by Emily Chang
new mysterious profession: Thomas J. Misa, ed., Gender Codes: Why Women Are Leaving Computing (New York: Wiley, 2010), 127–28.
profiled 1,378 programmers: William M. Cannon and Dallis K. Perry, “A Vocational Interest Scale for Computer Programmers,” SIGCPR, June 27, 1966.
186 of whom were women: Evelyn Randall Grace, “The Relationship Between Personality Traits and Vocational Interests in the Choice of Field of Study of Selected Junior College Students,” North Texas State University, Aug. 1969, https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc164347/m2/1/high_res_d/nd_00314.pdf.
therefore success in the field: Birgitta Böckeler, “Born for It,” martinfowler.com, April 20, 2016, https://martinfowler.com/articles/born-for-it.html.
“don’t like people”: Cannon and Perry, “Vocational Interest Scale for Computer Programmers.”
By one estimate, as many as two-thirds: Ensmenger, Computer Boys Take Over, 35.
such tests were used well into the 1980s: Ibid., 79.
The prevalence of antisocial personality: Analucia A. Alegria et al., “Sex Difference in Antisocial Personality Disorder: Results from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions,” Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment 4, no. 3 (2013): 214–22, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031681.
And many more boys: Alycia K. Halladay et al., “Sex and Gender Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Summarizing Evidence Gaps and Identifying Emerging Areas of Priority,” Molecular Autism 6, no. 36 (2015), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-015-0019-y.
“often egocentric, slightly neurotic”: Nathan Ensmenger, “‘Beards, Sandals, and Other Signs of Rugged Individualism’: Masculine Culture within the Computing Professions,” Osiris 30, no. 1 (2015): 38–65, https://doi.org/10.1086/682955.
In fact, the word “women”: Cannon and Perry, “Vocational Interest Scale for Computer Programmers.”
There is little evidence: Gerald E. Evans and Mark G. Simkin, “What Best Predicts Computer Proficiency?,” Communications of the ACM (1989): 1322, https://doi.org/10.1145/68814.68817.
Nor is there evidence: Sara M. Lindberg, Janet Shibley Hyde, and Jennifer L. Petersen, “New Trends in Gender and Mathematics Performance: A Meta-analysis,” Psychological Bulletin 136, no. 6 (2010): 1123–35, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021276.
an electronic mailing list: “Systers,” Anita Borg Institute, accessed Sept. 5, 2017, https://anitaborg.org/systers.
“industry selected for antisocial”: Ensmenger, Computer Boys Take Over, 78–79.
“I was afraid to be”: Padmasree Warrior, “NextEV’s Padmasree Warrior: Studio 1.0 (Full Show 3/27),” interview by author, Bloomberg, March 27, 2016, video, 23:36, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-03-27/nextev-s-padmasree-warrior-studio-1-0-full-show.
A large study of high schoolers: Lily Shashaani, “Gender-Based Differences in Attitudes Toward Computers,” Computers & Education 20, no. 2 (1993): 169–81, https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-1315(93)90085-W.
These biases seeped into the curriculum: Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher, Unlocking the Clubhouse (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001), 4.
Female CS students report being discouraged: Ibid., 61.
The “geek mythology”: Ibid., 68.
“These stereotypes are incongruent”: Sapna Cheryan et al., “The Stereotypical Computer Scientist: Gendered Media Representations as a Barrier to Inclusion for Women,” Sex Roles 69 (2013): 58–71, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0296-x.
Cheryan referenced a quotation: Sapna Cheryan, Allison Master, and Andrew N. Meltzoff, “Cultural Stereotypes as Gatekeepers: Increasing Girls’ Interest in Computer Science and Engineering by Diversifying Stereotypes,” Frontiers in Psychology 6, no. 49 (2015), https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00049.
“I don’t dream in code”: Jane Margolis, Allan Fisher, and Faye Miller, “The Anatomy of Interest: Women in Undergraduate Computer Science,” Women’s Studies Quarterly 28, no. 1–2 (2000): 104–27, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40004448.
Demand became so great: Eric Roberts, “A History of Capacity Challenges in Computer Science,” Stanford University, March 7, 2016, http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/CSCapacity.
electrical engineering and computer science: Ibid.
In 1977, the MCAT: William C. McGaghie, “Assessing Readiness for Medical Education: Evolution of the Medical College Admission Test,” JAMA 288, no. 9 (2002): 1085–90, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/195259.
“In the 1970s, students”: Roberts, “History of Capacity Challenges in Computer Science.”
He majored in economics: Govind Dandekar, “Trilogy CEO, Stanford Alum Retraces Path to Success,” Stanford Daily, May 28, 1998, https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19980528-01.2.26.
“We will, but the price”: Sarah E. Henrickson, “Founder of Trilogy Speaks About His Career,” Harvard Crimson, Oct. 31, 1997, http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1997/10/31/founder-of-trilogy-speaks-about-his.
IBM, Alcatel, and Boeing: Ernst & Young, Net Entrepreneurs Only (New York: Wiley, 2000), 50.
“The first thing”: Susan Lahey, “Trilogy and the Extraordinary Power of a Great Network,” Silicon Hills News, March 15, 2015, http://www.siliconhillsnews.com/2015/03/15/trilogy-and-the-extraordinary-power-of-a-great-network.
New hires immediately spent: Ibid.
“push new recruits”: Noel Tichy, “No Ordinary Boot Camp,” Harvard Business Review, April 2001, https://hbr.org/2001/04/no-ordinary-boot-camp.
“money, recruiters, beer”: Lahey, “Trilogy and the Extraordinary Power of a Great Network.”
In a paper that consolidated: Emily Grijalva et al., “Narcissism and Leadership: A Meta-analytic Review of Linear and Nonlinear Relationships,” Personnel Psychology 68, no. 1 (Spring 2015): 1–47, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/peps.12072.
“Brainteasers are a complete waste”: Adam Bryant, “In Head-Hunting, Big Data May Not Be Such a Big Deal,” New York Times, June 19, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/business/in-head-hunting-big-data-may-not-be-such-a-big-deal.html.
Despite their concrete achievements: Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes, “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention,” Psychotherapy Theory, Research, and Practice 15, no. 3 (Fall 1978): 241–47, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0086006.
Other researchers have found: Tara Sophia Mohr, “Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified,” Harvard Business Review, Aug. 25, 2014, https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified.
When the first tech bubble burst: Marie Thibault, “The Next Bill Gates,” Forbes, Jan. 19, 2010, https://www.forbes.com/2010/01/19/young-tech-billionaire-gates-google-yahoo-wealth.html#6257bb713333.
Given that entitlement: Emily Grijalva et al., “Gender Differences in Narcissism: A Meta-analytic Review,” Psychological Bulletin 141, no. 2 (March 2015): 261–310, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038231.
prominent role in high finance: Meredith Lepore, “Analysts Say Having More Female Bankers Could Have Prevented the Financial Crisis,” Grindstone, Jan. 26, 2012, http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/01/26/office-politics/analysts-say-having-more-female-bankers-could-have-prevented-the-financial-crisis-181.
“Risk-taking is desirable”: “Women More Than Twice as Likely to Be Cautious About Risk Than Men,” Psychological Consultancy Ltd., March 16, 2016, http://www.psychological-consultancy.com/blog/women-twice-likely-cautious-risk-men.
An extensive study: Jenny Anderson, “Huge Study Finds That Companies with More Women Leaders Are More Profitable,” Quartz, Feb. 8, 2016, https://qz.com/612086/huge-study-find-that-companies-with-more-women-leaders-are-more-profitable.
According to data compiled: “Table 349: Degrees in Computer and Information Sciences Conferred by Degree-Granting Institutions, by Level of Deg
ree and Sex of Student: 1970–71 Through 2010–11,” National Center for Education Statistics, July 2012, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_349.asp.
Today, it’s estimated: Jon Swartz, “Businesses Say They Just Can’t Find the Right Tech Workers,” USA Today, March 28, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/03/28/tech-skills-gap-huge-graduates-survey-says/99587888.
CHAPTER 2: THE PAYPAL MAFIA AND THE MYTH OF THE MERITOCRACY
“a lucid and profound articulation”: Derek Thompson, “Peter Thiel’s Zero to One Might Be the Best Business Book I’ve Read,” Atlantic, Sept. 25, 2014, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/peter-thiel-zero-to-one-review/380738.
“We all have a responsibility”: Peter Thiel, “Peter Thiel: Bloomberg West (Full Show 4/12),” interview by author, Bloomberg, April 12, 2016, video, 56:52, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-04-13/peter-thiel-bloomberg-west-full-show-4-12.
Zero to One: Peter Thiel, Zero to One (New York: Crown Business, 2014).
Thiel himself told me: Peter Thiel, “Venture Capitalist Peter Thiel: Studio 1.0 (12/18) Bloomberg, Dec. 18, 2014, video, 27:34, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2014-12-19/venture-capitalist-peter-thiel-studio-10-1218.
Stanford began by instituting: News release, Stanford News Service, April 22, 1991, https://web.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/91/910422Arc1416.html.
lawsuit against Harvard: Anemona Hartocollis and Stephanie Saul, “Affirmative Action Battle Has a New Focus: Asian-Americans,” New York Times, Aug. 2, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/us/affirmative-action-battle-has-a-new-focus-asian-americans.html?_r=0.
The Stanford Review also targeted feminism: Lisa Koven and David Sacks, “Rape at Stanford,” Stanford Review, Jan. 21, 1992.
The word “RAPE”: Ibid., 1.
“If you’re male and heterosexual at Stanford”: Ibid., 4.
“Faggot! Hope you die”: “Officials Condemn Homophobic Incident; No Prosecution Planned,” Stanford News Service, Feb. 12, 1992, https://news.stanford.edu/pr/92/920212Arc2432.html.
who had reportedly kicked a student out: David Dirks, “Freshman Loses Housing for Insensitive Conduct,” Stanford Daily, May 23, 1988, https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19880523-01.2.4#.
“The intention was for the speech”: Ibid.
“caused Stanford to resemble”: David O. Sacks and Peter Thiel, The Diversity Myth (Oakland, CA: Independent Institute, 1998): 29.
And in 2011, Thiel told: George Packer, “No Death, No Taxes,” New Yorker, Nov. 28, 2011, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/28/no-death-no-taxes.
“seductions that are later regretted”: Sacks and Thiel, Diversity Myth, 144.
“More than two decades ago”: Ryan Mac and Matt Drange, “Donald Trump Supporter Peter Thiel Apologizes for Past Book Comments on Rape,” Forbes, Oct. 25, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/10/25/peter-thiel-apologizes-for-past-book-comments-on-rape-and-race/#7c635d0e4e48.
In late 2017, however: Andrew Granato, “How Peter Thiel Built a Silicon Valley Empire,” Stanford Politics, Nov. 27, 2017, https://stanfordpolitics.org/2017/11/27/peter-thiel-cover-story.
“This is college journalism written over 20 years ago”: Kara Swisher, “Zenefits CEO David Sacks Apologizes for Parts of a 1996 Book He Co-wrote with Peter Thiel That Called Date Rape ‘Belated Regret,’” Recode, Oct. 24, 2016, https://www.recode.net/2016/10/24/13395798/zenefits-ceo-david-sacks-apologizes-1996-book-co-wrote-peter-thiel-date-rape-belated-regret.
“I do believe in diversity”: David Sacks, “Zenefits CEO on Closing the Chapter on Compliance Issues,” interview by author, Bloomberg, Oct. 18, 2016, video, 12:23, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-10-18/zenefits-ceo-on-closing-the-chapter-on-compliance-issues.
“sleep and get some air-conditioning”: Max Levchin, “PayPal Co-Founder Max Levchin: Studio 1.0 (02/05),” interview by author, Bloomberg, Feb. 6, 2015, video, 27:34, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-02-06/paypal-co-founder-max-levchin-studio-1-0-02-05-.
“they must work quickly”: Thiel, Zero to One, 122–23.
Except for the office manager, who was female: Jodi Kantor, “A Brand New World in Which Men Ruled,” New York Times, Dec. 23, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/12/23/us/gender-gaps-stanford-94.html.
“I think there is this way”: Thiel, interview by author, Bloomberg, Dec. 18, 2014.
“of the six people”: Thiel, Zero to One, 173.
“I ended up recruiting”: Ibid.
“sex in the stairwells”: Rolfe Winkler, “Zenefits Once Told Employees: No Sex in Stairwells,” Wall Street Journal, Feb. 22, 2016, https://www.wsj.com/articles/zenefits-once-told-employees-no-sex-in-stairwells-1456183097.
Mafia’s “dynastic privilege”: Adam Pisoni, “In Defense of Diverse Founding Teams,” Medium, Jan. 12, 2017, https://medium.com/@adampisoni/in-defense-of-diverse-founding-teams-e9f0b5b81f25.
He left Square in the midst: Evelyn M. Rusli, “Square Executive Resigns Amid Sexual-Harassment Claims,” Wall Street Journal, Jan. 25, 2013, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324539304578264153187663828.
“If meritocracy exists”: Kantor, “A Brand New World in Which Men Ruled.”
“would have died”: Roger Parloff, “Peter Thiel Disagrees with You,” Fortune, Sept. 4, 2014, http://fortune.com/2014/09/04/peter-thiels-contrarian-strategy.
“It is good sense”: Michael Young, “Down with Meritocracy,” Guardian, June 28, 2001, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/29/comment.
But is it just a coincidence: “Economic Diversity and Student Outcomes at Stanford University,” New York Times, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/stanford-university?mcubz=3.
while the national median: “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2016,” U.S. Census Bureau, Sept. 12, 2017, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2017/income-poverty.html.
Research shows when companies: Emilio J. Castilla and Stephen Benard, “The Paradox of Meritocracy in Organizations,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Dec. 1, 2010, http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65884.
When you are convinced: Leah Eichler, “The Problem with Working for a Supposed Meritocracy,” Globe and Mail, March 4, 2016, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/the-problem-with-working-for-a-supposed-meritocracy/article29033411.
“‘Meritocracy’ takes as its core”: Megan Garber, “The Perils of Meritocracy,” Atlantic, June 30, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/06/the-perils-of-meritocracy/532215.
“I no longer believe”: Peter Thiel, “The Education of a Libertarian,” Cato Unbound, April 13, 2009, https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian.
revealed that he was gay: Owen Thomas, “Peter Thiel Is Totally Gay, People,” Gawker, Dec. 19, 2007, http://gawker.com/335894/peter-thiel-is-totally-gay-people.
“When I was a kid”: Will Drabold, “Read Peter Thiel’s Speech at the Republican National Convention,” Time, July 21, 2016, http://time.com/4417679/republican-convention-peter-thiel-transcript.
“We care deeply about diversity”: Jeff John Roberts, “Mark Zuckerberg Says Trump Supporter Peter Thiel Still Has a Place on Facebook’s Board,” Fortune, Oct. 19, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/10/19/zuckerberg-thiel.
“I think you need”: Melanie Ehrenkranz, “Mark Zuckerberg’s Defense of Peter Thiel Reveals a Flawed Understanding of Diversity,” Mic, March 14, 2017, http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerbergs-defense-of-peter-thiel-reveals-a-flawed-understanding-of-diversity-2017-3.
“whole, you know, age of computer”: Jeremy Diamond, “Trump, the Computer and Email Skeptic-in-Chief,” CNN, Dec. 30, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/politics/donald-trump-computers-internet-email/index.html.<
br />
CHAPTER 3: GOOGLE: WHEN GOOD INTENTIONS AREN’T ENOUGH
“I wish I could say”: Susan Wojcicki, “Studio 1.0: Susan Wojcicki Opens Up About Being a Working Mother in the Tech Industry,” interview by author, Bloomberg, Nov. 14, 2016, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-14/studio-1-0-susan-wojcicki-opens-up-about-being-a-working-mother-in-the-tech-industry.
And it’s worth examining: Erik Larson, “Google Sued for Allegedly Paying Women Less Than Male Peers,” Bloomberg, Sept. 14, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-14/google-sued-by-women-workers-claiming-gender-discrimination.
Google had no marketing budget: Adam Levy, “Susan Wojcicki: From Google Doodles to YouTube CEO,” Motley Fool, July 5, 2015, https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/07/05/susan-wojcicki-from-google-doodles-to-youtube-ceo.aspx.
“You do the content”: Steven Levy, In the Plex (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011), 84.
In this particular column: Rachel Hutton, “Meeting Our Campus Celebrities,” Stanford Daily, Nov. 9, 1998, https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19981109-01.1.4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------.
“outstandingly attractive woman”: Hutton, “Meeting Our Campus Celebrities.”
Research backs this up: “Stereotype Threat Widens Achievement Gap,” American Psychological Association, July 15, 2006, http://www.apa.org/research/action/stereotype.aspx.
One of her first jobs: Laura M. Holson, “Putting a Bolder Face on Google,” New York Times, Feb. 28, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/business/01marissa.html.
By 2004, the year after AdSense: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Google Inc. Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended Dec. 31, 2014, Feb. 6, 2015, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000128877615000008/goog2014123110-k.htm.
Sandberg’s first assignment: Kashmir Hill, “Sheryl Sandberg to Harvard Biz Grads: ‘Find a Rocket Ship,’” Forbes, May 24, 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/05/24/sheryl-sandberg-to-harvard-biz-grads-find-a-rocket-ship.
