When you isolate these data points, it’s easy to see why women seemed less than enthusiastic about these presentations and the companies behind them. Of the sessions we observed, less than a quarter featured women engineers presenting core technical content. Women attendees also appeared disengaged when the information sessions were led by men in technical roles, while women played purely supportive roles such as greeting people at the door, handing out t-shirts, or speaking about work-life balance - not the technology. a woman wearing a red, skin-tight dress holding a burning poker card, or a woman looking over her shoulder suggestively). astronauts, computer technicians, soldiers, and even raising their hands to ask questions) or women in seductive poses (e.g. Women’s engagement also dropped when the presentation slides featured primarily images of men in active roles (e.g. In many ways, this culture echoed stereotypes of a college fraternity culture. For example, women asked fewer questions when presenters talked about a “work hard, play hard culture” that highlighted heavy drinking (e.g., fridges stocked with beer, beer pong games, social drink events) and favored working late into the night in the office. We found that women seemed less engaged when companies presented a culture in which women didn’t appear well-represented. To measure attendees’ engagement, we noted positive responses when attendees actively participated and asked questions, and negative ones when they remained silent or even walked out of the room. In a recent study, we had researchers attend 84 information sessions held by technology companies at a West Coast college they took notes about the presentations, the mix of presenters, and the language and images used. Research from our Lab suggests that the answer might lie in the signals your company sends about its culture during the recruiting process. They need to ask, “Why is my organization not attractive to women?” They need to focus on why they’re not seeing more women applicants.
It’s time for leaders to stop blaming their companies’ lack of diversity on the lack of women applicants. And every time we are reminded of the art of fishing: If you don’t catch a fish, you don’t blame the fish.
“There just aren’t enough qualified women to do the job.”Īt the Stanford VMware Women’s Leadership Lab, where we work with leading companies to help them attract, retain, and advance a diverse pool of talent, we hear comments like these quite a bit. “I’d love to hire more women, but when I post a job, they don’t apply.
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