The tech world and the corporate world at large is marred with criticism for being skewed in favour of the male gender. Only 17% of Google’s technical employees are women.
However, in spite of the pervasive patriarchal dominance, we see tremendous achievements by women, thanks to the ability of technology to accommodate and provide space to excel based on meritocracy and excellence.
Here is the list of 5 killer quotes which will help you explain, what it means to be a woman in the tech world.
“I was told I’d never make it to VP rank because I was too outspoken. Maybe so, but I think men will always find an excuse for keeping women in their ‘place.’ So, let’s make that place the executive suite and start more of our own companies.”
Jean Bartik, Programmer
“You sit in a Startup Accelerator/ incubator class and almost all are men. You sit in a boardroom and almost all are men. You meet with venture capital investor and you realize that men predominantly control capital. So even if you are damn good, unless you carry a blinding majority mindset and a “I don’t care a f***” attitude (like I do), as a woman, more often than not, you start seeing the collective voice of men as being correct, and you hesitate to make your voice heard.”
Pearl Uppal, Co-founding Partner, 5ideas Startup Superfuel
“People ask me all the time, ‘What is it like to be a woman at Google?’ I am not a woman at Google; I am a geek at Google. And being a geek is just great.” “I love technology, and I don’t think it’s something that should divide along gender lines.”
Marissa Mayer, CEO at Yahoo, Former Google Executive
“I never believed I could or couldn’t do something because I was a woman.” “I remember something my mom always told me: ‘You are the best at whatever you do.’ … Focus on being the best that you possibly can be. All the people I’ve worked with, they’re looking for people who are the best at what they do.”
Privahini Bradoo, Founder and CEO of Blue Oak
And finally, from the man’s mouth…
“One of the secret sauce of Alibaba’s success is that we have a lot of women”.
Jack Ma, Founder, Alibaba Group.
