“Bro” culture, gender bias and micromanagement were top concerns among women in tech who were dissatisfied with their employers, according to a survey from Elpha, the results of which were shared first with Axios.
Why it matters: Hiring bias is only one cause of tech’s gender imbalance. Another problem is that women leave the industry because they find the environment works against their success.
- A lack of female representation in leadership and an environment with persistent harassment and gender bias were the top two reasons for women who didn’t recommend their employer to other women.
- By contrast, women who were happy at their employer cited as key factors: having a female CEO or founder and having male allies — as well as just feeling respected, valued and listened to.
Between the lines: Women often ranked the largest tech companies lower, citing cultural issues that overshadowed generally better benefits.
- Elpha’s top 10 ranked companies consisted mostly of smaller and mid-size firms such as Hubspot, Zendesk and Twilio, though Twitter was also in the top 10.
The bottom line: The findings may not be surprising, but they serve as a good reminder that culture matters, especially for women and underrepresented groups, when it comes to how they feel at work — and whether they stay and recruit others like themselves.
