Women take a stand against tech firms and walk out
New campaign claims women are leaving Silicon Valley after getting side-lined by male colleagues
Women in technology are slamming the door in the face of sexist technology employers, according to a new campaign, which encourages female tech staff to take a stand.
Table Flip Club (TFC) launched earlier this week and aims to shine a light on the treatment of women in technology companies.
Last month, the New York Times claimed that in America, there are more chief executives called John than there are women CEOs in total and at tech firms such as Apple and Microsoft, the ratio of male to female staff stands at about 70 to 30.
TFC claims women have had enough of being overlooked in their technology jobs.
"Women are leaving your tech company because you don't deserve to keep us around," the group says on its website.
"For years, we thought it was us, that we were failures. We thought that if we just did twice as well as the pasty hoodie-wearers around us we'd move up through the ranks too. Instead you got twice as much work out of us than you did out of our male peers, and tossed us a few scraps of ‘women's networks' and ‘lean-in circles' instead of promotions and raises.
"We've watched mediocre men whiz by us on a glass escalator, including in the part of tech companies which include a disproportionate number of women - roles that get dismissed as ‘pink collar' - such as marketing, HR, and QA [quality assurance]."
The group is calling on all women in tech who feel undervalued to take action.
"It's time we take our potential elsewhere," it said. "We're following in the footsteps of brave women who've flipped tables out of our way, clearing the path we're now walking down.
"We're talking. We're organising. We're sharing our long memories of all the creeps who've hit on us and the cowards who've failed to promote us. We're lawyering up. We're incorporating and fundraising for our own companies, and angel investing in other women who are building amazing things."