3 Asian women challenge culture of Silicon Valley

Ellen Pao entering the courtroom in San Francisco.

THE IMAGE of a bustling Silicon Valley that prizes drive, entrepreneurship and innovation as harbingers of our future economy is being challenged by ... three ... Asian ... women. 

Since March is Women's History Month, it is fitting that we bring your attention to these three women who are turning the high-tech industry inside out with their allegations of gender discrimination.

The mythic Horatio Alger-story of a bunch of guys tinkering in their garage then becoming billionaires also carries with it the negative image of a closed society of rich, socially inept, immature ol' boys club where women are viewed as trophies and routinely passed over for promotion because they don't fit into that mold. 

Facebook, Twitter and the influential venture capital company, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, are facing lawsuits for gender discrimination.

Ellen Pao may have lost her lawsuit against the influential venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers today, March 27 but she inspired others to file their lawsuits against their former employers. Tina Huang, former Twitter employee, and Chia Hong, formerly of Facebook, filed their suits within a week of each other as the world awaited the outcome of jury deliberations in Pao's lawsuit.

All of their former employers deny the charges. Their cases sheds light on the dark side of the high tech industry that has long been criticized for its lack of diversity.

Based on statistics gathered from the companies themselves, white males make up about 70 percent of the high tech workforce. I am assuming that that percentage is even greater in the upper echelon levels.

The arguments in Ellen Pao's case vs. Kleiner Perkins Caulfied & Byers concluded March 25 and we're holding our breath awaiting the decision the jury of six men and six women.

During the trial, the inner workings of one of the best known venture capital firms was exposed and their behavior - even if Pao's allegations are exaggerated or misinterpreted - doesn't paint a pretty picture: men's only meetings and outings, asking high-level women executives to act as secretaries during meetings, innuendos and the assumptions that the women are there for window dressing.

Kleiner Perkins lawyers' strategy of attempting to blame the victim is similar to the way some defense lawyers attack allegations of rape; blame the victim, question their qualifications, paint her as a disgruntled rejected woman.

Pao's attorney's closing statement said she was as qualified if not more so, than her male peers who received promotions. 

It is a reflection of our society that an aggressive woman is seen as "presumptuous" while an aggressive man is praised as "having balls."

A New York Times article wrote that Pao was told, “she didn’t speak up enough and was too passive — but also that she spoke up too much and was pushy and entitled.” 

According to Fortune magazine, only 4% of senior venture capitalists are women. So, I guess one can argue that the Pao's experience is not reflective of the venture capitalists  because there are not enough women in high-level positions. Uh ... isn't that part of the problem, guys? Many firms don't even have women in management positions.

The suits vs. Twitter and Facebook, address the hardware and software segments of the industry where the stats also seem to indicate that the industry of the future, which prides itself on innovation and being ahead of the curve, was following the same model of other older businesses - read, "good-ol'-(white)-boys" club.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote in an editorial: "Ellen Pao's loss is anything but a win for Silicon Valley's status quo. The challenges she raised about the male-dominated culture that controls the heart of the innovation economy can't be dismissed."

Silicon Valley cannot - must not - go back to the way it was before the trial. The culture that fed upon itself by stealing each others employees and hiring people who had an affinity for T-shirts and hoodies knows it's time is past and it needs to diversify in order to keep its business viable and relevant. In other words, its good for business to diversify its workforce. 

Because of the lawsuits by the three Asian women, the hiring practices of tech firms are in the glare of the spotlight. 

As the news of Pao's trial verdict spread throughout the restaurants, bars and coffee shops of the valley, almost lost in the hubbub were the stories below; 

RELATED: 
Asians hit a bamboo ceiling in Silicon Valley
Google hires woman CFO and made her the highest paid woman in the tech world.
eBay puts two more women on its board of directors

Diversification starts at the top. Let's hope that message trickles all the way down throughout the companies' office culture.

By the way, once and for all: can we dump that tired old stereotype of Asian women being demure, obedient, submissive, walk-3-paces-behind-the-man, sex slaves? Shift-alt-delete!

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