Women making inroads in tech
The line to get into 111 Minna Gallery wrapped around the block Friday, March 10, as hundreds waited to get into the Girls in Tech 10th Birthday Party. I made my way to the end of the queue while a young woman at the front was turned away. She slid her not-yet-old-enough ID back into her wallet and marched off with a look of determination. She’ll try again next year, I figured, and she’ll fit right in.
Inside the free party, colorful balloon sculptures hung from the ceiling and a DJ spun remixed versions of hip-hop classics. Silver Mylar balloons announced “10” near the front door as Girls in Tech CEO and founder Adriana Gascoigne greeted her guests in skyhigh heels and lightly fragranced confidence. The 39-year-old Oakland resident had no real agenda for her party, other than to express gratitude and celebration for her nonprofit’s impressive growth over the past decade.
“It’s an opportunity for me to underscore the power of technology and the startup culture that we’ve created in San Francisco,” Gascoigne said.
It’s not easy to succeed as a woman in any male-dominated workplace, and that’s certainly the case in the tech industry. A former Uber employee named Susan J. Fowler recently published a scathing online post about her experiences with alleged sexual harassment and discrimination while working at the ride-hailing company. When I brought up Fowler’s accusations with a handful of guests at Friday’s event, none expressed surprise. To paraphrase their general response: “Sexism exists. Duh.”
“We want to be a part of the discussion,” said Gascoigne, “but we also want to be a part of the solution.”
Gascoigne’s solution is one she came up with 10 years ago. Frustrated with feeling like the only woman in her industry, Gascoigne set out to find a way to connect with her female colleagues. In 2007, she hosted the first Girls in Tech mixer at a now-defunct bar called Slide. To Gascoigne’s surprise, more than 200 women attended. “A lot of energy, a lot of great discussion,” said Gascoigne of that first event. “Then I was off to the races.”
A decade later, Girls in Tech boasts more than 50,000 members and 60 official chapters around the globe. It’s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a staff of 12, a tech-titan board of directors and Gascoigne at the helm. The organization offers eight programs, from a global classroom of free online coding courses to this summer’s threeday Catalyst Conference. Girls in Tech is also a way for women in the tech industry, many of whom have relocated to the Bay Area for work, to meet others like them.
“The No. 1 piece of feedback we get is that women want friends,” said Lauren Feldman, managing director of Girls in Tech for San Francisco and Silicon Valley. “People aren’t catty (within the organization). Everyone acknowledges that there’s enough success for everyone.”
Gascoigne connected me with Feldman. Making connections is one of the things she does best, and even at her nonprofit’s own birthday party, Gascoigne was happily hustling, guiding yet another member over to someone they should definitely meet. She was right about getting me to chat with Feldman, mainly because Lauren Feldman is super fun to talk to and, as a volunteer for Girls in Tech, has a different perspective.
“I’ve gotten more back from volunteering with this group than anything I’ve gotten from any job,” beamed Feldman, who promptly handed me her card.
There’s a lot of talk, and a lot of justified talk, about the way the tech industry is transforming San Francisco. Attending the Girls in Tech party was an important reminder that there are people in that industry who chose to focus their talents on making positive change.
More women in tech is a good thing. More women with access to tech education and connections around the globe is a good thing. San Francisco is changing, but so is the world. Women need to be prepared and welcomed into the technology workforce.
“The tech industry is really awesome,” said Gascoigne. “It touches every industry in the world. It’s important for us to be on top of our game, you know?”
Two hours into the party, as the clock inched closer to midnight, there was still a line of folks waiting to get inside. The majority of the crowd inside 111 Minna Gallery were women. It was mostly men who seemed to be the ones waiting outside.
“Everyone acknowledges that there’s enough success for everyone.”
Lauren Feldman, managing director, Girls in Tech for San Francisco and Silicon Valley
The Ritz-Carlton’s a fancy place, but the less-than-elegant stickers covering the words “Women” and “Men” on the restroom doors for the Sunday, March 12, Crescendo gathering were functional. The event was an annual fundraiser for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, and the signs, I learned afterward, were only on that floor and in practical recognition that men outnumbered women at the event probably 10 to 1. Every restroom was marked “Gender Neutral.”
The chorus is 225 voices strong, and each singer has friends, so the reception was packed with a special air of excitement. The chorus had plans to tour internationally this year, but in the aftermath of the presidential election, when so many rights issues were raised, organizers decided to travel and sing — along with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir — at venues in the Deep South. This daring eight-day trip was described with such excitement that the chance to travel along with it went for $23,000 (highest price of any item) at a fundraising auction conducted by Michael Tate.
Anyway, there were after-dinner speeches and performances aplenty, including by drag queen Jinkz Monsoon and lesbian country singer Chely Wright, and an appearance by TV star Wilson Cruz. Awards also went to the Rev. Susan Hrostowski and Kathryn Garner, who fought for the rights of gays to adopt children in Mississippi; to Lexus, which sponsored the event and has supported LGBT rights nationally; and, finally, to Kathy Griffin for “being a staunch advocate for LGBT rights over the entirety of her career.”
The comedian-actress burst out onstage like a fireball — “is Steve Bannon a full-time meth head or just on the weekend?” — and shot off a fusillade of unrepeatable jokes (I’ll never eat egg drop soup again). She thanked the gay community for “letting me be ballsy and obnoxious,” vowed to “stand behind the wall and throw Mexicans in,” and eventually dropped her sarcasm to seriously lament the election of the president, and talk about how that happened.
Republicans, Griffin said, harness themselves together and pull as one to win elections, even when they have individual differences of opinion about a candidate. “They stick together,” she said. “There’s no arguing about nuance and s—.” If they don’t like Trump, they