A few years ago, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce launched an initiative called 100% Talent. The concept is simple enough: get King County companies to pledge to achieve 100 percent gender equity within their organization and close the gender pay gap for good.
This effort is especially important for getting more women in leadership and executive positions. To support that goal, a few times a year companies like PayScale get invited to participate and speak in the program’s Women in Business Leadership Initiative (or WIBLI for short). Here’s what I learned from this month’s WIBLI symposium.
In VR, an all-male team is four times more likely to get funding than those with any women on their team.
Virtual reality is still a very young concept, but this statement provided by Martina Welkhoff, founder of ConveneVR, shows that the gender biases that are entrenched in tech are already starting to creep into VR.
One of the points that really drove this statistic home was a case study presented by Martina Welkhoff that included entrepreneurs giving the same pitch to VC’s. The only thing that was different from pitch to pitch was the gender of the entrepreneurs themselves. The results were a little jarring:
Being a millennial is an asset when it comes to salary negotiation.
Being a millennial is like wearing a scarlet letter. It doesn’t come with any real advantages except being good at ordering avocado toast. At least, that’s what I thought until I heard a genius piece of advice at the symposium.
In the current state of the business world, millennials are the target market for so many companies. Employers are chomping at the bit to hire people who are knowledgeable about that target market. And that means us. So the next time you’re in a salary negotiation situation, remember the power you hold, and that the company is likely to work with you if you choose to negotiate your salary.
If you’ve gotten to the compensation portion of the interview, now is the time to ask for more.
If you’ve been able to hold off discussing salary numbers throughout the recruiting process, you’re in a good spot. Just remember that the moment the hiring manager mentions salary expectations, it’s time to put your game face on. At this point in the process, the person sitting across the table from you expects that you’ll negotiate. So don’t shy away when the opportunity presents itself. If you need scripts to help you negotiate your salary, check out PayScale’s Salary Negotiation Guide.
Only 7 percent of partners at top VR firms are female.
This statistic definitely stings. The good news is that the virtual reality industry is still in its early stages. There is still time to change the narrative and avoid the unconscious bias trap that exists in the rest of the tech industry.
Tell Us What You Think!
Do these statistics ring true for you in your career? We want to hear from you! Comment below or join the discussion on Twitter!
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