New Documentary Asks: Why There Are No Women In Tech?

Debugging the Gender Gap is a sweeping view of Silicon Valley’s gender disparity, but at the center of it is one simple question: While the tech industry has spent the past year wringing its hands over what to do about its dismal numbers of women, “CODE” director Robin Hauser Reynolds has been investigating the root of the problem, seeking out companies like Etsy that are already taking steps to solve it. The Chronicle chatted with Reynolds in New York, where the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Over the past year or so, the tech industry’s gender problem went from being an open secret to a topic of public discourse. Even in entry-level classes, she felt that the men in the class had a much stronger knowledge of (computer science) than she did. By her sophomore year, she was convinced she “didn’t fit in” and that she wasn’t cut out for computer science. [...] newspaper articles across the country touted the importance of (computer science) if you wanted job opportunities when you graduated. The White House issued a report that by 2020 there would be 1 million unfilled computer science related jobs in the USA. In the film, you interview Pax Dickinson, a tech executive who is well-known for his derogatory comments about women. Pax is a perfect example of the type of attitude that is prevalent in the tech industry. The film was also produced by Blake Irving, the CEO of GoDaddy, which is known for its misogynistic advertising. Blake started working at GoDaddy just under 2½ years ago — it was his predecessors who were responsible for the misogynistic TV ads. Blake’s modus operandi was always to change this corporate perception. Did your assumptions about why there is a gender divide in tech change while making the film? A lot of the girls and young women in the film talk about how tech seems like it’s only for boys. The stereotype of a computer science programmer is a guy who wears glasses and hoodies, is antisocial and codes all night in the basement. Megan Smith (chief technology officer of the United States) and Marissa Mayer (Yahoo CEO) are fabulous role models, and we need more. Same goes for people of color in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Computer science needs to be integrated into every classroom.