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I got asked some interesting questions this week by Patrick de Laive, a contibuting editor at TheNextWeb.org. 

Patrick wants to know why there aren’t more women using/designing in web 2.0? What is keeping us back.  I think it is a very relevant topic, boiled down to two questions: 

Why are women content to be the consumers of a product, rather than designers of the product? 

Would more women be using the internet for social interactions if they themselves designed the product?

I thought I would share my ideas with anyone reading my blog, and perhaps get your feed back.

 

1.      What are your thoughts on Women on the Web and Women on Technology in general?

In the time I have been working in the web I have found extremely few women who are participating in a higher level in the 2.0 scene. Many women are out there telling their stories (on Blogher etc) but few are taking roles of leadership.   

To understand why there are so few women writing, strategizing, creating, or participating in designing 2.0 projects, I look to my groups of friends and acquaintances.  They are in the 30-55 year old demographic, and are strong, well educated women who are technically sophisticated.  Several are professionals (lawyers, doctors, high level government officials, one is a VP of an IT company), they are smart.  Their time is very valuable, spare time is scarce.  Two have tried the ‘facebook thing’.  One gets up an hour early every day to use facebook.  The other realized it used too much time up and dropped out after a month or so. Neither wandered farther, looked at other applications. 

Each woman uses the internet as a tool to gain some efficiency in their day.  They pay their bills, do their research, check their mail.  They use it to streamline their lives NOT as a replacement to having a life.  As they’ve told me, they use the internet to make a date, not to have the date.

I think that many of the barriers that exist to women attaining high level positions in the real world also exist in the web world, and in some ways are compounded.  Women in this demographic are in the prime period of creating a family.  The child rearing responsibilities conflict constantly with the demands of work inside and outside the home.  Women, like men, have a finite amount of time to spend.  I think that women chose to “spend” their time differently.  Unless their job is internet related they aren’t aware of what’s out there.  This is a huge problem.  Without knowing what you are looking for on the internet, it’s virtually impossible to find it.

I took the opportunity last night to probe many of my female friends about the ideas I had.  None of them “get it”.  Web 2.0, social networking, the emosocial experience as my friend Richard Derks calls it, simply isn’t there for the majority of them.  In all honesty 2.0 is a closed club.  It’s designed by people who ‘get it’ for people who ‘know it’.  To date there has been no effective way of drawing in new users.  The target market (women) doesn’t know what’s out there, and doesn’t have time to find out.

Another significant issue in talking about women on the internet is access to the internet itself. Broadband penetration is really a must for experiencing web 2.0. In Canada 72% of homes have internet, with broadband available to roughly 85% of those (census 2005).  I believe the rates of broadband penetration and internet access in the USA are significantly lower.  The lack of broadband access in the home is a huge barrier to women entering, using and understanding the web.

2.      Do you see a difference between women and men in ‘visible’ positions?

Of course.  As I alluded to before, women are constrained in this market in the same ways as in the mainstream corporate world.  There are very few women in high profile positions.  The ones that are there rarely have children.  From the moment a woman has a child her career is penalized.  Even if she lives in a ‘socialized’ country where she is guaranteed her job after a maternity leave, she has lost the ‘time’ and career advancement opportunities.  After 2 or 3 children she is 4-6 years behind her male counterparts.  The few women in ‘visible’ positions have worked extremely hard to get there.  I admire their drive, but don’t envy the choices they must make to get where they are.

Men simply don’t have the same work/family balance issues.

The few women in visible positions in the web scene are making an impact, I don’t know if their voices stand out more because they are so few in number, or whether they are lost in the mass of men.

3.      Do you think this will change?

I would like to think that the nature of the workforce will change in time, and that women will be drawn to the internet as designers of the products they want, presented the way they want to see them.  I suspect the influx of these women will come from the generation now in high school and university.  They understand the power at their fingertips, they’ve grown up with the web.   

4.      What would be your tip for entrepreneurial women?

My two cents here…I’ve only just begun my journey down this road!

Find what you are good at, something you enjoy doing, and sell/do it.  If you can use the talents you have in the context of the web then do it.  It can offer a really good work/life balance.

If you’ve been out of the job market for a while, or are new to the field then consider taking on jobs that don’t pay much, but that allow you to learn.  Then remarket yourself with your new skills.

Know when to gamble on yourself.  State clearly what you don’t understand.  Be clear on the task then go on to do a great job.  If you try to bluff your way through something and fall flat you won’t be called again. 

5.      Who are your top blog chicks :) ?

I have to say that I enjoy several blogs for very different reasons.  Here are some from my Netvibes page:

·         A Piece of Peace http://rubyshooz.wordpress.com/ : the story and ideas of a woman dying of breast cancer.  She is eloquent, thoughtful and has great insights.

·         Deborah Schultz’s Blog   http://www.deborahschultz.com/deblog/ : She keeps me current

·         Tech Crunch http://www.techcrunch.com (of course, not by a woman, but who can resist) For my daily fix of techie news.