Does Social Media Have A Glass Ceiling?

Is there a gender bias in the social media scene?

Eden Spodek recently put out a call for women involved in social media to speak up and be heard, and got some traction with it. Her point: “women in the social media space aren’t getting as much recognition as they should.”

Her post, along with a couple of conversations I’ve had recently, made me wonder if there is a bias towards men in this field. What’s more, I wonder if it goes further than recognition. Are women less likely to get invited to meet-ups, or to speak at events? Is this the reason why most so-called “A-listers” are men?

These are important questions to raise. It’s definitely still an issue in some older markets/communities – is it an issue in a new one like this?

Personally I’m not sure (before you jump all over me, remember: I said “I’m not sure”, not “I disagree”).

Social media is very technology-based and geeky. Men seem more likely to gravitate towards this kind of thing than women. That doesn’t mean there aren’t many many wonderful, intelligent women here. However, it may explain why there seem to be more men in this space. Assuming that’s true, the law of averages says that they (the majority) will get more of the attention overall than the women (the minority).

However, I’m obviously (hold the snarky quips, people…) not a woman. I haven’t experienced or witnessed anything approaching discrimination in my circle of contacts. As someone who hasn’t been on the receiving end, I’m probably less likely to spot it because I’m not actively looking for it.

The title of this post is a question for a reason.

Does social media have a glass ceiling, or is it the law of averages doing its thing?

What do you think?

If there is gender discrimination going on here, let’s all work together to stamp it out. I’m not talking about over-the-top positive discrimination, I’m talking about giving people the recognition and respect they deserve.

Are you organizing an event? Have you invited everyone who you should have, regardless of their gender? Do you think of both guys and gals when thinking of people to link to? The list of opportunities to make a small difference is endless, regardless of your gender.

Time for a moment of inner reflection.

(photo credit: net_efekt)