The tech industry may be a hot market for jobs, but for women, there’s often a chill in the air.
That’s what speakers agreed at a panel titled “Does Tech Hate Women?” at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Madison this week.
“Tech doesn’t hate women; but maybe it doesn’t know how to be nice to them,” said Ashley Quinto Powell, business development manager at Bendyworks.
Powell said one of her previous employers gave male staffers an afternoon off to celebrate Father’s Day but made no such acknowledgement of Mother’s Day.
Tech companies are known for providing perks that include ping-pong tables and beer refrigerators, and that’s fine, Powell said, but they should also offer perks aimed at women, such as child care-related benefits.
Mary Johnston, creative director at Noble Applications, said women in tech often deal with what she called “micro-aggression,” such as offensive jokes their co-workers tell or being treated differently, as a token female employee.
“It’s doubly bad if you are a minority, too,” Johnston said. Read the full Wisconsin State Journal article here.
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