Baker

Anne Baker: A 2008 study by the Center for Work-Life Policy found that more than half of the women working in the science, engineering, and technology sectors eventually quit mid-career. This statistic is disappointing, but as someone who has had the pleasure of working as part of the high-tech community in Seattle for over ten years, here is my take on “the good, bad, and ugly” of being a woman in technology.

The Good

The good news is that I believe that talented and hard-working women in technology fields are often highly valued when compared to other more traditional professions, especially in progressive Seattle.

In my experience, the fast-paced, dynamic nature of the technology business makes the quest for good ideas paramount over everything else. It doesn’t matter the sex, race, or ethnicity of the person coming up with good ideas – the important thing is that they create those ideas fast enough that the companies they work for can get them to market quicker than the competition.

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Of course, this doesn’t mean that women in technology aren’t facing discrimination or receiving their fair share of ‘advice’ from well-meaning male colleagues.

From a handwritten sticky note pinned to my computer telling me that my eyes held a “passion tornado behind them that needed to be unleashed“ to an executive mentoring session where I was instructed to “never stand up when you present or you will just remind men of their nagging wives,” I am often reminded that I am a woman in a male dominated field.

I also know that by working hard I have been able to build the same strong career as my male counterparts and I continue to be recognized for my accomplishments in technology by both male and female coworkers alike.

The Bad

From my earliest days in the technology field, I also have experienced one sad phenomenon that continues to surface in many technology companies that I encounter today: women often do not support other women.

I initially encountered this scenario when I failed the first college chemistry exam I took in engineering school and went to seek counsel from my advisor, a female professor.

She said to me: “Women often can’t hack it in engineering. There are a lot of other majors you could pursue here, like teaching. Why don’t you do something else?”

I left that meeting angry and determined to stay with my mechanical engineering major -- if only to prove her wrong.

I later became president of the Society of Women Engineers at my university and have often participated in female mentoring programs in the companies I have worked for since that time to make sure other women don’t feel isolated and give up on their technology goals.

If women don’t support and encourage other women to enter technology, then who will?

The Ugly

The ugly reality is that technology is a demanding industry for both men and women. It frequently requires incredibly long hours and constant travel. This type of lifestyle is especially hard for women who have children or are expecting children.

I remember working in a tradeshow booth demonstrating phone software for four excruciatingly long days while being five months pregnant and nauseous wondering why any woman in her right mind would go into technology. This is a thought that has reoccurred frequently since my son, “the incredible non-sleeping baby," was born.

Children are work -- a lot of work. And they don’t mix well with parents who have to spend long days and nights at the office.

Many women feel like they have to choose between the high-tech lifestyle that they enjoy and the children that they love. If more high-tech companies could offer part-time and flexible schedules that choice could easily be eliminated and some of the most dynamic and creative women that I know could return to the work force and reinvigorate the high-tech sector.

The good news is that technology companies are now looking for ways to improve the retention of women and beginning to address these issues.

Despite the recession, many large companies, such as IBM, General Electric, and Honeywell, have launched new training, mentoring, and job sharing programs to retain highly skilled women in the work force and smaller start-ups are now following suit.

If these companies can cut the attrition rate for women by just 25 percent, it is estimated that the technology industry could retain about a quarter of a million talented women -- and the new ideas and diverse opinions that they bring with them.

Anne Baker is founder and CEO of Blue Creek Marketing and former vice president of marketing and public relations for Action Engine Corp. She has held management and technology positions at a variety of public and private companies, including Marconi Wireless and Accenture. A member of the inaugural TechFlash Top Women in Seattle Tech, she was recently selected as one of the Top 50 Women in Mobile Content by Mobile Entertainment Magazine.