Susan Calvin

I’ve spent the past couple weeks watching with increased frustration as the blogosphere responds to The Mike Arrington Throwdown™. For those of you who haven’t been following the brouhaha it all began when:

1. Shira Ovide posted on WSJ.com about the lack of women leaders in emerging tech, to which

2. Michael Arrington posted that women should stop blaming men for their problems, which

3. Leah Culver docilely agreed with, to which

4. Rachel Sklar laid the smack down and

5. Slate.com posted a recap of.

Got it? Good.

That part that’s been frustrating me the most about this discussion is that people (including the women) are ignoring the obvious: subconscious biases exist, and they have an effect. More so than any other field, business is about networking. It is nearly impossible to cultivate a wildly successful company without some help from others, whether that assistance is as minor as making an introduction or as substantial as cutting a cheque. There is substantial psychological research that shows we’re more likely to help people who are similar to us. Speaking from personal experience, I’ll openly admit that I get really excited when I meet people who remind me of myself – little girls who love playing with Legos, teens who are all about space exploration, scientists with not a lick of business experience who find themselves in the unlikely position ...