Sexism in the technology industry

Sexism in the technology industry is occupational sexism in the technology industry. It is believed that a high ratio of men to women in salary, graduation rates for engineering degrees, and the industry itself are the cause of sexism in the technology industry.

In 1997, Anita Borg, then senior researcher at Digital Equipment Corporation complained that women "run into subtle sexism every day." At the time, only 5.6% of Silicon Valley technology companies were represented by women.

The Athena Factor is a research report that the Harvard Business Review published in June 2008 that addressed the future of the technology industry in the United States by proposing solutions to a looming shortage in workers in the science, engineering, and technology field. The report suggested that, rather than hiring immigrants, there are many women native to the United States to fill the positions.

In 1970, 13.6% of U.S. computer science and information science bachelor's degrees were awarded to women. By 1984, that number rose to 37.1%. In 2011, however, only 17.6% of undergraduate computer science degrees went to women.

In May 2014, Google posted on its official blog that only 30 percent of its employees globally were women.

In January 2015, the New York Times said "the largest technology companies have released reports showing that only 30% of their employees are women", with the percentage of technical employees being even lower.

A Fortune Magazine review of data available for the 92 US-based venture capital firms which had raised "at least one fund of $200 million or more" between 2009-2014 found "only 17 had even one senior female partner", and 4.2% of "partner level VCs" were female.

An Open Diversity Data website has been created to provide access to diversity data for specific companies.

Only 11% of Silicon Valley executives and about 20% of software developers are women. At Google, only 18% of technical employees are women. On Forbes' 2015 Top Tech Investors list, of 100 investors, only 5% are women. Women in technology earn less than men, with men earning up to 61% more than women. "Bias against women in tech is pervasive", according to an October 2014 op-ed in The New York Times.

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