Comments for Cristina Cordova

Comment on Things I Want To Do More of in 2012 by Cristina Cordova

Cristina Cordova — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:04:21 +0000

Nice – would love to see what you have running – good job on grabbing that domain! There’s a 95% chance I’ll be in downtown Palo Alto, so don’t worry! Movie night was my first attempt at the group outings, so hopefully you can make the next one!

Comment on Things I Want To Do More of in 2012 by Maya Grinberg

Maya Grinberg — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:31:16 +0000

I support your goals. I’ve set a few goals of my own, including a blogging experiment. Once its a little readier, I’d love to have your occasional writings posted there too. I’m still stoked that I found and bought the domain bigontheinternet.com and want to use it.

Don’t move to SF. Stay here in Palo Alto. We like you.

I will be happy to attend your group outings.

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by Cristina Cordova

Cristina Cordova — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:36:51 +0000

Thanks for the comment Tiffany – I think these are very apparent cultural disadvantages that do not affect most of those who succeed in the Valley at the moment.

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by tiffany

tiffany — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:32:12 +0000

“Minority women don’t have the same safety nets that their white male counterparts do.”

* Middle class or upper-middle class familial wealth and personal net worth. Granted, we’re talking negative net worth versus $0 net worth at college graduation. But that’s real. It’s the difference between “gotta get a job” and “can take career risks.”

* A partner to pick up the slack at home. This definitely affects black women.

And don’t underestimate interpersonal safety nets. Minority women are usually The Only One. That makes it particularly hard to interact with people who insist on treating you like a unicorn.

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by Risky Business? | Erik Pukinskis, Snowed In

Risky Business? | Erik Pukinskis, Snowed In — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:17:06 +0000

[...] Cordova recently posted a great essay about Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech. One of the things she highlights is risk: Minority women are taught to be risk averse … [...]

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by Cristina Cordova

Cristina Cordova — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:47:49 +0000

Thanks for the link, I’ll take a look. I completely agree on women helping women – Theresia Gouw Ranzetta from Accel has invested in many female founders! Unfortunately, VCs are by and large men and it’s hard to find a woman with the right experience who can fund you.

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by Pemo Theodore

Pemo Theodore — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:43:20 +0000

Thanks for this feedback Cristina. I have been video interviewing venture capitalists, angel investors & women founders on the shortfall in funding for women. You can view Vivek’s video interview that I did with him @Data2.0 Conference http://www.ezebis.com/venture/vivek-wadhwa-venture-industry-success-focus-women/ Many of the conversations people insist as he does that women have to help each other up. It is really only through community & support that we can level the playing field.

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by Cristina Cordova

Cristina Cordova — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:25:10 +0000

Thanks for the comment! :) I’m mostly speaking of financial safety nets. Black and Hispanic women are more likely to come from underprivileged backgrounds and are not financially able to take the same risks with their careers as white men can.

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by Cristina Cordova

Cristina Cordova — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:23:18 +0000

Thanks for the comment Branden! I hope to see more black and Hispanic female developers (I still have yet to meet one) as my career progresses!

Comment on A Cultural Thing: Why More Minority Women Aren’t In Tech by Branden Hall

Branden Hall — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:21:28 +0000

I find this post absolutely fascinating! I’m a white man, my wife is black, and we’re both programmers. We started on the same day at a consulting shop back in the dot-com days, quickly became friends, and the rest, as they say, is history.

She was the first black female developer I’d ever met – and I soon found out her sister was a developer as well! It turns out that they didn’t have a typical upbringing, which now I believe allowed them to avoid your three points.

For one, their father was one of the first black CPAs in the US. As such, they grew up very much in the upper middle class and very financially secure. Secondly, my wife’s sister is deaf, and as such she’s always relied on technology for communication. Consequently both she and my wife were early adopters of email and then other internet technologies.