Women in tech call on global summit for greater roles as #MeToo hits
Nearly half of women polled at the Web Summit said the gender gap in leadership has not improved in the past year
Women leaders in technology at one of the sector’s largest global conferences have called for more to be done to drive equality in the male-dominated industry now hit by the #MeToo debate. The ninth Web Summit, taking place in Lisbon, comes amid mounting concern about sexism in the tech world with thousands of Google employees walking out last week to protest against the company’s response to sexual misconduct and workplace inequality. A poll of 1,000 women in tech by the Web Summit, given exclusively to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, showed 47% said the gender ratio in leadership had not improved in the past year. Only 17% said it was better. Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice-president for environment, policy and social initiatives, said it was crucial to have more women in the sector. “We can’t accomplish what we need if women [aren’t involved] in tech,” Jackson, who was part of former US president Barack Obama’s administration, said at the summit. About 70,000 people from 170 nations w...
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