Why it’s good we’re hearing about sexism in tech more often

“One of the reasons I think this problem persisted so long is precisely because women were afraid to speak publicly about it and share real experiences and names with a wider audience.” Marija Butkovic, co-founder at Women of Wearables (WoW), told me. “Sometimes it takes a drastic move to achieve a small change, but even that is better than nothing. Women are not weak, it’s time we stop being silent as well.”

Toxic cultures can only persist and fester when there’s weak or no reporting about it, and that reporting only takes place when women give themselves permission to voice their opinions louder, clearer, and directly at the heart of the target so that action is taken immediately to detox the conditions or factors responsible. This is exactly what builds up the immune system of an organization’s emotional intelligence: when shit hits the fan and the organization has no choice but to deal with the unsightly warts head-on.

Each relatively explosive tech scandal is in fact a healthy sign of the growing pains companies need to get through in order to treat gender diversity as a major issue. Think of them as mandatory flu shots. A low-grade fever might accompany it, but you’re ultimately far better off as a whole moving forward.

“Even if these cases don’t bring drastic change for the position of women in the tech industry, they still move the needle on the actual awareness on the problem itself. We can expect to see things changing only when we start talking about it and when women start to speak up sharing their experiences.” Butkovic says.

Read the whole story via The Next Web here.