Web Log: The elephant in Silicon Valley

Although there has been quite a bit of discussion around gender balance in the technology world recently, the discussion is often anecdotal in nature.

Elephant in the Valley appears to be the first study of its kind that has surveyed more than 200 women employed in tech roles in various Silicon Valley firms. It was co-authored by Trae Vassallo, a venture capitalist who testified for former Reddit chief executive Ellen Pao in a harassment case. The women interviewed all had senior roles with at least 10 years experience in the industry and they came from well known companies including Apple and Google.

Eighty four per cent said they had been told they were "too aggressive" while 47 per cent had been asked to do lower-level tasks, such as ordering food, that male colleagues are not asked to do. Another highlight (or lowlight): 60 per cent had experienced unwanted sexual advances in the workplace. I have previously treated sexism in Mad Men episodes with a wry smile, assuming it was from a bygone era. Apparently not. http://elephantinthevalley.com/