The Techie Myth

Articles about women in technology often begin by lamenting the perceived lack of women in the field, but in truth there are many women working — and thriving — in the technology sector.

In her recent article Women Who Risk: Making Women in Technology Visible, Tara Hunt writes that just because women techies may be overlooked by mainstream media doesn't mean that they aren't out there.

Hunt cites dozens of examples of women who have founded or co-founded technology companies, from Sandra Lerner (Cisco Systems) to Caterina Fake (Flickr) and Mena Trott (SixApart); there are even more women out there working within teams at larger companies like Google and Yahoo! And yet, she notes, these women are seldom recognized for their individual innovations and contributions.

Why are female geeks falling under the radar? Hunt attributes this to a variety misconceptions:

1. Women must choose family first.

In many families, Hunt writes, women are still expected to be the primary family caregivers, meaning that women technologists who wish to be successful in their fields must accomplish this while holding down another full-time job: caring for the kids. "It is important for us to value our own careers and leisure time as highly as we do those of our partners," Hunt notes, attributing her own success to having a strong network she can rely on to help care for her teenage son.

2. Women somehow don't count.

Hunt notes that there have been many times when she and her (male) business partner have been interviewed for an article, yet only his name shows up in the final piece. Likewise, she notes, the media tends to ignore news about "hotshot women starting cool new companies," choosing to focus instead on their white, male counterparts.

Yet women are taking notice, Hunt writes: "BlogHer put together a Women in Technology list that, among other things, watches for new conferences being announced, then swoops in with a long list of very qualified speakers to offer the conference organizers. Lucky for us, our efforts are being recognized by many conference organizers and they are beginning to come to this list for suggestions before the conference has even been announced."

3. Women aren't successful.

Raw numbers and dollars are only half the story when it comes to measuring industry success, Hunt writes, yet oftentimes this is the only factor that is mentioned when talking about new technology ventures. As a result, startups without a lot of venture capital tend to go unnoticed, meaning that women who are expanding their businesses slowly and organically may receive less backing, even when their growth model is far more sustainable — and likely to succeed — in the long run than a company propelled by raw numbers and investor pressure.

Moreover, the "grassroots, collaborative" Web 2.0 model, Hunt writes, is helping to redefine old ideas about growth and success, however, and also opening doors for women who are using more community-based social networks to access audiences online.

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