Insightful or Emotional ?
A recent article by Julia Carpenter on money.com captured my attention. While “hostile sexism” takes many forms that we have come to expect — snide comments, rude jokes, sexual harassment — “benevolent sexism” is a bit more difficult to spot. I have personally experienced and shrugged off sexual bias. I built a career in spite of it; however, I don’t want other women to have to fight against it to succeed.
Over the last 12 months and despite recent events in Silicon Valley, sexual harassment and benevolent sexism are not declining in venture capital. At Arbor, sadly, we have experienced it directly at the Partner, Principal, and Analyst levels. We feel protective of our younger team members and want them to know that this is not acceptable. They have our permission to end a meeting with an entrepreneur, push back on a CEO, and say no to overtures. We have shared our stories so they know that they are not alone and are not afraid to come forward.
I have finally come to the realization that the sexual overtures and harassment will eventually be tamed, but the real culprit is benevolent sexism. It appears in different forms but is likely most evident at the Board level. When a man says something that is controversial at a board meeting, it is perceived as insightful. When a woman raises the same point, she is being emotional.
Data is data and the message should be received without bias and opinions will vary. A woman’s viewpoint and thoughts should be heard and considered no differently than a man’s opinion. One could say it is the delivery, but I believe it is a bigger issue of ego. At the next meeting, when there is a controversial point, I suggest closing your eyes and hearing the message. You might just learn something or hear a point that is insightful.
At Arbor, we mentor our team in many aspects. One of the most important lessons that we can share is that, although our industry has some very egotistical people, the most successful venture investors are humble, focused, and engaged with their companies on a deeply meaningful level. Imitators are the most offensive and often use intimidation or harassment. We must set an example at Arbor, not only for our own team, but for future teams.
I live between two worlds, the developed and the emerging east. We must ask ourselves why harassment and benevolent sexism is more prevalent in developed markets. As women in Asia, we do not experience the same challenges. Perhaps the nature of developing markets is more advanced when it comes to a balanced workforce. Maybe entrepreneurs and investors in developing markets are so focused on progress that they don’t have the time to waste.
We have some great entrepreneurs in the Arbor portfolio who I admire deeply. They are stewards of team building and success. They embrace diversity and take it very seriously in building their organization. I would like to thank Ohad Samet of True Accord, William Li of Akulaku, Eyal Shinar of Fundbox, Alicia Policinski of Quottly, and Avi Lele of Stockpile who have built great teams embracing gender and cultural diversity.
