to male founders in 2016 compared to just $1.46 billion for female-founded companies. This disparity reflects systemic biases favoring male leadership and innovation.

The tech industry’s workplace structures create additional challenges. Companies provide perks like late-night dinners and recreational amenities to incentivize their employees to stay longer at the office—leaving mothers, in particular, struggling to balance work and home life.

Examples

• A GitHub study showed women’s code ranked higher than men’s when anonymized.
• Male startups received nearly 40 times more funding than women’s in 2016.
• Uber’s late meals encouraged long hours, with little consideration for parents.

5. Hiring Based on “Merit” Further Excludes Women

The tech industry claims to hire based on merit, but in practice, personal networks and biases often dictate hiring decisions. Companies like PayPal, founded by insider networks, recruit “familiar faces” rather than diverse candidates, perpetuating homogeneity. The “good fit” mentality discourages deviation from existing cultures.

This status quo becomes harder to break as male dominance continues to snowball. Referrals become skewed toward single demographics, reinforcing the imbalance. Companies like Pinterest have tried to counteract this by requesting referrals specifically focused on bringing in underrepresented groups.

Blind hiring practices or early intervention by HR departments can help disrupt these patterns. Still, until more companies acknowledge their biases, self-replicating hiring practices remain the norm.

Examples

• PayPal famously hired mostly friends of founder Peter Thiel.
• Pinterest diversified by prioritizing referrals from marginalized groups.
• Diversity advisor Joelle Emerson advises hiring HR staff early for biases prevention.

6. The Homogeneity of Tech Impacts Products

Diversity in the workplace extends beyond fairness—it impacts product quality too. When homogeneous teams dominate design and development, the resulting products reflect narrow perspectives and assumptions. For instance, early social media sites like Twitter lacked safeguards, leading to unchecked harassment—particularly against women.

A homogenous base may also contribute to ignoring significant demographics. The gaming industry faced backlash in 2014 when female developers criticized its rampant sexism, sparking harassment campaigns like Gamergate. These issues stemmed, in part, from the lack of women involved in game design and content creation.

If more diverse teams existed, they could anticipate the challenges and biases baked into emerging technologies and work to correct them before release.

Examples

• Twitter lacked harassment safeguards, resulting in rampant abuse.
• Gamergate highlighted gaming’s deeply entrenched sexism.
• An IMF study found diversity boosted decision-making and innovation quality.

7. Gender Diversity Improves Profitability

Female inclusion isn’t just fair—it's profitable. Studies confirm that companies with gender-balanced leadership outperform those dominated by a single gender. One report found that European firms with women filling 40–60% of leadership roles earned significantly higher returns.

Even customer trust increases when organizations take active steps to combat exclusionary practices. Riot Games, for example, expelled abusive players from its League of Legends platform. The result? The user base spiked from 67 million to 100 million monthly active players.

By embracing diverse perspectives, companies also gain innovation. Women’s empathetic tendencies enable better consumer insights, benefiting marketing strategies and customer satisfaction.

Examples

• An IMF study linked balanced leadership with stronger financial results.
• Riot Games’ anti-abuse efforts boosted League of Legends user growth.
• Apple improved customer outreach by considering underrepresented perspectives.

8. Women Are Penalized for Family Commitments

Tech’s demanding schedules and expectations often undermine women—particularly mothers. Leaders like Janica Alvarez face double standards, frequently questioned about their ability to balance work and childcare. Their male counterparts seldom encounter similar scrutiny, even in the same workplace.

Silicon Valley’s blurred work-life boundaries only amplify these challenges. For example, Google’s all-inclusive campuses, designed to support employee productivity, also encourage excessively long hours, leaving little room for family commitments.

Until workplaces value both professional contributions and personal responsibilities equally, women will continue facing unequal burdens.

Examples

• Janica Alvarez faced parenting concerns but her male business partner didn’t.
• Google’s on-site perks discourage employees from leaving the office.
• UCLA studies found women reconcile family/work expectations less easily than men.

9. Change Requires Early, Intentional Action

Breaking the tech world’s longstanding patterns requires active engagement and bold steps. Companies need to make diversity a cornerstone of their hiring strategies, ideally before homogeneity sets in. Targeting underrepresented groups for recruitment or adjusting referral processes can yield immediate results.

Cultural shifts within organizations can prevent workplace toxicity. Emulating Pinterest’s proactive referral system and creating robust HR review processes can foster greater inclusivity and fairness.

Finally, leadership must challenge the norms that support exclusion to build systems where marginalized groups feel empowered, welcomed, and respected.

Examples

• Pinterest’s targeted referral efforts showed tangible diversity improvements.
• Blind hiring programs reduce gender biases in recruiting.
• Consulting diversity advisors like Joelle Emerson boosts workplace fairness.

Takeaways

1. Create blind hiring processes to assess candidates solely on skills, removing gender and personal identifiers.
2. Foster workplace policies that accommodate work-life balance for all employees, ensuring fair expectations for parents.
3. Actively seek input from diverse voices within development teams to strengthen product quality and address biases.