Two Tech Leaders Share Plans For Helping Women In The Industry
By Danette Chavez in News on May 8, 2015 2:10PM
Tackling the issues surrounding women in technology (and their treatment in the field) is no small task.
Women in STEM face discrimination at even the highest levels, and your garden-variety sexism elsewhere. Even female-focused initiatives stall from time to time. But two local business leaders, Amanda Lannert of Jellyvision and Suzanne Muchin of Mind + Matter Studio, recently shared their thoughts and plans for leveling the playing field.
Lannert and Muchin begin their treatise by setting parameters for the problem. They point out that there isn't just a problem for women in tech, but in business overall. They acknowledge a significant underrepresentation of women in management and leadership roles in a variety of fields, including STEM. They then go on to emphasize their own accountability, by outlining the steps they will take to open up the tech and digital industries to more women entrepreneurs and visionaries. Here's how they, and you, can apply their five-point plan:
1. Show up to events.
Although they admit it's tempting to hide out at home after a long day's work, Lannert and Muchin are committed to attending relevant events like Demo Days, Technori, Tech Cocktail, ITA networking events and Built in Chicago Digital Leaders Luncheons.
2. Don't participate in events that have or promote non-mixed gender panels.
"If we truly want gender diversity in the working world, a visible indicator of that commitment is who gets handed a mic for thought leadership," Lannert and Muchin write. They express concern over previous women-only panels they attended that ended up focusing on work-life balance. And they sum up their new approach thusly: "no all-men, no all-women [panels], and make sure the mic gets passed."
3. Watch what you say.
Lannert and Muchin are the proud employers of "many strong, brave, and highly competent women (and men)." So they're going to nix the use of informal language that, even inadvertently, might reinforce negative gender stereotypes, e.g., "manning up" or "getting your panties in a bunch."
4. Show people the money.
Citing the income gap, Lannert and Muchin plan to clean up their respective "corporate houses" with identity-redacted salary audits to ensure that everyone gets equal pay. Furthermore, they intend to provide seed money as well as make donations to female-focused startups, initiatives and organizations like Girls Who Code.
5. Take meetings and give mentorship.
Finally, Lannert and Muchin are offering to meet (however briefly) up to 50 times a year each with any female entrepreneurs who reach out for help. They also hope that other women in tech will consider providing the same kind of mentorship.