Tag: women

Opinion

Why Startups Need Diversity: Being the Only Woman in the Room

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Being the only woman in the company taught me that diversity is often an afterthought for startups when it should be the first priority. Photo: Women in Tech

When I was hired for my first internship, I was ecstatic. I was in my second semester of college and I was shocked that two companies decided to further my application down the hiring process. One was faster: it was a startup. There was no process: I wasn’t hired on the spot, but I was just passed along until I ended up two weeks later in front of the coworking space where the startup was located. I tried my best to learn quickly; I picked up new tasks everyday and shadowed other interns. But on the days when most of the team wasn’t there, I felt increasingly lonelier. As I sat by myself on one of the long tables, I noticed that not only was I the only woman sitting at the table, but also the only woman in the entire room besides the receptionist at the front. At first, I didn’t mind that I was the only woman in my company. But as days grew into weeks, I felt increasingly isolated. There was no blatant discrimination; there was no pay gap because the other interns weren’t paid either. 

On one occasion, as a hiring representative, I attended a job fair along with the CEO. I soon realized not only was I much younger than both the candidates and the company representatives, but also I was also the only woman on the company side. Here I was, a nineteen year old, explaining and trying to hire graduate students. I felt like an impostor, trying to act and dress like a thirty year old when I wasn’t even twenty. I even skipped class that day to avoid suspicion that I was still a student and continue with my facade as a HR manager. After the event, I stayed behind to clean up and push the tables back into place. I nearly cried from a mixture of exhaustion and stress. I had invested so much into buying a new wardrobe, new shoes, and crafting a new personality because I felt like I had to represent all women in the startup workplace. I had internalized such pressures because I felt like others wouldn’t take me seriously unless I dressed in a certain way or talked in a certain way. 

I began to dread going to work. I felt like a four year old child trying on a mother’s high heels, except I had to keep on the shoes, both physically and mentally, for hours on end. Work productivity dropped. I wished there was another woman on the team. Maybe if there was, my experience might have been better. We need more women in startup teams to not only enrich the startup culture but also to mentor other women who want to join the community. The lack of women and the lack of visibility deters and discourages a diverse startup community. 

Startups in Japan are led by an overwhelming majority of men. 83% of startups in Japan are led by men, and most venture capitalists are men as well. The playing field in accessing venture capital is largely led by men: startup competitions that are key to securing investors are made up of a disproportionate amount of men. The gender gap in the startup community is not only discouraging to budding female startup entrepreneurs but also women systematically lack the funds and resources that their male counterparts have. Less than 3 percent of venture capital funded companies have female CEOs. One of the biggest challenges that women entrepreneurs face is lack of investor confidence; male investors are more likely to invest in male entrepreneurs. Dana Kanze, an entrepreneur, noticed that she was getting asked “prevention” questions much more often than “promotion” questions by investors during pitches. She tested her hypothesis that women who were asked more “prevention” questions would have less funding than men who were asked more “promotion,” questions at a funding competition. 67% of male entrepreneurs were asked promotion questions, while 66% of female entrepreneurs were asked prevention-focused questions. Women must overcome social expectations and limited networks besides systematic setbacks. The startup game is skewed towards men; and women’s participation should not only be encouraged but also the startup ecosystem must change to give women a fair playing chance.

Visibility of women in startups is imperative: as startup founders, venture capitalists, or working professionals in the startup community. With a lack of female mentors in the startup community, women lack many of the resources that are needed for success. By showing solidarity across the community, women can excel and further empower future generations to come. 

 

Publications, The Metric

[The Metric] Japan’s Gender Equality: Sexual Harassment and Victim Blaming

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Japan’s failure to address gender equality contradicts its image as a developed nation

Written for The Metric

In June 2018, Japan won a shocking victory against Columbia by 2-1. Crowds of excited fans filled the bustling streets of Shibuya, partying late into the night. The next morning, news broke: sexual harassment complaints filed to the police jumped by a fold after one night. According to a Yahoo Japan article that was published the next day, during the commotion in the Shibuya Crossing area after the victory, many women were groped and harassed, resulting in a large number of sexual harassment claims filed to the police and comments on Twitter and other social media portals. One user on Twitter complained that she was groped around five times; another said the touches were not accidental, but with intention. The article also stated that it was against the law to touch people or their belongings in public places, citing Tokyo’s Prevention Ordinance Article 5, paragraph 1, number 1. It also stated that such acts are considered a crime.

What was more shocking was not merely the reports, however, but the social media comments in response to the incident. The top comment with more than 16000 upvotes simply states, “It would better if they [women] don’t go [to such places.]” Other comments follow, such as “Women shouldn’t go to these places alone,” or “Women have to be careful and be aware of the risk.” Another one reiterates these sentiments: “Well, that can’t be helped.”

The blatant victim blaming in social media comments illustrated Japan’s failure to reduce the gender gap and showed that the lack of direct action against aggressors inhibits Japan from progressing to a more equal society. While there are laws against sexual harassment, it is seldom enforced and often overlooked in both work and school environments. The axiom, “Boys will be boys” and “It can’t be helped.” is often used to dismiss patriarchal and predatory behavior. More importantly, many cases of harassment are often not reported due to the fear and shame of victim-blaming and the failure of the government or police force to resolve such circumstances.

The FIFA incident is a sharp contrast from Japan’s international image as a forward, economically powerful country. Japan is the world’s third largest economy in terms of nominal GDP, third largest automobile manufacturer, and largest electronic goods industry. It is known as a leading nation in technology and innovation. Its distinct culture and society also drew in 28.69 million tourists in 2017, according to JTB Tourism. Japanese popular culture such as Japanese cinema, manga, anime, music, fashion, and video games has shaped Japan’s image abroad as a distinct nation and tourist-favorite scenic destination.

Yet, despite all of its economic glory, Japan still struggles with gender equality; it is ranked 114th in gender equality based on the Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum in 2017. The report measures gender equality based on the “relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics.” Japan is ranked last out of the G7, the group of seven major economies. Out of the four key areas, Japan is ranked first in health, 74th in education, 114th in economic participation and opportunity, and 123rd in political empowerment. Japan’s main reason for a low score is due to large gender gaps in terms of income and job promotions, as well as low proportions of women in politics, such as female lawmakers, politicians, and Cabinet members. Despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to introduce female-centric economic policies dubbed “Womenomics,” Japan’s ranking in gender equality is still extremely low compared to other developed economies.

Japan attempts to improve gender equality by creating policies that bring more women into the workforce, citing that a higher female labor force participation will bring economic growth. Prime Minister Abe pushed “The Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace” in April 2016 as part of his economic policy reform. And in that aspect, it was successful in bringing more women to the workforce, from 67.8% in 2012 to 72.7% in 2016, according to the Gender Equality Bureau. However, while more women are in the workforce, there are still a lack of women in executive, management, and senior positions in companies and the government. Only 3.7% of Japanese company executives are women, and only two of Abe’s Cabinet of twenty are women. According to BBC News, Only 10% of lawmakers in the House of Representatives are women.

Japan cannot simply achieve better gender equality by stating that more women in the workforce help improves the economy. Gender equality should be achieved for the sole goal of improving the lives of both women and men in society. What Japan needs is to recognize that the problem lies within the daily lives of Japanese men and women and start to eliminate microaggressions and condemning sexist behavior, such as victim blaming. As a developed nation with the world’s third largest economy, Japan needs to recognize that its lack of gender equality in every aspect of the daily lives of Japanese people poses a risk to not only the economy, but also the well being of Japanese society.