When Adriana Gascoigne was hired to head up marketing at an online video startup in San Francisco back in 2006, she was the only female employee other than the receptionist. The firm was cutting edge in terms of technology, but not when it came to dispelling sexist attitudes and stereotypes.
Girls in Tech is on a mission
By 2007 Gascoigne had had enough of the frat-boy atmosphere, and founded Girls in Tech as a way to turn her experience dealing with sexual harassment and hostility at work into a support system to help women in tech find each other.
Today, she is CEO of the San Francisco-based nonprofit, which she says remains dedicated to empowering, educating, and mentoring women in tech through more than 50 chapters around the world.
She is also the author of Tech Boss Lady: How to Start Up, Disrupt, and Thrive as a Female Founder, in which she offers firsthand accounts of the realities of startup life from top women entrepreneurs.
Gascoigne's previous experience also includes positions at several tech companies, including Indiegogo, Oracle’s Involver, and Change.org. She also has served in executive roles at Ogilvy & Mather, Interpublic Group of Companies, Social Gaming Network, and SecondMarket.
INSPIRE 20 Podcast Series
Listen in to our interview with Gascoigne. You'll find it on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud and Spotify. Plus: See all INSPIRE 20 podcasts.
Our interview with Gascoigne kicks off the INSPIRE 20 podcast series that features conversations with 20 champions of inclusion and diversity in the tech industry globally. (The series is sponsored by Micro Focus.) During the eight-minute podcast, Gascoigne talks candidly about the mission of Girls in Tech and the work the organization has done over the past 13 years.
How diversity helps improve organizational culture
Gascoigne discusses the importance of creating more diversity to improve organizational culture, and offers up concrete steps companies can take to create comfortable and productive work environments for every employee. And she proposes actions that governments should take to protect marginalized groups.
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