Looking back, I see ways for us as the media to write about women in tech better –by asking the better questions
I write this op-ed as a form of self-criticism. Though, like any other form of self-criticism, you are free to join me in thinking about what we have done –and how we can do better.
Some time ago, Indonesian author and academician Intan Paramaditha tweeted about an interview that she had done with leading daily Kompas about her latest book.
She said she had given the reporter a challenge: Would you be able to write about women and their achievements without mentioning anything about the clothes she wore during the interview?
In case you are not familiar with how Indonesian media are profiling public figures, it is quite common to describe the attire that female sources were wearing during the interview with the media. “Her floral dress swished as she walked into the cafe where we met for an interview.” Or even something along the line of “She had her hair in a bun, sweats dripping on her cheek.”
You get the idea.
Luckily, I am working in an industry where wearing hoodies to work is the norm, so I never had to explain anything about what my sources are wearing.
But I have asked questions to my sources that may end up distracting the public’s attention from her achievements, to focus on her gender instead.
Yes, that classic “How does it feel to be a women in tech industry?” line.
It is about time I retire that question.
Also Read: For women in tech, persistence is key in getting those dreams fulfilled
Tech industry’s take on the rabbit food question
Before I explain the rationale behind it, let us take a look of this story about women developers that The Guardian had published in 2016.
A study on GitHub users revealed that codes written by women have a greater likelihood of being approved by their peers, compared to those written by men. But this only happened as long as the peers did not realise that the codes were being written by women.
Once it is revealed that women were behind the codes, bias and sexism started to kick in, and their acceptance rate dropped down.
As a writer working in a publication that focusses on the startup industry, I cannot help wondering if the media have played a role in strengthening this bias.
In addition to having their capabilities questioned for being a woman, in the tech industry, there seems to be an idea that women are only capable of speaking about women issues.
We may have all-women panel in a tech conferences, but instead of talking about hot techie stuff like the rise of blockchain, we make them talk about being women in tech.
We give them a different set of questions, ones that we would only ask to women and people who identify as women. Kind of like how Hollywood actresses are being asked about their diet while their male colleagues get to talk about heavy, existential stuff about the characters they play.
Instead of focussing on her capacity as engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors, we have been focussing on her gender.
So what I am going to do next?
Starting from last year, I have actually begun erasing the “How does it feel …” line from my question list whenever I am interviewing a source, who happens to be a woman.
I talked about big data with Go-Jek’s Crystal Widjaja, about talent development and social business with Alamanda Shantika, about coworking spaces with Faye Alund or Vanessa Hendradi, or about fintech with Val Jihsuan Yap.
I enjoyed the opportunity to be curious about these women’s works without having to be curious about how they dress, how they manage time between their personal and professional lives. About how they do it differently as a woman.
Do we ask these questions to our male sources? No? Then maybe we should not ask them to our female sources.
Also Read: I am guilty of writing sexist women in tech headlines
A woman’s voice
Does this mean I am dismissing the issues faced by women working in tech industry? Suppressing their voices, neglecting the experience of being a woman in the industry?
Inherently, there is nothing wrong with the “How does it feel …” question. But when it becomes a recurring theme, the focus of many interviews, it settles in my subconscious as “This is what I should talk about when I talk to female sources.”
I have subconsciously limit the scope of our conversation, and eventually the voice of my sources as professionals, when I put them into the Female Sources Box with the template question.
As for current affairs, I am certain that my colleagues in the e27 content team share my commitment to keep watch and write about some of the most pressing issues this community is facing, such as the sexual harassment cases that have rocked 2017 –and continue to be a focus in 2018 as more women are getting encouraged to speak up and do something.
We will continue to be a platform for women in tech to speak up about these issues, like we always do.
But when it comes to featuring an entrepreneur, engineer, or investor, I am going to ask them questions about their expertise, achievements, and inspirations. Not about them being women.
As if the fact that a woman can juggle between her professional and personal lives supposed to be news.
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Image Credit: Cristian Newman on Unsplash
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