My new publication: “Big Tech and Gender”

My short entry at The Sage International Encyclopedia of Politics and Gender has been published.

Saka, E. (2025). Big tech and gender. In The Sage International Encyclopedia of Politics and Gender (Vol. 4, pp. 79-81). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071918494.n26

Here is the complete entry:

Big Tech refers to the dominant position and influence of large technology companies, notably the so-called Big Five: Google, Apple, Facebook (Meta), Amazon, and Microsoft. These companies significantly impact various sectors, including finance, politics, and the economy. Big Tech’s power stems from its control over vast amounts of data and its ability to leverage algorithms for governance and decision-making. Big Tech’s dominance raises concerns about its power, regulation, and the societal implications of its actions. Early optimism has been replaced with disappointment as major platforms fail to respond to these concerns. This entry will focus on Big Tech’s relationship and response to gender issues, such as gender inequality in the tech industry, the gendered impact of algorithms, and the role of gender stereotypes in the tech industry.

Representation in the Workforce
Despite growing public awareness and advances, gender disparity exists among tech company employees, particularly in technical and leadership roles. Women are underrepresented in leadership positions within the technology industry, and despite decades of progress, similar statistics hold. Several public reports such as Eurostats state that as of the 2020s, women hold less than 30% of tech-related jobs and an even smaller percentage of leadership positions in tech. The percentage of women in all tech-related careers has decreased throughout the 21st century. There are even fewer women of color and transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming individuals working in tech. The gender imbalance within leadership positions remains a global issue, with implications for leadership styles in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). However, changing leadership styles in SMEs may lead to an increase in gender diversity in tech-related positions.

Hostile and unsupportive workplace conditions affect everyone, yet women and gender minorities already enter the workforce at a disadvantage, resulting in high turnover rates. This underrepresentation has a historical dimension as, since the 1950s, those employed in the rising technology field were predominantly middle-class, male, young, and white. Women were channeled to clerical positions from the outset. Even the countercultural movements in the 1960s did not change this: Technologists were still in the same category. Gender, racial, and class disparities persisted.
It is difficult to pinpoint Big Tech hiring practices, yet hiring practices and company culture within Big Tech may play a significant role in perpetuating gender imbalance. The rising use of AI-based evaluations in hiring practices may lead[Page 80] to further perpetuation of gender bias, as historical discrimination and prejudice can be reflected in algorithm design. Thus, the general call for more diversity also includes AI policies to influence practices within Big Tech companies, which have been recognized as crucial steps to employ more women and to include more women in leadership positions.

Company Culture and Work Environment
Nearly all Big Tech corporations originated in Silicon Valley, where Big Tech geek culture contributes to social issues and the gender imbalance in STEM fields. The Silicon Valley ethos was praised for its values such as meritocracy, innovation, and disruption in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, this revolution in data science workplaces came with gender harassment which can contribute to a hostile work environment for women.

Technology companies often lack women in upper management and have a culture that can alienate women employees and potential job candidates. In the tech industry, white men occupy the most powerful positions, creating an unwelcoming environment for women, especially women of color. This culture, a product of the male-dominated nature of these companies, values masculine qualities such as power and dominance, which can contribute to an environment conducive to sexual harassment. Forced arbitration, often paired with nondisclosure agreements, were once so commonplace that they prevented employees from acting together to challenge sexual harassment in the workplace. However, after increasing public outcry, some corporations, like Microsoft, banned this practice. Nearly all Big Tech companies have been listed in harassment cases. Due to this work culture, the imbalance of pay and power continues, and tech workspaces lack inclusivity. Such exclusionary practices are exacerbated for individuals impacted by multiple forms of marginalization, such as for women of color who may experience both gender-based discrimination and racism.