Tim DraperFounder and Managing Partne, Draper Associate · I back the ideas that look crazy first

About the women in tech | Lisa Fetterman

8 Dec 2016 · 3 min

Watch on YouTube

2:34

In this talk, Lisa Fetterman describes the insidious, often invisible sexism women face in the technology and venture‑capital world. She explains that overt harassment is rare; instead, bias manifests as "dog‑whistle" comments that seem innocuous but signal devaluation of women’s work. She shares a concrete example from a VC meeting where an investor suggested buying her product for his wife, implying it’s not for a professional female founder. Fetterman interprets such remarks as a subtle way of dismissing her credibility and potential. She urges women to recognize these cues, stay resilient, and keep moving forward, emphasizing that there are many opportunities (“plenty of fish in the sea”). The tone is candid, conversational, and critical, with an undercurrent of empowerment.

Chapters

One more thing about the women in tech. Women in tech, so this is incredibly, incredibly insidious. Because no one will ever come up to you and just be like, you have boobs. I hate you. Uh-huh. I wish somebody would. I wish they would. Because then I could be like, oh. You called it. That guy's a sexist. You know? I can't grasp at it. There's no overt sexism. There is— everything is a dog whistle. Meaning that, you know, do you know what that means? Like, it's heard underneath. Certain things mean this, but they also mean this. Like a dog whistle. An example would be like this. I go to an investor meeting and the investor looks at my machine. He sees my numbers and everything. They're great. They're great. I've made millions. I've started a revolution. I've gotten accolades. I went to the frickin' White House as an honor maker and they used my machines. The top restaurants in the world use my machines. I wrote the definitive book on the subject. I should go into, like, a VC meeting and VCs should be, like, bowing to my ass. Thank you. But here's what they say, and this is the insidious dog whistle thing. I want to get one for my wife. I want her to use it and see. And I understand where that comes from. A VC has to grasp from the study of the market and also anecdotal things that they can collect from their daily life. Sometimes Though, I want to, I just want to go up to them and just be like, oh, you want to get one for your wife? That's so awesome that your wife is a general partner at your firm. I am so impressed that you can work with your wife too, like I work with my husband. That's a dog whistle. Like, this is not for me. I don't get it. I won't invest in it. Do you get money? Do you get passion? Do you get entrepreneurship? You're going to face that as a woman all throughout. Don't let them see you crack. Just be like, on to the next. Whoa. And there's plenty of fish in the sea. Namiku! Thank you.