Women are underrepresented in the tech industry. First Round Capital recently conducted a survey and almost a third of 700 startups never thought about having a diversity plan as a company requirement. Similarly, Silicon Valley Bank found that a quarter of the tech companies surveyed have some form of a diversity plan in place. Facebook, had the best structured plan, but still struggles to level out the diversity field. Even VC companies are heavily dominated by men. Thus, creating a cycle where venture capitalists invest in male dominated startups, and subsequently they higher men to work at their companies. According to Pitchbook, in 2014, 9.7% of partners at venture capital firms are women and 8.3% of startups funded by venture capitalists were founded by women.
Possible solutions to increase the number of women working in tech companies include teaching girls at a young age that Math and Science are not masculine fields. Organizations, such as Girls Who Code and Techgirlz, have created avenues for young women to explore and get excited about working in the tech industry. Another organization looking to address the gender discrepancy issue is The Silicon Valley Forum. This past March 2017, it organized The Women in Tech Festival with the slogans, “When we invest in women, we invest in our future” and “That’s the power of the she economy.” It aimed to support, inspire, and empower women in Silicon Valley’s tech industries by providing keynote speakers, workshops, and networking opportunities. The event sold out and the company plans on organizing future events.