In the U.S. more women than men graduate college, yet women still only make up 25% of the technology sector workforce. In Silicon Valley itself, men vastly outnumber women in both engineering and executive posts. And according to Silicon Bank’s “Women in Technology Leadership 2019” report, almost half of all start-ups have no women at all in leadership roles.

Adding a twist to the already dismal statistics, it seems gender bias isn’t limited to human-to-human interaction. Research by Joy Buolamwini, key speaker at the Women Transforming Technology Conference 2019 this week in Palo Alto, California, shows that artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition systems repeatedly classify women, and especially women of color, as men.

Studies such as Buolamwini’s underscore how critical it is to consciously support women and other minorities and bring them into decision making positions. This is especially important in the tech industry, where unconscious biases in programming could negatively impact how AI reacts for future generations.

“[Women Transforming Technology] is really all about connecting women so we can continue to innovate and shape the future,” said Betsy Sutter (pictured), senior vice president and chief people officer of VMware Inc.

Sutter spoke with Lisa Martin (@LisaMartinTV), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Women Transforming Technology Conference. They discussed the purpose behind the conference and VMware’s collaboration with Stanford University on the VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

Keep the conversation elevated

Bringing together women from across the industry, regardless of age and experience, is the magic of the WT² conference, according to Sutter. Attendees remark on the positive, collaborative environment where experiences, challenges and triumphs are shared, giving a “cross-pollination” between areas of expertise and maturity.

VMware has a long relationship with Stanford, and Sutter helped found the university’s VMware Stanford Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab, “which I’m exceedingly proud of,” she said.

The different perspectives at WT² were reflected in the questions that Sutter was asked over the course of the conference.

“One young woman asked me about my concern around communication and interaction because of how technology has affected how people [communicate],” she stated. An older attendee shared how she was concerned about the ethics of what she was creating and how it could potentially be used.

“We think we’re creating a world of more transparency, but, really, when you’re coding you’re not really sure what might happen with that code,” Sutter said. “There’s a huge responsibility in terms of what you’re doing.”

Asking the question: “Why are we doing that?” is woven into the culture at VMware, and Sutter makes it a point to be able to explain the purpose behind her projects.

“We’re constantly elevating the conversation,” Sutter stated. “I tell my other colleagues in the industry: ‘Just keep that conversation going: There’s no quick fix to this, people are complex.’ So, elevate it and let’s get to really know each other a lot better.”

The ongoing theme of WT² is bringing diversity together to talk about real issues affecting both the industry and personal careers. This will continue in 2020 and beyond, according to Sutter. “Let’s bring them together; let’s let them connect and start to innovate and create the future,” she concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Women Transforming Technology Conference. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Women Transforming Technology Conference event. Neither VMware Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE