Sexism in the technology industry is overt, subtle, or covert occupational sexism which makes the technology industry less friendly, less accessible, and less profitable for women. While the participation of women in the tech industry varies by region, it is generally around 4% to 20% depending on the measure used. Possible causes that have been studied by researchers include gender stereotypes, investment influenced by those beliefs, a male-dominated environment, a lack of awareness about sexual harassment, and the culture of the industry itself. Margaret O'Mara, a professor of history at the University of Washington, in 2019 concluded that Silicon Valley is uniquely influential locale that is shaping our world. But she points to problematic failures regarding diversity. Male oligopolies of high-tech power have recreated traditional environments that repress the talents and ambitions of women, people of color, and other minorities to the benefit of whites and Asian males.
Statistics
In 1970, 13.6% of U.S. computer science and information science bachelor's degrees were awarded to women. By 1984, that number rose to 37.1%. In 2011, however, this percentage hit its nadir after two and a half decades of decline, with only 17.6% of undergraduate computer science degrees going to women. From 2007 to 2015, this number remained similar, ranging from 17.6-18.2%. In 2018 and 2019, the last years with data available from the US government, 19% and 20% of U.S. computer and information science degrees were awarded to women respectively.
In May 2014, Google posted on its official blog that only 30 percent of its employees globally were women.
In January 2015, the New York Times said "the largest technology companies have released reports showing that only 30% of their employees are women", with the percentage of technical employees being even lower.
A Fortune magazine review of data available for the 92 US-based venture capital firms which had raised "at least one fund of $200 million or more" between 2009 and 2014 found "only 17 had even one senior female partner", and 4.2% of "partner level VCs" were female.
An Open Diversity Data website has been created to provide access to diversity data for specific companies.
Only 11% of Silicon Valley executives and about 20% of software developers are women. At Google, only 18% of technical employees are women. On Forbes' 2015 Top Tech Investors list, of 100 investors, only 5% are women. Women in technology earn less than men, with men earning up to 61% more than women. "Bias against women in tech is pervasive", according to an October 2014 op-ed in The New York Times.
A 2015 survey entitled "The Elephant in the Valley" conducted a survey of two hundred senior-level women in Silicon Valley. 84% of participants were told they were "too aggressive" in the office, and 66% said that they were excluded from important events due to their gender. In addition, 60% of women said that they received unwanted sexual advances in their respective workplaces – the majority of which came from a superior. Almost 40% did not report the incidents out of fear of retaliation.
The New York Times obtained a copy of Google's Salary Spreadsheet in 2014, which depicts each employee's salary and bonus information. This spreadsheet reports that at Google, women receive lower salaries than their male counterparts for five out of six job titles that are listed on the spreadsheet.
Media reports
In 1997, Anita Borg, then a senior researcher at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) complained that women "run into subtle sexism every day." At the time only one woman, Carol Bartz of Autodesk, was a chief executive officer (CEO) among the largest Silicon Valley technology companies, and only 5.6% of the area's 1,686 major tech firms were run by women. It was even harder for female entrepreneurs. Of the $33.5 billion in venture capital invested in tech from 1991 through the second quarter of 1996, only 1.6% went to companies launched or headed by women.
The 2015 Crunchies award event, organized by Silicon Valley tech industry blogs, was criticized for its use of derogatory language towards women.
Multiple gender harassment and discrimination lawsuits in Silicon Valley have received media attention. One of the most widely reported was Pao v. Kleiner Perkins, a discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins by then Reddit interim CEO Ellen Pao, which went to trial in 2015. Pao's lawsuit, which alleged that Perkins indulged in double standards and denied her the senior partner position, resulted in a verdict for the defendant. Three jurors cited Pao's "increasingly negative performance reviews" as the primary reason.