Silicon Valley's "All-Male" Boards of Directors Remain High Tech's Black Eye

Airbnb founders Nathan Blecharczyk (left)
CEO Brian Chesky (center) and Joe Gebbie (right).
(Image: skift.com and nbcnews.com)

The Ellen Pao gender discrimination lawsuit against Silicon Valley VC heavyweight Kleiner Perkins suggested the "boys club" remains alive and very well in High Tech's leading firms. The issue of frat house mores and overt sexism just won't go away in "America's best hope for its future." Interestingly, Fortune recently named names in the all-male-all-the-time world of Silicon Valley's corporate boards. Reporter Michelle Quinn noted the story in her siliconvalley.com column today.

The firms are a subset of privately held enterprises called "unicorns." These creatures are not only elusive, but individually command a market value over one billion dollars. Among the unicorns with all-male boards are Uber, Airbnb, and ironically, Pinterest. Why should one feel surprised by these findings? Frankly, many Silicon Valley firms act with a deep sense of entitlement. These so-called disruptors feel rules are for others to follow, and for themselves to selectively consider. One wonders how this group would manage in a world of female "unicorns." Think Ellen Pao might offer an answer?

Report: Women Form Majority of Social Media Users

An item in today's Ideas@Innovations blog in The Washington Post observes that more than 50% of social media users are female. Some other findings: women are the majority of Pinterest advocates and, surprisingly, game players. Nearly three of every five Twitter users are women, something I would not have guessed. The report also notes how social media has become a primary conduit for family information. That finding would imply social media's use by older age groups, as the swamping of Facebook with baby picture posts would amply suggest.

However, some things don't change: females form a decided minority of LinkedIn users. The world of work continues to interest males more than the Pinterest proposition of sharing thoughts about the nest with "like-minded individuals".