4 Problems Only Women Have to Deal with in Tech

It’s hard to argue that women face different challenges than men, considering the murky gender divide at our top tech companies: Facebook, Google and Yahoo. If the top tech companies with the pick of the crop have such a gender divide, many argue that this is highly reflective of the tech industry as a whole.

With only 2 percent of women with high tech degrees and 5.7 percent of women working in the computer industry, these results aren’t exactly surprising, according to Women Who Tech.

I consulted with several females in tech to divulge the top problems that women face in the Boy’s Club that is tech industry.

1. Lack of sufficient female perspective

If you take a poll at any given tech office, you’re likely to get a very skewed sample pool.

“Because the field is so male dominant, many have no idea that their perspective is lacking a gender,” says Samantha De La Fuente, founding partner at Ixi Studio, an interactive agency.

2. Being perceived as 'catty' or 'too emotional' 

When you’re the odd woman out, communicating with your team poses a unique challenge. As one of the few women on any given project, “I believe that women absolutely have to be careful how they come across,” says Lisa Mandell, CEO of TrendPoint Systems, Inc.. Mandell, who has been a senior executive for over three decades at IBM, Xerox and EDS, explains that there’s a double standard when it comes to communication and perception in the workplace.

Too tough, and they’re labeled as abrasive or unpleasant. Men, on the other hand, are respected when communicating in the same way.

“Too soft and women come across as weak, ineffective and can’t make the tough decisions,” Mandell says. “It’s a fine balancing act

3. Sometimes, women are niched into certain roles

“Like many industries,” women are niched into the more creative roles in tech vs. coding, for example,” says Lindsey Holmes of UsableTech.co.

The antiquated mentality that men are more logical results in this subconscious pigeon-holing.

“When one does not see themselves in a startup, or only in non-leadership roles, or highlighted in general, the industry does not seem tangible,” Holmes says. “I see this both in being a woman and an African American woman in tech.”

Adi Bittan, cofounder and CEO of OwnerListens.com, would agree and says that she (or her female friends) have first-hand been labeled as “emotional.” Also, people assume she’s in marketing or—at best—finance.

One anonymous Quora user who has attended and even placed in Hackathons says she’s been on the receiving end of comments like:

“Here, design our front end. Girls are good at art,” according to the Huffington Post.

4. Overcoming initial credibility

Lynne Williams, PhD at Kaplan University School of Information Technology acts as a "troubleshooting" consultant in the field, and says gender bias really depends on the company culture. When she arrives at a job, many times, her clients have a little difficulty believing she knows what she's doing.

"Naturally, they can’t say out loud “oh…you’re female, I was expecting a guy,' without inviting a law suit, but it’s relatively obvious that that’s what they’re thinking," she says.

For instance, a few months ago, Williams was recently hired to update the security for a group of lawyers.

"I was given access to a workstation in one of the offices and I had no sooner begun to analyze the network than another partner appeared and began to 'help' me by leaning over my shoulder and typing in his own commands on the keyboard," she says.

"Based on his general demeanor and some of his remarks, I’m reasonably certain that the fellow who came in to help me just couldn't believe that I had the skills to do the job because I’m female."

Related: 5 Tips on Overcoming the Bias Against Women in Tech