Many years ago I “met” a word processor and fell in love. I tracked down the company that made this amazing technology, and talked my way into a job despite having no formal qualifications. I stayed at Xerox for 17 years, becoming the first female member of the Xerox UK board.
Has the environment changed for women over the years? In my experience, moving into venture capital, and now as managing director of corporate venture capital for Silicon Valley Bank, I see more women rising to roles of influence in the tech world, and that extends from the entrepreneurial side through to the venture side. But scan any tech board–room, start up incubator or corporate venturing deal meeting and it is hardly a secret – women are underrepresented. We meet loads of great start ups as well as co-investors, both institutional and corporate – and unfortunately, it is not uncommon for me still to be the only female in the room.
Silicon Valley Bank publishes an annual Innovation Economy Outlook, and this year we asked: “Does your company have women on your board or at the C-level?” More than half of 1,200 tech executives around the world responded “no”. Just 46% of innovation companies surveyed said they had at least one woman on their board in a C-level job – and I am guessing in many cases it may be just one. While that statistic may not be a total surprise, some of the underlying findings nevertheless are fascinating.
While the survey did not break out corporate venturing operations, larger tech companies are considerably more likely to hire women for leadership roles compared with start ups. Diversity policies at these larger companies are probably a factor and there are simply more top jobs to fill. Still, the results are nothing to write home about. Globally, 49% of companies with revenues have women in executive positions compared with 38%of pre-revenue start ups. US companies are at the bottom at 45%. Europe is at 50%, Asia at 56% and other innovation centres at 58%.
Interestingly, while larger US companies lag behind their foreign counterparts, US start ups have a better track record than overseas start ups. Just 44% of larger US tech firms have at least one woman in an executive position, compared with 56% for the UK and 63% for other innovation centres. But the survey found 38% of US start ups counted a woman in top leadership, compared with 33% for the UK and other innovation centres.
Another interesting difference – there are more women in board positions in the UK (37%) than in C-level positions (30%). The situation is reversed among US companies, where just 24% have awoman on the board and 37% have at least one woman in a C-level position.
Looking at US regions, more tech companies in the south-east (51%) and Massachusetts (48%) have female executives than other regions, while the south-west (40%) and New York (38%) had the smallest percentages. California landed in the middle, with 44%. Massachusetts is home to a higher percentage of healthcare companies, which have a much higher percentage of women leaders (56%) than software (44%), hardware (36%) and clean-tech (35%) companies. More women study biology and chemistry than computer science and engineering.
As a female executive who has worked for global companies in the US and UK, served on corporate boards and cemented deals with many start ups, I can say without a doubt, progress for women at tech companies is much slower than it should be. However, there are some great opportunities to make a difference. Here are a few ideas I have picked up along the way.
- Managing a home, family and a career can take a toll – it is really important always to stay focused on the things that really matter and do not be afraid to ask for help. Fill your network with people who relate and can help alleviate some of the pressure and stress.
- The women who do make it in the tech sphere tend to be exceptional. Their every move tends to be scrutinised and they are highly visible – any opportunities to find out more about their stories and meet them is something I strongly encourage.
- It is not a cliché – women often have a perspective different from that of men. Yes, it can be difficult if you are the only voice in the room with a certain point of view, but in our competitive, fast-paced businesses it is often those views that win the day.
While the debates have not changed much since I started at Xerox, there is a ray of hope. Xerox was working on hiring and promoting women 20 years ago, and today is one of the few Fortune 500 companies to appoint back-to-back female CEOs.