Technically Women

Let me state right from the start, I do not like playing the gender card. Sweeping generalizations about how men and women “are” make me bristle. I do not consciously frame myself in this world as a woman first. I am a person. I am unique. I happen to be female in gender. And in part, because of that, I often resist believing that there are any barriers to entry in positions or fields.

I am the youngest of 8 children – 6 girls and 2 boys. My mother was atypical for her generation. In 1962, when my father told her to get a hobby, she took flying lessons and became a pilot. Consequently, two of my sisters also went on to become pilots. One of them became the first female Airbus A330 captain in the world. Did she ever flaunt that fact? No. She’d be mortified to set herself apart by gender, that by being a woman she should somehow be singled out or assessed differently is the antithesis of how we were raised.

The mindset in my family has always been, “of course we are equal, of course we can do it, there is no reason why we can’t do what we want or be what we want.” And in that equality, we expect no special treatment – either for, nor against our gender.

And so, from time to time, when I’ve encountered overt statements of sexism in the workplace, I’m usually flummoxed. As recently as 5 years ago, while holding a management position at a tech company, I had a C-level executive make direct comments to me that sounded as if they were right out of the 1970’s. I left his office scratching my head and wondering how someone only a few years older than myself could be such a dinosaur.

Despite my own personal attitude of equality and a belief that any reasonable person would feel the same, I have encountered situations that have shown the world to be otherwise. I have been told by a superior that I would not get an increase in position because I was a woman. I have been passed over for promotion because I was on maternity leave. At conferences these days, I see a discrepancy in the number of women who keynote or lead panels vs. women participating in the industry. It’s out there. But I still don’t want to believe it.

In 1999, I was working in marketing for a large computer software and hardware distributor. I decided that, for personal growth, I wanted to learn how to build a web site and didn’t know anyone who could teach me. I started to investigate where to find resources and happened upon a group of women who were committed to helping others advance their technology knowledge and careers. Together, we founded DigitalEve International, a non-profit, volunteer run, grass roots organization. I founded the Vancouver chapter and grew the membership to 2,000 people within 18 months, way back in the days of listservs. Then I joined the International team to oversee marketing, specifically branding, for more than 50 chapters worldwide, each of whom wanted their own regional identities and flavour considered.

The DigitalEve experience taught me so much about building communities, working with volunteers and creating programs from zero. But, it was the camaraderie I felt, the friendships that took hold and ultimately, and the difference that we all made in helping women to advance themselves in technology careers that made the experience so rewarding.

While representing DigitalEve, I was often asked if we were “against” men or if by our mandate we were exclusionary. I responded that women can’t advance in traditional male careers without the help and acceptance of men, and that those men who want to help and share what they know were always welcome to join us.

It’s been 7 years snce I left DigitalEve and here I am collaborating on a blog focused on women in technology and business. If my experiences in those years are any indication, I still think the culture of business – especially tech focused businesses – needs a little help in opening up and accepting women as equals in all ranks and pay scales. Mostly, I think it’s a question of habit. Both men and women need to look at their norms and assumptions about who does which job and why, then ask themselves if all is right in that world. If you see room for improvement, then it’s time for you to take action. Collaborating on the Technically Women blog is just one of my contributions to changing habits and taking action. What are you doing?

Post Script: I did learn how to build a web site back in 2000. I took HTML and CSS in some of the first classes delivered online at British Columbia Institute of Technology and learned how to hand code a site without the aid of today’s visual editors. As a marketer, this has been an invaluable skill to have.