The Truth: Professional Pittsburgh
How the Patriarchal Grasp on the Tech Industry is Shaping the Internal Environment of Local Corporations and How Implicit Bias is Affecting Professional Women in the Industry of Technology
Have you ever wondered why some people do so well in the business world?
They were born white, cis-gendered men. Clara Lenore did not have this luxury.
Clara is a Marketing Coordinator at a large corporation in the Greater Pittsburgh Region. She has accumulated over 7 years of experience and has proved herself time and time again. Yet, is often overlooked for promotional opportunities and is tasked with taking on more work than listed within her job description.
Nepotism and sexism are deeply engrained in professionalism, and subconscious beliefs greatly affect women’s ability to thrive in the office.
Clara attended university to pursue a degree in business and then fell in love with the world of marketing. She immersed herself in the professional atmosphere immediately. After completing her first year, she found an internship at a software engineering company. But there was a problem. The adolescent corporation had no established marketing department.
“Essentially, I basically built the marketing department from the ground up. Starting at about 15 people, by the time I graduated, … we were up to about 50 employees.”
Under-experienced, undertrained, and balancing college courses, she tackled and excelled at a job many mid-level professionals struggled managing. Clara proved that she was fully competent and a crucial asset for the corporation; however, when promotional opportunities arose, she was passed up for a white man with more experience.
Even throughout Clara's professional career, she endured over analyzation by management because of her gender identity. Being in her present position as Director of Marketing, she continues to have to jump through hurdles to please men in both higher and lower positions.
“If I was a man, would I have a corporate credit card?”
Small, seemingly insignificant obstacles continue to bombard Clara on her professional journey throughout the tech industry. Yet, these tiny hindrances are based on gigantic, deeply rooted issues of sexism and implicit bias that are intertwined within the professional foregrounds of the Pittsburgh corporate environment, especially the tech industry, which is engrained with patriarchal tendencies and bias. Clara, a progressive, ambitious feminist, had to get out this toxic “bro culture.”
These conversations have been edited for clarity and concision.
What was your primary role in your full-time position? Did that change as the company’s dynamic shifted?
After receiving my job offer, I immediately immersed myself in work. Managing workshops, working with clients, and focusing on client-facing; is the type of hands-on and interpersonal type of work that I love.
As we grew, my role changed. They saw me as a person that can manage multiple different jobs, most of which were not under my job description. Management would constantly ask me to take on more tasks, and because of my young, newcomer position, I did not say no very often.
My job became: Marketing, HR, sales, Internal Employee Engagement, etc. More and more jobs were added to my to-do list, and because I was eager to prove myself, I continued forward with a happy face.
I was expected to do the tasks of those who did not want to handle them themselves. If someone else had an emergency, it was my job to clean it up because I was the eager, young professional woman who had to “earn” her way. However, these expectations were not imposed on my male coworkers. I had more ground to cover because I was a woman in tech.
How did your gender identity affect your treatment, especially during the early stages of your career?
Women’s value is greatly emphasized in what they can do for others, and because of this socialization, women are not encouraged to say “no.” So when I was asked to take on more tasks, I did not hesitate to meet their unrealistic expectations. I became their secretary, event planner, scheduler, etc., along with balancing the tasks that align with my job title. I took on the tasks that, presently, take entire departments to handle.
I did not feel like I had the authority or the experience to say “no.” I just wanted to be seen as valuable.
How did your minority status shape your professional ambition?
The software engineering firm was 90% male, most of which were white. The only other women I can recall worked in the finance office.
I went above and beyond to prove to myself and others that I belonged in this office and profession. I wanted to do everything in my power to fit in with this company. There were no expectations that were placed on me by my peers, but it was an expectation that I put on myself.
Being a minority in this situation increases my ambition and will to succeed. It was a driving force in my career. Although, not all women are as lucky to shape this implicit bias into a positive (many face imposter syndrome and impossible patriarchal expectations beat them down).
Could you describe the demographic of the leadership in your company?
They’re all men.
How did the male majority affect your networking capabilities as a woman in tech?
Tech conferences were huge in our industry. They hosted the opportunity to advance and accelerate the growth of your career. It was a great networking opportunity that prompted internal competition because many of my coworkers wanted to attend. When I was selected to go with my boss, I was thrilled.
The events gathered a large group of people from multiple different regions and backgrounds. However, diversity was not a common sight. These tech conferences hosted a demographic of white males between the ages of 30-60. Being one of the only women in the room was intimidating, but with the motivation of my boss, I was eager to get business cards and make acquaintance with the men in the room.
I walked around the room, introducing myself and discussing my role at the firm, but there was always a barricade in the conversation: Respect. I would walk up and talk to these men, but because I was a woman, I was taken less seriously than a white, older gentleman.
Is there a gender-based pay disparity?
Yes. I have seen comparable positions in the industry receive higher pay because of their gender identity.
It is because organizations make the discussion of salaries and wages a taboo concept that these disparities exist. We are ignorant of the numerical amount each of us is receiving for our work, and because of this, are unable to determine if we are earning an unjust amount. If societal expectations were to change and open dialogue about money were to be accepted, it would be easier to dismantle the unequal payment that men receive over equally hardworking women.
Gender-Inclusive Workshops, Opinions?
They’re a step to unrooting a deep problem. But organizations need to create a more significant emphasis on caring for a positive outcome from these workshops, as opposed to only viewing them as legally necessary.
Do you have any examples of implicit bias affecting your professional journey?
After receiving my full-time job offer, I received an intern assistant. I hired an intelligent young man who excelled at his job. After he finished his internship, he moved on to receive a very prestigious job offer at a different company in the industry. (Which I was very excited for him).
During my early professional stages, when I was questioning what I wanted my future to look like, I went job hunting. This process did not go as anticipated. My resume at this point in my life was filled with achievements, recommendations, and accomplishments. Objectively, it was a better resume than my previous intern, who was fresh out of college.
Throughout this experience, I realized that they may not be comparing the male and female candidates equally and being unbiased.
Another instance that I noticed, as I received promotions throughout my career, is that management will try to pay you the same (or more) than your male coworker but give you double the responsibility.
Why did you go to Grad School?
Tired of the corporate B.S.
After witnessing the sexism and nepotism that is existing within the higher-up positions of the corporation and enduring the consequences of these hiring choices first-hand, I decided that I no longer wanted to work in this specific job. However, after further analysis of the job market, I realized that there was nowhere in this profession that I could escape this kind of behavior. The grass isn’t always greener.
That’s why I decided to take my marketing skills and put them to good use as a therapist. I am excited about this journey and the possibility of being able to help people.
Any last-minute professional tips?
Make sure you get everything in writing! After interning at a company for my entire college career, I asked if they would extend a job offer. Despite verbally agreeing, it took several months for them to deliver a concrete job offer.
They did not prioritize me and kept pushing my hiring off to further and further dates. And because of the verbal promise they made to me, I did not apply anywhere else, which left me no grounds to negotiate.
My professional commitment and gender identity made them take me for granted, they saw no urgency in extending a job offer because they assumed I would always be there. They assumed that, since I am a woman, I should feel privileged to have received a verbal agreement to work there. And that, since I am a woman, my professional options were limited.
Sources:
Griffith, Erin. "Silicon Valley Slides Back Into ‘Bro’ Culture" NYTimes, 24 Sep. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/technology/silicon-valley-slides-back-into-bro-culture.html?searchResultPosition=2. Accessed 20, Oct. 2022.
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