Happenings

YouTube CEO Speaks On Gender Disparity

Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

By: Miracle Nwankwo

In the light of several statements on the need for gender parity across regions, the CEO of YouTube Susan Wojcicki, has lent her voice while dispelling the notion that the tech job is not befitting for women.

She said this in a column while reacting to a contentious discussion written in a memo on how the tech job is not befitting for a woman and how women are more unstable than men.

This statement is a bigger blow to the womanhood, even with the increased rate of women participation in the tech world.

In the column sent to Fortune, Susan started by quoting her daughters questions during a conversation they had after she saw the news.

“Mom, is it true that there are biological reasons why there are fewer women in tech and leadership?”

She continued by sharing her experiences and the difficulties she has been facing as the CEO of YouTube.

“Time and again, I’ve faced the slights that come with that question,” she wrote. “I’ve had my abilities and commitment to my job questioned. I’ve been left out of key industry events and social gatherings. I’ve had meetings with external leaders where they primarily addressed the more junior male colleagues. I’ve had my comments frequently interrupted and my ideas ignored until they were rephrased by men. No matter how often this all happens it still hurt.”

“I once again felt that pain, and empathized with the pain it must have caused others,” she wrote. “I thought about the women at Google who are now facing a very public discussion about their abilities, sparked by one of their own co-workers. I thought about the women throughout the tech field who are already dealing with the implicit biases that haunt our industry … now confronting them explicitly.”

“While people may have a right to express their beliefs in public, that does not mean companies cannot take action when women are subjected to comments that perpetuate negative stereotypes about them based on their gender,” she wrote. “Every day, companies take action against employees who make unlawful statements about coworkers, or create hostile work environments.”

If the top best-performing countries like the United States and Britain are still victims of gender discrimination especially among the workforce, countries such as China, India, and South Africa are far from being free from this surge.

Write A Comment