Atlassian Girl Geek Survey Shows 98 Percent of Women Working in Tech Enjoy It; Michelle Obama Tops List of Most Admired Role Models

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In advance of its inaugural Girl Geek Dinner event, Atlassian, an enterprise software company, conducted a quick poll of women in high tech to find out what they really think about working in the industry. Results from the “Women in High Tech: Are You Satisfied?" survey showed an astounding 98 percent of respondents truly enjoy the industry, 84 percent see themselves continuing to work in tech for at least 10 more years, and 80 percent are satisfied with their current jobs. While women clearly seem to love the industry, only half felt they have control over their careers. They cited lack of training or mentorship (58 percent), as well as a lack of opportunity for upward mobility (55 percent) as the biggest roadblocks to their success. The online survey was completed by nearly 250 women in 33 countries during the past week.

“I Don’t Know How She Does It”

“We wanted to get a quick pulse on how women in high tech were feeling about their careers, and the overwhelming job satisfaction was a pleasant surprise,” said Audra Eng, Atlassian’s vice president of product management. “It’s no secret that women in high tech, similar to men, grapple with managing their personal and professional lives. But the respondents’ optimism and acknowledgment that they are receiving recognition for their intelligence and abilities proves that it’s good to be a girl geek.”

Forty-eight percent of the survey respondents indicated that life events such as balancing a family or social life with work are the personal dilemmas affecting them most. Not surprisingly, 22 percent selected “I Don’t Know How She Does It” as the movie that best describes their lives. “Working Girl” was a close second.

Obama, Clinton, and Mayer -- Biggest Role Models for Girl Geeks

The “Women in Tech: Are you Satisfied?” survey also revealed that Michelle Obama (50 percent), Hillary Clinton (47 percent) and Marissa Mayer (28 percent) are the most admired female role models for today’s for girl geeks, while Marie Curie (53 percent), Rosa Parks (38 percent) and Eleanor Roosevelt (35 percent) are the most revered heroines of the past.

Girl geeks largely attributed their own career success to tenacity in pursuing their ambitions (92 percent), and receiving due recognition for their intelligence and abilities (69 percent).

Intelligence was voted the most admirable trait of other women in the workplace (68 percent), followed by passion and resourcefulness. Similarly, 41 percent of women surveyed also described themselves as intelligent and rational. Outspoken, bold and opinionated came in second at 19 percent, and passionate and emotional came in third at 16 percent.

“A career in high tech can be truly satisfying for girl geeks at all levels within an organization and throughout the functional areas – from IT and marketing to finance and HR,” continued Eng. “Thanks to women like Sukrutha Bhadouria and Angie Chang, the organizers of Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, we are getting the word out and having excellent discussions supporting women in high tech careers.”

From Bat Cave to Boardroom: Atlassian’s Bay Area Girl Geek Event

Atlassian’s Girl Geek Dinner event will be held tomorrow evening at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Titled “From Bat Cave to Boardroom: Mastering Change in the World of High Tech,” the event will feature a special guest panel including: Sarah Lacy of PandoDaily, Audra Eng and Catherine Norman of Atlassian, Patricia Nakache of Trinity Ventures, and Poornima Vijayashanker of BizeeBee. Rebecca Buckman, former award-winning journalist for The Wall Street Journal, will moderate.

The panelists will discuss the survey results and offer tips, tricks, and anecdotes on how women can take advantage of changes happening in the high tech world. They will also touch upon a broad range of related topics, including the highs and lows of being a female executive, unique abilities female entrepreneurs bring to the business, and whether the gender gap is overplayed. Attendees will be invited to ask their own questions during a post-panel Q&A session.

Visit www.bayareagirlgeekdinners.com to sign up for the Bay Area Girl Geek Dinner mailing list and receive notifications about future events.

About Atlassian

Atlassian products help innovators everywhere plan, build and launch great software. More than 23,000 large and small organizations – including Citigroup, eBay, Netflix and Nike – use Atlassian’s issue tracking, collaboration and software-development products to work smarter and deliver quality results on time. Learn more at http://atlassian.com.