Lesley Chilcott, the director of "CodeGirl," is optimistic about the future for women in technology, but believes calling out workplace gender discrimination is a necessary first step.
Chilcott, whose film chronicles high school girls who are making waves in the world of coding, spoke to the many issues that keep women out of the technology field and the "leaky pipeline" that pressures women to leave after they've entered a STEM position. Chilcott said she experienced "strange" incidents of gender bias in her own field as a young woman in the film industry, but often brushed them off.
"After it [happens] for the third or fourth time, you have to call it out," she said. "You have to say, 'Really? My idea is new and innovative, and if he came up with it he would be all maverick-y and I'm [considered] 'difficult,' or whatever it is."
Chilcott also urged men to consider their own behavior and reflect on whether they have unwittingly perpetuated gender stereotypes at work.
"I think we all have to start calling it out a little bit more and calling it out in meetings and getting the men in the office to call out when they recognize when they've maybe treated someone a little differently," she said. "It's hard, but I think we can make it a trend."
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