Brotopia

by Emily Chang

  “Diversity fuels innovation”: Beth Comstock, “How Diversity Fuels Innovation,” interview by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, Oct. 14, 2016, video, 1:17, https://video.vanityfair.com/watch/the-new-establishment-summit-how-diversity-fuels-innovation.

  kept her as a sex slave: Connie Loizos, “Longtime VC Michael Goguen Was Just Hit with an Explosive Lawsuit,” TechCrunch, March 11, 2016, https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/11/longtime-vc-michael-goguen-was-just-hit-with-an-explosive-lawsuit/.

  Although Goguen denied: Connie Loizos, “Michael Goguen’s Counter-complaint Calls Accuser an ‘Exotic Dancer’ Who Was ‘Looking for a Payday,’” TechCrunch, March 14, 2016, https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/14/michael-goguens-counter-complaint-calls-accuser-an-exotic-dancer-who-was-looking-for-a-payday.

  By 1999, women accounted: Brush et al., “Diana Report: Women’s Entrepreneurs 2014: Bridging the Gender Gap in Venture Capital,” dianaproject.org, http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/global-research/diana/Documents/diana-project-executive-summary-2014.pdf

  “Please, please, really take”: Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, 1 (Cal. 2012), http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/358553/pao-complaint.pdf.

  Pao had a romantic: Heather Somerville, “Timeline: Ellen Pao’s Career, Key Moments at Kleiner Perkins,” Mercury News, March 27, 2015, http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/03/27/timeline-ellen-paos-career-key-moments-at-kleiner-perkins.

  Pao’s case piled up: Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

  her memoir, Reset: Ellen Pao, Reset (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2017).

  “white girls—Eastern European”: Ibid.

  “kill the buzz”: Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

  Chien denied saying this: Nellie Bowles and Liz Gannes, “All-Male Ski Trip and No Women at Al Gore Dinner: Kleiner’s Chien Takes the Stand in Pao Lawsuit,” Recode, Feb. 25, 2015, https://www.recode.net/2015/2/25/11559418/all-male-ski-trip-and-no-women-at-al-gore-dinner-kleiners-chien-takes.

  Chien also testified: Beth Winegarner, “Kleiner Partner Held All-Male Al Gore Dinner, Jury Told,” Law360, Feb. 25, 2015, https://www.law360.com/articles/625265/kleiner-partner-held-all-male-al-gore-dinner-jury-told.

  “The two people who”: Sam Colt, “Ellen Pao Complained She Had Gotten a ‘Demotion’ When Kleiner Perkins Downsized in 2012,” Business Insider, March 3, 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/ellen-pao-trial-demotion-2015-3.

  Pao’s story appeared: David Streitfeld, “Ellen Pao Suit Against Kleiner Perkins Heads to Trial, with Big Potential Implications,” New York Times, Feb. 22, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/technology/ellen-pao-suit-against-kleiner-perkins-heads-to-trial-with-big-potential-implications.html.

  tech blogs had a field day: David Streitfeld, “Ellen Pao Loses Silicon Valley Bias Case Against Kleiner Perkins,” New York Times, March 27, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/technology/ellen-pao-kleiner-perkins-case-decision.html.

  only 5 out of 78: Rolfe Winkler, “Secretive, Sprawling Network of ‘Scouts’ Spreads Money Through Silicon Valley,” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 12, 2015, https://www.wsj.com/articles/secretive-sprawling-network-of-scouts-spreads-money-through-silicon-valley-1447381377.

  In fact, men run 92 percent: Jonathan Sherry, “A Data-Driven Look at Diversity in Venture Capital and Startups,” CB Insights, June 15, 2015, https://www.cbinsights.com/research/team-blog/venture-capital-diversity-data.

  What may be more surprising: Sarah McBride, “At Top VC Firms, More Women Partners Doesn’t Mean More Women Funded,” Bloomberg, May 31, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-31/at-top-vc-firms-more-women-partners-doesn-t-mean-more-women-funded.

  a little over $58 billion: Valentina Zarya, “Venture Capital’s Funding Gender Gap Is Actually Getting Worse,” Fortune, March 13, 2017, http://fortune.com/2017/03/13/female-founders-venture-capital.

  Forbes reports there was: Ryan Mac, “Stitch Fix: The $250 Million Startup Playing Fashionista Moneyball,” Forbes, June 1, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/06/01/fashionista-moneyball-stitch-fix-katrina-lake/#5445e8fd59a2.

  “Women: Stop making startups”: Jolie O’Dell (@jolieodell), “Women: Stop making startups about fashion, shopping, & babies. At least for the next few years. You’re embarrassing me,” Twitter post, Sept. 13, 2011, https://twitter.com/jolieodell/status/113681946487422976.

  In a comprehensive survey: Gené Teare, “In 2017, Only 17% of Startups Have a Female Founder,” TechCrunch, April 19, 2017, https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/19/in-2017-only-17-of-startups-have-a-female-founder.

  But the vast majority of venture capital: Cory Cox et al., “Global Innovation Report: 2016 Year in Review,” Crunchbase, 2016, https://static.crunchbase.com/reports/annual_2016_yf42a/crunchbase_annual_2016.pdf.

  “First, you have women’s own self-limiting views”: Sharon G. Hadary, “Why Are Women-Owned Firms Smaller Than Men-Owned Ones?,” Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2010, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704688604575125543191609632.

  “young and promising”: Malin Malmstrom et al., “We Recorded VCs’ Conversations and Analyzed How Differently They Talk About Female Entrepreneurs,” Harvard Business Review, May 17, 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/05/we-recorded-vcs-conversations-and-analyzed-how-differently-they-talk-about-female-entrepreneurs.

  In one study in which women: Alison Wood Brooks et al., “Investors Prefer Entrepreneurial Ventures Pitched by Attractive Men,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Feb. 20, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321202111.

  investors tend to have lower expectations: Sarah Thébaud, “Status Beliefs and the Spirit of Capitalism: Accounting for Gender Biases in Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” Social Forces 94, no. 1 (2015), https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sov042.

  “This finding suggests that when a man”: Ibid.

  $977 million in annual: Stitch Fix Form S-1, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Oct. 19, 2017, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1576942/000119312517313629/d400510ds1.htm.

  Wang told her story: Reed Albergotti, “Silicon Valley Women Tell of VC’s Unwanted Advances,” The Information, June 22, 2017, https://www.theinformation.com/silicon-valley-women-tell-of-vcs-unwanted-advances.

  “I strongly deny”: Ibid.

  “found a few examples”: Ibid.

  “Where’s the outrage?”: Sarah Lacy, “Binary Capital’s Justin Caldbeck Accused of Unwanted Sexual Advances Towards Female Founders. Where’s the Outrage?,” Pando, June 22, 2017, https://pando.com/2017/06/22/binary-capitals-justin-caldbeck-accused-unwanted-sexual-advances-towards-female-founders-wheres-outrage.

  “We drive women”: Ellen K. Pao (@ekp), “Here are VCs who called out Justin Caldbeck’s behavior. We drive women out of tech if we don’t speak up. Ty @niniane @susan_ho @leitihsu,” Twitter post, June 22, 2017, https://twitter.com/ekp/status/878061184666058752.

  “The Human Rights of Women”: Reid Hoffman, “The Human Rights of Women Entrepreneurs,” LinkedIn, June 23, 2017, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/human-rights-women-entrepreneurs-reid-hoffman.

  “significant lapse of judgment”: Lizette Chapman, “Greylock COO Frangione Leaves VC Firm After ‘Lapse of Judgment,’” Bloomberg, Aug. 2, 2017.

  A week after the Caldbeck revelations: Katie Benner, “Women in Tech Speak Frankly on Culture of Harassment,” New York Times, June 30, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/technology/women-entrepreneurs-speak-out-sexual-harassment.html.

  “There is no doubt”: Chris Sacca, “I Have More Work to Do,” Medium, June 30, 2017, https://medium.com/@sacca/i-have-more-work-to-do-c775c5d56ca1.

  Another entrepreneur, Sarah Kunst: Benner, “Women in Tech Speak Frankly on Culture of Harassment.”

  “I’m a Creep”: Dave McClure, “I’m a Creep. I’m Sorry,” Medium, July 1, 2017, https://medium.com/@
davemcclure/im-a-creep-i-m-sorry-d2c13e996ea0.

  “Dave kept pouring scotch”: Cheryl Yeoh, “Shedding Light on the ‘Black Box of Inappropriateness,’” cherylyeoh.com, July 3, 2017, https://cherylyeoh.com/2017/07/03/shedding-light-on-the-black-box-of-inappropriateness/.

  yet another prominent investor, Shervin Pishevar: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-01/uber-investor-shervin-pishevar-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-by-multiple-women.

  called his claims “delusional”: Twitter post, Nov. 6, 2017, https://twitter.com/Timodc/status/927748124684075008.

  “Obviously, I am deeply disturbed”: Albergotti, “Silicon Valley Women Tell of VC’s Unwanted Advances.”

  At the height of the scandal: Ann Lai vs. Binary Capital Management, LLC (Cal. 2017), https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3881456/Complaint-against-Binary-Capital-by-Ann-Lai.pdf.

  “They wanted their office”: Miranda Agee, “Go Inside Incredibly Chic Office Spaces,” Architectural Digest, Jan. 21, 2016, https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/inside-chic-office-spaces.

  Recode added Katrina Lake’s name: Kara Swisher and Jason Del Rey, “Stitch Fix’s CEO Complained About the Behavior of Investor Justin Caldbeck Years Ago,” Recode, June 27, 2017, https://www.recode.net/2017/6/27/15880434/stitch-fix-ceo-justin-caldbeck-complaint-katrina-lake-sexual-harassment.

  “In light of what we have learned”: Lightspeed, “4/ In light of what we have learned since, we regret we did not take stronger action. It is clear now that we should have done more,” Twitter post, June 27, 2017, https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp/status/879731401242705920.

  “we have never had reference checks”: Sarah McBride and Lizette Chapman, “Venture Capital’s Secret Code Is Being Tested by Harassment Scandals,” Bloomberg, July 27, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-27/venture-capital-s-secret-code-tested-by-harassment-scandals.

  From 2014 to 2017, venture investors: Kyle Stanford, “These 16 Charts Illustrate Current Trends in the US VC Industry,” PitchBook, July 27, 2017, https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/these-16-charts-illustrate-current-trends-in-the-us-vc-industry.

  widely used term “unicorn”: Aileen Lee, “Welcome to the Unicorn Club: Learning from Billion-Dollar Startups,” TechCrunch, Nov. 2, 2013, https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club.

  “complete with sunset cruises”: Rosewood Hotel: Venture Social Club email message, March 2017.

  CHAPTER 6: SEX AND THE VALLEY: MEN PLAY, WOMEN PAY

  “He was in an open relationship”: Fowler, “Reflecting on One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber.”

  incident made her “feel horrible”: Efrati, “Uber Group’s Visit to Seoul Escort Bar Sparked an HR Complaint.”

  poly meet-up group at Google: Julian Sanction, “The Ins and Outs of Silicon Valley’s New Sexual Revolution,” Wired, April 4, 2017.

  CHAPTER 7: HOW TECH DISRUPTS FAMILY

  “I talked about it”: Branson and Sandberg, interview by author, Bloomberg, April 23, 2015.

  It wasn’t long before: Alison DeNisco, “How Egg-Freezing Is Keeping More Women in the Tech Industry,” TechRepublic, Aug. 15, 2017, https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-egg-freezing-is-keeping-more-women-in-the-tech-industry-the-inside-story/.

  “We take care of the details”: “Benefits and Perks,” Dropbox, 2017, https://www.dropbox.com/jobs/perks.

  “at all stages of life”: “Benefits,” Facebook, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/careers/benefits.

  One study found: Quora, “Why Women Leave the Tech Industry at a 45% Higher Rate Than Men,” Forbes, Feb. 28, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/02/28/why-women-leave-the-tech-industry-at-a-45-higher-rate-than-men/#2a6603db4216.

  In 2013, researchers found: Jennifer L. Glass et al., “What’s So Special About STEM? A Comparison of Women’s Retention in STEM and Professional Occupations,” PMC, Aug. 21, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot092.

  While 80 percent of women: Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Laura Sherbin, “Athena Factor 2.0: Accelerating Female Talent in Science, Engineering, and Technology,” Center for Talent Innovation, 2014, http://www.talentinnovation.org/assets/Athena-2-ExecSummFINAL-CTI.pdf.

  In a comprehensive report: Glass et al., “What’s So Special About STEM?”

  In a recent survey: Nadya A. Fouad, “Women’s Reasons for Leaving the Engineering Field,” Frontiers in Psychology, June 30, 2017, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00875.

  Research by the Founder Institute: Adeo Ressi, “Is There a Peak Age for Entrepreneurship?,” TechCrunch, May 28, 2011, https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/28/peak-age-entrepreneurship.

  “90 Hrs / Wk and Loving It”: Andy Hertzfeld, “90 Hours a Week and Loving It!,” Folklore, Oct. 1983, https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=90_Hours_A_Week_And_Loving_It.txt.

  “especially ambitious workforce”: “Is Silicon Valley at Risk of a Brain Drain?,” Indeed blog, April 3, 2017, http://blog.indeed.com/2017/04/03/silicon-valley-tech-job-migration.

  When Google increased its paid maternity: Susan Wojcicki, “Paid Maternity Leave Is Good for Business,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 16, 2014, https://www.wsj.com/articles/susan-wojcicki-paid-maternity-leave-is-good-for-business-1418773756.

  Facebook offers four months: Mark Zuckerberg, “When Max was born, I took two months of paternity leave . . .” Facebook post, Aug. 18, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fdib=10103974023786271 &set=a.612287952871.2204760.4&type=3&theater.

  “You can work long”: Jeff Bezos, “Amazon.com Exhibit 99.1,” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Archives, 1998, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312517120198/d373368dex991.htm.

  “When I first got into tech”: Blake Robbins (@blakeir), “When I first got into tech. I thought it was ‘cool’ to work on the weekends or holidays. I quickly realized that’s a recipe for disaster,” Twitter post, May 29, 2017, https://twitter.com/blakeir/status/869273958478118913.

  “Not hanging with friends”: Robbins, “Not hanging with friends and family because you’re working isn’t ‘cool.’ Burning out isn’t ‘cool,’” Twitter post, May 29, 2017, https://twitter.com/blakeir/status/869274892298063873.

  “Your competition isn’t beating you”: Robbins, “I promise you . . . your competition isn’t beating you because they are working more hours than you. It’s because they are working smarter,” Twitter post, May 29, 2017, https://twitter.com/blakeir/status/869275129712443393.

  The PayPal Mafia member: Keith Rabois (@rabois), “Totally false,” Twitter post, May 29, 2017, https://twitter.com/rabois/status/869292464120541184.

  “Read a bio of Elon”: Rabois, “Read a bio of Elon. Or about Amazon. Or about the first 4 years of FB. Or PayPal. Or Bill Bellichick,” Twitter post, May 29, 2017, https://twitter.com/rabois/status/869293322581401600.

  The Twitter tiff resurfaced: Shyam Sankar, “The Case Against Work- Life Balance: Owning Your Future,” shyamsankar.com, Nov. 16, 2015, http://shyamsankar.com/the-case-against-work-life-balance-owning-your-future.

  In a 2012 interview: Sheryl Sandberg, “I Am Leaving Work at 5:30p,” Makers, 2012, https://www.makers.com/moments/leaving-work-530pm.

  “couldn’t have gotten more publicity”: Sarah Frier, “How Sheryl Sandberg’s Manifesto Drives Facebook,” Bloomberg, April 27, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-04-27/how-sheryl-sandberg-s-sharing-manifesto-drives-facebook.

  “Thank you, we’re all leaving”: Ibid.

  hide her exit time: Ibid.

  “Of course I do”: Sheryl Sandberg, “Sheryl Sandberg: Bloomberg Studio 1.0 (Full Show),” interview by author, Bloomberg, Aug. 9, 2017, video, 24:16, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-08-10/sheryl-sandberg-bloomberg-studio-1-0-full-show-video.

  “broader group of employees”: “Uber Report: Eric Holder’s Recommendations for Change.”

  A true marvel: Steven Levy, “One
More Thing: Inside Apple’s Insanely Great (or Just Insane) New Mothership,” Wired, May 16, 2017, https://www.wired.com/2017/05/apple-park-new-silicon-valley-campus.

  “everything an Apple employee”: Beth Spotswood, “Apple’s Campus Has Everything—Oh, Except Daycare,” SFist, May 19, 2017, http://sfist.com/2017/05/19/apples_campus_has_everything_-_oh_e.php.

  Because child care has proven: Rose Marcario, “Patagonia’s CEO Explains How to Make On-Site Child Care Pay for Itself,” Fast Company, Aug. 15, 2016, https://www.fastcompany.com/3062792/patagonias-ceo-explains-how-to-make-onsite-child-care-pay-for-itself.

  “silently slandered” women: Katharine Zaleski, “Female Company President: ‘I’m Sorry to All the Mothers I Worked With,’” Fortune, March 3, 2015, http://fortune.com/2015/03/03/female-company-president-im-sorry-to-all-the-mothers-i-used-to-work-with.

  According to one 2014 study: Brad Harrington et al., “The New Dad: Take Your Leave,” Boston College Center for Work and Family, 2014, http://www.thenewdad.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/BCCWF_The_New_Dad_2014_FINAL.157170735.pdf.

  Studies show that in all fields: Claire Cain Miller, “The Motherhood Penalty vs. the Fatherhood Bonus,” New York Times, Sept. 6, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/upshot/a-child-helps-your-career-if-youre-a-man.html.

  research shows that output: John Pencavel, “The Productivity of Working Hours,” IZA, April 2014, http://ftp.iza.org/dp8129.pdf.

  working too long can be counterproductive: Sarah Green Carmichael, “The Research is Clear: Long Hours Backfire for People and for Companies,” Harvard Business Review, Aug. 19 2015, https://hbr.org/2015/08/the-research-is-clear-long-hours-backfire-for-people-and-for-companies.

  In a response to Keith Rabois: Sara Mauskopf, “I Actually Agree with Keith Rabois,” LinkedIn, May 31, 2017, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-actually-agree-keith-rabois-sara-mauskopf.

  She also pointed out: “The Top 20 Reasons Startups Fail,” CB Insights, Oct. 8, 2014, https://www.cbinsights.com/research/startup-failure-reasons-top.