How many white males does it take to lead and support a tech cluster?
Based on 2 recent power lists – as many as you can get in!
Both the lists are packed with white males, with little to no representation from many minority-gender groups. I’m not criticising the lists here, but taking them as a reflection of the state of our tech ecosystem. We have far to go…
Business Insider’s list of coolest 50 people in UK tech [Source]
- 39 of the 52(!) people on the list are white males.
- There are ZERO, by my quick calculation, black men or women on the list.
- There are just 8 women, in total.
- Only 2 non-white women, Eileen Burbidge and Bindi Karia, grace the list.
There are few people – male or female – more highly deserving of their spot on the list, but I’m surprised that there are *just* 2!
Fresh Business Thinking Power 100 [Source]
- 79, out of 100, people on the list are white males.
- Only 2 non-white women – Shalini Khemka and Bindi Karia – grace the list.
- 2 black males – Chuka Umunna and Samuel Kasumu – make the list this time. No black/origin females, sadly.
- Only 9 out of 100 people on the list are non-white.
Considering this list is more about thinkers and influencers – it has David Cameron at #1 – than about do-ers, the lack of diversity surprises me even more. I’m sure there are lots of non-white women and men leading, encouraging, and influencing fresh business thought in the UK tech and business communities.
I may be wrong. In which case, there simply need to be more. A lot more. In my humble opinion.
Looking forward to release of more end-of-year lists so I have a look at the ratios in them as well.
P.S.: This tweet from a while back seems topical:
Besides @rsohoni @sonalidr @eileentso name me any other VC *partner* in Europe that’s a woman? This is an issue.
— Mike Butcher (@mikebutcher) September 23, 2014
He missed @sitar, but 4 female VC partners in a continent of over 500 million is still way too few!