Nathalie Nahai - Why aren't women taking the stage in tech?

All material © THE WEB PSYCHOLOGIST LTD. 2014. No unauthorised reproduction or distribution.
@NATHALIENAHAITHE WEB PSYCHOLOGIST LTD.
WHY AREN’T WOMEN
TAKING THE STAGE IN TECH?

GRAB THE SLIDES
bit.ly/woman_you_got_this

1  An introduction
2  Things that hold us back
3  Things I wish I’d known
4  Things I’ve learned
5  Resources
TODAY’S TALK

INTRODUCTION

THE WEB PSYCHOLOGIST LTD.
NATHALIE NAHAÏ
@NathalieNahai
TheWebPsychologist.com
InstituteOfWebPsychology.com

MY STORY

MY STORY
•  I’d always felt ambitious and an ‘outsider’

MY STORY
•  Convoluted path, tried lots of different things

MY STORY
•  Convoluted path, tried lots of different things
•  I didn’t see a job that existed that I wanted,
so I made up my own

WEB PSYCHOLOGY
In 2011, I coined the term
‘Web Psychology’ and in 2012
I published my first book…

HMMM…
“ ”
Where are all the women?

A GLOBAL PICTURE
•  195 countries, only 22% are led by women1

A GLOBAL PICTURE
•  22% of seats in UK parliament are held by women2

A GLOBAL PICTURE
•  4.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women3

A GLOBAL PICTURE
•  4.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women3
•  Only 3 of Google's 36 top employees are women4

QUESTION
“ ”
Would you describe yourself
as ambitious?

DISPARITY
•  Millennial women are less likely than their male
peers to describe themselves as ‘leaders’,
‘visionaries’, ‘self-confident’ and ‘willing to take risks’5

DISPARITY
•  When girls are reminded of their gender by
checking M or F on a test, they perform worse6

DISPARITY
•  When girls are reminded of their gender by
checking M or F on a test, they perform worse6
•  Stereotype threats undermine womens’ and girls’
performance and interest in STEM fields7

MY DAD ALWAYS TOLD ME
“ ”
You’re smart, you can figure this out

F**K IT
WHY NOT?

YOUR CAREER
Skills
Values
Desired lifestyle
CAREER CHOICE
+

“ ”
You have to trust that the dots
will somehow connect in your future.
You have to trust in something – your gut,
destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach
has never let me down, and it has made
all the difference in my life.8
STEVE JOBS

EXERCISE

EXERCISE: VALUES
1  Which parts of your personality do you like most?

EXERCISE: VALUES
2  What skills, abilities or knowledge can you share?

EXERCISE: VALUES
3  Do you have confidence in your own opinions?

EXERCISE: VALUES
4  Do you feel you are in charge of your situation?

EXERCISE: VALUES
5  Do you feel you have purpose in your life?

EXERCISE: VALUES
5  Do you feel you have purpose in your life?
6  Do you seek out new, exciting experiences?

VALUES & WELLBEING9
1  Self-acceptance

VALUES & WELLBEING9
2  Autonomy

VALUES & WELLBEING9
2  Autonomy
3  Positive relations with others

VALUES & WELLBEING9
2  Autonomy
4  Purpose in life

VALUES & WELLBEING9
2  Autonomy
5  Environmental mastery

VALUES & WELLBEING9
2  Autonomy
5  Environmental mastery
6  Personal growth

THINGS THAT
HOLD US BACK

THINGS THAT HOLD US BACK
The idea that you have to make the
‘right choice’. Don’t bother - you’ll never
have enough data.
1

The idea that you have to make the
‘right choice’. Don’t bother - you’ll never
have enough data.
Make your best choice based on the
info you do have.
1

Women wait until they meet 100% of the
criteria of a job role before applying10.
2

Women wait until they meet 100% of the
criteria of a job role before applying10.
It’s about process, not confidence11.
Get used to launching at 60%, you can
figure out the rest as you go along.
2

When a professional endeavor goes
wrong, we tend to blame ourselves. When
it goes right, we credit circumstance /
other people for our success12.3

When a professional endeavor goes
wrong, we tend to blame ourselves. When
it goes right, we credit circumstance /
other people for our success12.
Stop it.
3

Women are a quarter as likely as men to
negotiate a raise. We tend to doubt our
opinions and are more prone to
“rumination” than men12.4

Women are a quarter as likely as men to
negotiate a raise. We tend to doubt our
opinions and are more prone to
“rumination” than men12.
Adopt a different strategy (see resources)
4

Fear of being too smart, too vocal, too
successful.
5

Fear of being too smart, too vocal, too
successful.
You live once. Make it count.5

EXERCISE
1  What would you do if you knew couldn’t fail?

EXERCISE
2  What are you good at?

EXERCISE
3  What would you do in life if you didn’t need to
work for money?

EXERCISE
work for money?
4  How important is social approval for you?

EXERCISE
work for money?
4  How important is social approval for you?
5  Who is your biggest inspiration and why?

EXERCISE
6  What do you want from your career?

EXERCISE
7  Who do you want to be?

EXERCISE
8  What does success mean to you?

EXERCISE
9  What values do you admire most in others?

EXERCISE
9  What values do you admire most in others?
10  What does your perfect day look like?

THINGS I WISH
I HAD KNOWN

THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN
The career you choose now probably
won’t be the career you end up in.
1

2
Ready, fire, aim.
You can build the plane as you’re
flying it.

3
No one knows what they’re doing.
We’re making this shit up as we go along.
It’s called innovation.

“Women are catty.”
It’s a load of bollocks.
Let’s help each other out.4

5
Most of the things you think are holding
you back are in your own head.

THINGS I’VE
LEARNED

THINGS I’VE LEARNED
1
Surround yourself with people who are
smarter than you.
They’ll challenge you and make you raise
your game.

2
People are generous.
Ask for help when you need it.

It’s healthy to question yourself.
People who doubt their competence
are typically more competent than those
who don’t13.
3

Imposter syndrome – if you feel a bit
like a fraud, chances are you’re doing
something right14.
4

5
Know what matters to you.
Decide on a general direction and start.
Keep your mind open for anything that
excites you, challenges you, inspires you.

RESOURCES

BOOKS & LINKS
•  BOOK The End of Men – Hanna Rosin
•  BOOK Vagina: A New Biography – Naomi Wolf
•  LINK How to negotiate effectively: getraised.com

WEBSITES & COMMUNITIES
•  womenintechnology.org
•  adaslist.co
•  ladygeek.com
•  littlemissgeek.org
•  witi.com

REFERENCES
1  Female world leaders currently in power (17th September 2014) http://www.jjmccullough.com/charts_rest_female-leaders.php
2  Women in national parliaments (1st October 2014) http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm
3  Fairchild, C. (3rd June 2014) Number of Fortune 500 women CEOs reaches historic high. Fortune.
http://fortune.com/2014/06/03/number-of-fortune-500-women-ceos-reaches-historic-high/
4  Kurtzleben, D. (29th May 2014). Only 3 of Google's 36 top employees are women. Vox.
http://www.vox.com/2014/5/29/5761250/only-3-of-googles-36-top-employees-are-women
5  Goux, D. (2012) Millennials in the Workpalce, Bentley University Center for Women and Business, 17-25.
https://www.bentley.edu/centers/sites/www.bentley.edu.centers/files/centers/cwb/millennials-report.pdf
6  Danaher, K. and Crandall, C. S. (2008), Stereotype Threat in Applied Settings Re-Examined. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38: 1639–1655.
7  Shapiro, J. R. and Williams, A. M. (2011) The Role of Stereotype Threats in Undermining Girls’ and Women’s Performance and Interest in STEM Fields.
Sex Roles, 66, nos. 3-4, 175-83.
8  Steve Jobs (14th June 2005) ‘You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says. Stanford News.
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
9  Ryff, C. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 57:1069–1081.
10  Desvaux, G, Deillard-Hoellinger, S. and Meaney, M. C. (2008) A business Case for Women. The McKinsey Quarterly, September, 4.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/03/business-women-economics-lead-cx_1003mckinsey.html
11  Mohr, T. S. (25th August 2014) Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified. Harvard Business Review.
http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified/
12  Jessica Bennett, J. (22nd April 2014) It’s Not You, It’s Science: How Perfectionism Holds Women Back. Time.
http://time.com/70558/its-not-you-its-science-how-perfectionism-holds-women-back/
13  Kruger, J. and Dunning, D. (1999) Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 77 (6): 1121–34.
14  Clance, P. R. and Imes, S. A. (1978). The impostor phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research,
and Practice 15 (3): 241–247.

WOMAN
.YOU GOT THIS

GO BUILD IT
THE FUTURE IS YOURS

Nathalie Nahai - Why aren't women taking the stage in tech?

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked (6)

Similar to Nathalie Nahai - Why aren't women taking the stage in tech? (15)

Recently uploaded (20)

Nathalie Nahai - Why aren't women taking the stage in tech?