Women Who Tech’s latest report has revealed that nearly 50% of female founders and women working in tech and Silicon Valley have experienced harassment. According to its latest State of Women In Tech report, statistics have barely budged since 2017 and in many cases the harassment figures have actually worsened. More worryingly, 67% women in tech said they don’t trust their employer to handle allegations of harassment appropriately or fairly.
Despite the #MeToo movement, diversity pledges among Silicon Valley’s biggest VCs and tech companies hiring Chief Diversity Officers, women in tech continue to face significant sexism and toxic workplace cultures. Women Who Tech’s survey of 1,000+ global tech employees, startup founders and investors, identified trends and shifts in the treatment of underrepresented tech founders and employees since 2017.
SHOCKING STATISTICS
The report reveals that 44% of women tech founders experienced harassment. Women of colour (47%) and LGBTQ (65%) founders experienced persistent harassment. Around 43% of those who experienced harassment said it occurred within the last 12 months after the peak of the #MeToo movement. Of the women of colour founders who were harassed, 46% were harassed by a potential investor, compared to 38% of white women founders.
According to the report, around 41% of women founders who were harassed experienced sexual harassment. The report revealed other shocking statistics, such as:
- 65% of women founders said they were propositioned for sex (+9% from 2017).
- 59% of women founders experienced unwanted physical contact (-3% from 2017).
- 32% of women founders were groped (+7% from 2017).
- 24% of women founders were sent graphic photos (+14% from 2017).
BROKEN SYSTEM
“With startups shuttering due to COVID-19 and 97.3% of funding still going to startups led by men, there’s a clear need for diverse innovation,” commented Allyson Kapin, Founder of Women Who Tech. “But how can women founders thrive in a broken system where a startling 44% of women founders experienced harassment? And especially when 59% were explicitly propositioned for sex in exchange for funding and introductions.”
DISTURBING EXPERIENCES
“Quite frankly, the amount of harassment that women in tech and women founders experience is disturbing,” said Newmark, Founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and member of Women Who Tech’s Advisory Board. “We need less ally theatre and more people in positions of power to recognise that power, not abuse it, and support women in tech.”
While the data illustrates that barriers for women remain at unprecedented levels, it also reveals the disconnect between founders and investors who are men and those who are women. Nearly 50% of women founders were told they would raise more money if they were a man. “Only 2.7% of investor funding goes to women-led startups and .02% for Black women founders. Yet 56% of investors don’t think access to funding is a big deal, assuming that the best startups always rise to the top,” shared Kapin. “This is a complete disconnect from the reality and biased pattern recognition that women and underestimated founders face.”
Women in tech employees also report continuing harassment. According to the report, 48% of women working in tech as employees experienced harassment and 43% of this harassment was sexual in nature. Of the women working in tech who were sexually harassed:
- 75% were told offensive “jokes”.
- 54% experienced unwanted physical contact.
- 51% had sexual slurs directed at them.
- 35% were propositioned for sex.
LOSS OF TRUST
Of the women working in tech who were harassed, 30% reported it to HR and 45% reported it to senior leadership. When women reported the harassment to HR, 85% said their harasser faced no repercussions at work after it was reported. Furthermore, 45% of women working in tech said they faced negative repercussions after reporting the harassment at work.
Little wonder then that fewer women in tech are reporting harassment than before. The report highlights that just 45% of women now report harassment to senior leadership, compared to 55% in 2017. In short, fewer women in tech trust their employers to take harassment allegations seriously. In fact, 67% said they do not have a lot of trust in how their company would handle allegations of harassment. “It is this very data that illustrates how the existing systems in HR contribute to the barriers women face, while doubly protecting the very power structures that construct and proliferate them,” concludes the report.
For more information about the Women Who Tech’s State of Women In Tech report CLICK HERE.
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