Brotopia audiobook cover - Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley

Brotopia

Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley

Emily Chang

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Categories:
Technology & the FutureEconomics

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Brotopia
Hidden History of Women in Tech+
Shift to Male Dominance+
Toxic 'Bro Culture'+
Systemic Bias & Undervaluation+
The Hiring Echo Chamber+
The Profitability of Diversity+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
What was the societal perception of computer programming in the early twentieth century?
  • A. It was seen as a highly technical, male-dominated engineering field.
  • B. It was considered a clerical job and therefore deemed "women's work."
  • C. It was viewed as a rebellious profession for antisocial individuals.
  • D. It was exclusively reserved for military personnel and academics.
Question 2 of 7
How did the 1960s report by psychologists Cannon and Perry influence hiring practices in the tech industry?
  • A. It proved that women lacked the mathematical skills required for complex coding.
  • B. It concluded that the ideal programmer was highly social, leading to a focus on extroverted hires.
  • C. It linked good programming skills with antisocial behavior, disproportionately favoring male candidates.
  • D. It recommended that companies hire exclusively from Ivy League universities to ensure quality.
Question 3 of 7
What cultural shift contributed to the sharp decline of women in computer science during the 1980s?
  • A. The introduction of commercial computers that were heavily marketed as "boys' toys."
  • B. A federal law that restricted women from taking advanced mathematics courses.
  • C. The realization by tech companies that women's code was less efficient than men's code.
  • D. The shift of tech companies from Silicon Valley to more conservative states.
Question 4 of 7
How do Silicon Valley "sex parties" illustrate the double standard of bro culture, according to the text?
  • A. They are actively promoted by HR departments as official networking events for all employees.
  • B. They are framed as progressive, but female attendees risk losing professional respect while men do not.
  • C. They are exclusively attended by venture capitalists, excluding engineers and programmers.
  • D. They are the only places where female founders can successfully pitch their startups to male investors.
Question 5 of 7
What did a study by the open-source coding community GitHub reveal about female programmers?
  • A. Their code was approved more often than men's only when their gender was withheld.
  • B. They took significantly longer to complete coding tasks compared to their male counterparts.
  • C. They were more likely to introduce security vulnerabilities into the software.
  • D. Their code was rejected less frequently because managers feared discrimination lawsuits.
Question 6 of 7
Why does the text argue that the concept of "meritocracy" in early tech companies like PayPal is flawed?
  • A. Because merit-based hiring naturally results in a perfectly equal gender split, which PayPal failed to achieve.
  • B. Because PayPal relied heavily on standardized tests that were mathematically biased against female applicants.
  • C. Because the founders primarily hired friends with conforming ideologies, mistaking a lack of diversity for merit.
  • D. Because meritocracy requires strict government oversight, which early Silicon Valley companies actively avoided.
Question 7 of 7
According to the text, what is one major business advantage of having gender diversity in tech leadership?
  • A. Diverse companies receive massive tax breaks and funding from the federal government.
  • B. Companies with a balanced number of males and females are less likely to go out of business because women are generally more risk-averse.
  • C. Diverse companies can pay female executives less, thereby saving on overall payroll costs.
  • D. Female leaders are biologically wired to systemize rather than empathize, leading to more efficient coding.

Brotopia — Full Chapter Overview

Brotopia Summary & Overview

Brotopia (2018) explores the male-dominated culture permeating the technology industry and looks at why and how women are excluded from it. Looking especially at Silicon Valley and the companies based there, the book argues that the tech world is anything but progressive.

Who Should Listen to Brotopia?

  • Those who work or want to work in the tech industry
  • Female employees who believe they are unfairly mistreated in the workplace
  • Tech company CEOs and managers 

About the Author: Emily Chang

Emily Chang is a journalist and broadcaster and has won five local Emmy awards for her reporting. Chang is also the presenter and executive producer of Bloomberg Technology and Bloomberg Studio 1.0.

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