Abstract
The word “Geek” evokes a specific image in my mind: a young, White male. I doubt I am alone in this thinking. So what does it mean to be a geek when you do not fit the traditional mold? Geek Girls: Inequality and Opportunity in Silicon Valley offers a deep analysis of the myriad inequalities faced by the nontraditional geeks of Silicon Valley and explores how those inequalities are maintained and by who. The book serves as a lens into the practices and beliefs that continue to perpetuate our image of who is a geek.
A professor once told me that a “good ethnography depicts cultured agents moving through structures,” which is precisely what France Winddance Twine does. Using theory, case studies, and qualitative data, Geek Girls paints a vivid picture of how minority individuals navigate systematic discrimination and exclusion in Silicon Valley. Drawing from 87 interviews and surveys with Silicon Valley employees, as well as publicly available data such as ethnographic accounts from social media, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports, industry surveys, and annual diversity reports (from tech firms), Twine presents the ways in which gender, race, and class intersect to form multiple unique experiences of discrimination for the nontraditional geek. This book fills a gap in the literature around minority tech workers and dispels the idea that technology is a meritocracy or a “neutral” space without bias.
Twine makes three central claims in the book. Her first, and most central, claim is that the social, symbolic, and “geek capital” of the women in Silicon Valley moderate and mitigate the challenges of being a minority in their careers. She introduces and coins the concept of geek capital, a form of social and symbolic capital that outweighs technical skills and treats social ties as merit-based qualifications, explaining that women who possess it can more easily enter and then navigate the tech space. One of Twine’s study participants, Giselle, is a perfect example of “geek” capital, as she entered the tech industry using a referral from her tech executive brother.
Her second argument is that “an occupational caste system operates in Silicon Valley that consists of layers of discrimination” (p. 8). This caste system favors Asians and White men, placing them at the top of the occupational and social hierarchy with higher status and higher paid roles while limiting opportunities for Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, and low-caste South Asians.
Her last argument is that there are specific myths and ideologies held by those in Silicon Valley that serve to uphold existing inequalities. These beliefs allow leadership in technology firms to avoid accountability or create real, sustainable change by reinforcing false ideas of meritocracy, leaky pipelines, “biological essentialism,” and skill gaps. Many of those already in tech, including women of color, buy into those beliefs. For instance, one interviewee felt that “certainly there’s a pipeline problem. Right? There’s just not enough emphasis in elementary school, middle school, high school” (p. 68).
Her work builds on the existing sociological theory around the U.S. labor market, specifically on gender and racial-based discrimination. So not only those interested in the future of the tech industry but also anyone who cares about creating and sustaining diversity and opportunity should use the insights of this book. Twine sheds light on how a historically White and male-dominated space has maintained its homogenous makeup through culture and practices of in-group favoritism and advantages and outsider denial. This is not unique to Silicon Valley, and I believe this book is a must-read for the sake of understanding why industries lack meaningful diversity. If I were a recruiter, not just in tech, but in any industry where minorities have struggled to enter and stay, I would take this book as a cautionary tale of how systems of exclusion work to maintain themselves.
One of the many strengths of this book is how Twine gracefully navigates the balance between elaborately sharing the struggles of her participants while also creating a book that feels more hopeful than most due to her choice to weave in stories of success and beating the odds. There is no ambiguity about the fact that many groups are systematically kept out of tech through closed social networks and racist hiring practices. However, Twine shares the positive experiences her participants have had in Silicon Valley in addition to making the negatives clear. One story I especially enjoyed reading was Geneva, an accomplished Black and Native American professor, who successfully and happily transitioned to tech as her second career. As a reader, I found this approach to ethnography easier to engage with over seven chapters, and I appreciate that I was not left with the same ennui and despair that I often have when reading sociological analyses.
When looking at the book as a whole, however, instead of as seven small essays, I found myself wondering if the book addressed too many concepts. Twine covers a lot of ideas in a relatively short book, so at times, it felt that concepts are introduced quickly, an example is provided, and then they are dropped. While some concepts are weaved throughout all the chapters, and I believe the reader will hold onto those better, others were brought up, leaving me wanting more. For example, in her last chapter, she discusses women who enter the tech industry after coding boot camps but fails to mention the nuances of the networking that these boot camps provide. I wondered why were men signing up to be mentors and how were they connected to all female boot camps? I think of this less as a critique and more of a compliment to Twine’s ability to find topics of importance that pique the reader’s interest and make them want to explore more. Because of the complexity of the mechanisms she is writing about, each chapter could have been its own book.
In conclusion, Geek Girls should be on everyone’s book list because the injustices described are not going anywhere unless individuals understand where they come from and how they work. Twine tells the story of the nontraditional geek in a comprehensive and thoughtful way that we all would benefit from reading.