The women-in-tech conversation hit the national spotlight Wednesday evening when Newsweek released its latest cover on Twitter. The image, of a cursor lifting the skirt of a blank-faced woman in red, drew a near-immediate firestorm on the social media network.
“What Silicon Valley Thinks of Women” spends more than 5,100 words exploring the challenges facing female entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The article touches on funding, sexual advances, harassment, confidence issues, mentorship and historical biases.
But on Twitter, it was the cover that caught people’s attention. Many criticized it as offensive, sexist or misogynistic, while others saw it as an appropriate preamble to a story that shares detail after unsavory detail about the state of women in technology.
Here’s what some Chicagoans had to say:
This week's cover. Will post first thing in the morning. pic.twitter.com/UIgR97sHS9
— jim impoco (@jimpoco) January 28, 2015
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Why are people getting mad about @Newsweek cover on Silicon Valley and women? Yes, it's unsettling. That's the point. Read the damn article.
— Beth Elderkin (@BethElderkin) January 29, 2015
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WTHs up with this cover? Story might be insightful, "What Silicon Valley Thinks of Women." The cover certainly isn't. http://t.co/Hif122Usqi
— Kate Zimmer (@krzimmer) January 29, 2015
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We went from demanding Muslim caricatures be printed in every newspaper in the land to anger over a Newsweek cover critiquing sexism.
— pantagrapher (@pantagrapher) January 29, 2015
The @Newsweek cover story is interesting. The #irony of an industry that prides itself on being disruptive. http://t.co/MFqoo0fN5k
— Gwynne Monahan (@econwriter5) January 29, 2015
Hey @Newsweek that offensive cover is almost beyond words.
http://t.co/jPptMMNrCO #newsweekcover
— Windy City Mom (@WindyCityMom) January 28, 2015
What's worse? The #newsweekcover or what #siliconvalley thinks of women @3percentcof @rtulshyan @Forbes @Newsweek http://t.co/6omNMaTpbQ
— Jean Batthany (@jeanbatthany) January 29, 2015
Here are tweets from elsewhere:
Go home @Newsweek you're drunk/desperate/inappropriate/offensive RT @jimpoco: This week's cover. pic.twitter.com/KEq5hAZal5
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— megan quinn (@msquinn) January 28, 2015
OMG WHY DOESNT SHE EVEN LOOK PISSED this image is awful pic.twitter.com/zYYgwD5iUW
— ashley williams (@ag_dubs) January 28, 2015
The Newsweek cover seems like a dead-on illustration of the problem, an editorial cartoon as a cover. What problem am I missing?
— Fantasist (@mmartine_writes) January 28, 2015
That Newsweek cover about women in tech really points to a related problem about there being not enough women in journalism either.
— Iris (@bossyfemme) January 28, 2015
Why the outrage over Newsweek cover? It's an icky image *because* it's critiquing an icky culture. It's supposed to evoke disgust. Confused.
— Rachel Weidinger (@rachelannyes) January 29, 2015