I have my own web company in wellington, there are 5 of us working in the company and we are ALL female.
Our clients are based around wellington, the US (mainly Silicon Valley), Canada, and the UK.
I have worked in companies with guys in the past, I have also had many arguments with guys who think they know the answer to getting females into technology. Part of me think their belief that they have all the answers is part of the reason why there are so few still. It's a male dominated place, full of egos and exaggeration and the typical 'entrepreneur' shows a lot of character traits that a lot of women find a tad distasteful.
I think companies like mine really do do things differently, and our customers seem to agree. I also think this makes us an important part of the solution. In the past few months since we have been solely female, I have noticed a MASSIVE increase in our combined confidence that we are as good as any one else and in ourselves and, once again, our customers are loving us for it.
I completely disagree with the idea that exclusive gender events are stupid, people who say that have never felt like a minority. But I don't think they are the only part of the solution, and all over the world, there are more and more female initiatives around building up the female way of doing things - we are involved in a few ourselves that ARE having an impact.
Basically (after my rant) I have come to believe that the reason why girls still shy away from tech is because when they go for it, they are expected to act like a guy - for many subtle reasons. If we can build our own culture and way of doing things, the prospect will be far more appealing!
Sorry for the rant, it's just a topic I feel a know a little about and feel very passionate about!
I have my own web company in wellington, there are 5 of us working in the company and we are ALL female.
Our clients are based around wellington, the US (mainly Silicon Valley), Canada, and the UK.
I have worked in companies with guys in the past, I have also had many arguments with guys who think they know the answer to getting females into technology. Part of me think their belief that they have all the answers is part of the reason why there are so few still. It's a male dominated place, full of egos and exaggeration and the typical 'entrepreneur' shows a lot of character traits that a lot of women find a tad distasteful.
I think companies like mine really do do things differently, and our customers seem to agree. I also think this makes us an important part of the solution. In the past few months since we have been solely female, I have noticed a MASSIVE increase in our combined confidence that we are as good as any one else and in ourselves and, once again, our customers are loving us for it.
I completely disagree with the idea that exclusive gender events are stupid, people who say that have never felt like a minority. But I don't think they are the only part of the solution, and all over the world, there are more and more female initiatives around building up the female way of doing things - we are involved in a few ourselves that ARE having an impact.
Basically (after my rant) I have come to believe that the reason why girls still shy away from tech is because when they go for it, they are expected to act like a guy - for many subtle reasons. If we can build our own culture and way of doing things, the prospect will be far more appealing!
Sorry for the rant, it's just a topic I feel a know a little about and feel very passionate about!