Pictured: Gabriela (Gaby) Isturiz, Founder of eBillingHub & Aderant (formerly Bellefield), Partner at Fund XX, & Innovation Advisor at Bryce Catalyst, winning the "EY Entrepreneur of the Year" award.
In 1996, I decided to move from Venezuela to the United States to pursue better opportunities, start a master’s degree, and, ultimately, get a good job in technology. Doing so meant leaving behind my family, friends, culture, and pretty much starting a life from scratch in a country where I couldn’t even speak the language well and knew no one. It was a journey full of challenges and sacrifices. I needed to study harder, go the extra mile, and work harder than anyone else to compensate for my handicaps.
Fast forward 25 years, and that hard work has paid off in more ways than I could have imagined: I received my master’s degree, became an entrepreneur, and co-founded two successful legal technology companies: eBillingHub, acquired by Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI), and Bellefield, acquired by Roper Technologies (NYSE: ROP).
It is so easy to get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle and lose track of how much we’ve all accomplished in our lives and careers. This is especially true for women. After all, life is busy - startup life, even more so. But, the truth is that all of the chaos and hard work can add up to be something that makes us deeply proud.
My personal exercise in reflection led to several realizations, which I am sharing with you here in hopes of continuing the important conversation on how we can achieve more success as women in tech.
The Problem with Superwoman
Entrepreneurship and technology remain male-dominated fields. While women make up 51% of the US workforce, according to the US Census Bureau, they represent only 30% of the tech industry. What’s more, the situation may be getting worse as the number of computing jobs held by women has declined over the past 23 years.
However, the opposite scenario was expected. “We were sure then that by now, we would be living in a 50-50 world. Something derailed that dream,” said former Pepsi Co CEO, Indra Nooy, in an interview a few years ago.
But I can’t help but reflect on Anne-Marie Slaughter’s famous Atlantic article, Why Women Still Can’t Have It All, and her argument that, as much as we hate to admit it, we still haven’t achieved this dream.
The problem with the “have it all” mentality is that it sets the expectation that a woman can be all things to all people at all times. That’s a lot of pressure for anyone - male or female. While we all struggle with managing the demands of life and the competition for our time is very real, if we use this mentality to drive our expectations, that puts us in a very dangerous place.
As Slaughter points out, there may be real-life “Superwomen” that we can look up to, but “these women cannot possibly be the standard against which even very talented professional women should measure themselves. Such a standard sets up most women for a sense of failure.”
So let me say this, I don’t fancy myself superwoman. However, I’m empowered by the people that have paved the way and enabled my success. I’m thankful for the women that came before me, shattering ceilings and opening doors for things to happen that were at one time impossible. So, rather than striving to be superwoman, why not aim to be a superwoman based on each day’s unique demands?
“We Can Do It,” But Maybe Not All of It At Once
In the famous words sprawled across the World War II-era posters featuring Rosie the Riveter, “We Can Do It.” We just have to be realistic about our priorities and what can be accomplished on any given day. A little dose of realism and a big gulp of self-love will go far in allowing us as women to recognize our accomplishments, express gratitude for our opportunities, and get ready for that next big leap.
That said, “Having it All” is not necessarily a lie, but it is more of a half-truth. “It is not about the lack of ambition,” Slaughter says, “It is the obstacles that keep women from reaching the top that are rather more prosaic than the scope of their ambition.” As a matter of fact, technology can be a big help, if implemented correctly.
Slaughter summarizes this beautifully when she says, “Only when women wield power in sufficient numbers will we create a society that genuinely works for all women. That will be a society that works for everyone.”
The Importance of Diversity in Tech
Simply put, tech needs to figure this out. Diversity is critical to achieving the missions widely adopted by the tech world - to improve life for the masses and change the world. Change and improvement do not happen without a rich composition of various viewpoints. In tech, the need for gender and racial diversity is not a politically correct “nice to have,” they are crucial to the success of the industry and the future of innovation.
Right now, women are taking a stand against this kind of behavior - and hopefully, that will continue. Many, however, will decide that putting up with “bro culture” day in and day out isn’t worth it. Women leave the industry at twice the rate men do.
As a woman engineer and founder of two leading tech companies, this makes my heart hurt. Emotions aside, there are real consequences to companies and the economy as a whole when workplace diversity is not a priority.
A diverse workplace:
- Leads to an increase in GDP
- Increased market share
- Establishes a more qualified workforce
- Spurs creativity and innovation
- Drives competitiveness
Not only are women capable of contributing to the tech world, but they are also necessary in order to ensure future growth and development. However, there is a need for an extreme rehabilitation of bro culture in order for women to decide that a career in tech is worth their time rather than taking their talents elsewhere.
Success is a Team Sport
We cannot get anywhere or achieve success without others. Each of us has encountered several people along the way that have helped us, believed in us, and provided opportunities for growth and development. I’m sure you can think of at least one person that has changed your life by providing their support. We should never forget their help and always be grateful to all of those people. Success is not something that we can achieve on our own; therefore we can’t get away with taking all of the credit. But more importantly, pay it forward.
Thank you to the many individuals that I’ve encountered in my career that have helped me along the way. To the future women both in and outside of my field, I look forward to celebrating your future success.
About Gaby:
Gabriela Isturiz (Gaby) is a Partner at the Fund XX, serial entrepreneur, innovator, experienced CEO, and founder of two high-growth successful SaaS technology companies that were ultimately sold to Fortune 500 companies. Gaby possesses a unique combination of passion, curiosity, and discipline, making her one of the few women in STEM who has led bootstrapped companies to successful exits. Gaby was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year, winner of the Business WomenFirst award, CEO of the Year Finalist, Smart 50 Honoree twice, and featured in many legal technology publications. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Gaby earned her MS in Information Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh and her BS in Computer Systems Engineering from the Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas.