404 Female Not Found - Book Proposal

Summary & Project Description

While women have worked in technology since the dawn of the computer age, the number of women therein has steadily dwindled over time. Feminist cultural critique is not a new genre, but the subject of women in the tech industry only has a small handful of books related to the plight - books such as:

● Brotopia (2019)
● Uncanny Valley: A Memoir (2020)
● Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts (2018)
● She Engineers: Outsmart Bias, Unlock your Potential, and Create the Engineering Career of your Dreams (2018)

While each combines a light but straight-talking style with a memorable insights and actionable advice, only two of them (Brotopia and Uncanny Valley) are direct memoirs about being a woman in the tech industry, and the others are, for the most part, how-to books for fitting into this male-dominated industry.

404 Female Not Found combines memoirs of women working in tech with valuable statistics and actionable insights that young women in STEM might use to create an industry that works for them, instead of merely changing themselves to fit in it.

Based on thirty years of memories from three generations of women in tech, Emily Papel will weave an engaging and creative narrative intended to show young women exactly what working in this industry involves, and will provide tips for how to change it from the inside. From understanding how times have changed from the 1970s through today, to strategies for choosing colleges, careers, and cities that offer the best places for women, 404 Female Not Found and its related material will give a compelling and often funny playbook for joining the tech industry. It is Brotopia, but hopeful and positive. It is Michelle Tea’s Without a Net, but for women in technology.

Emily will market the book through thought leadership articles, an engaging social media platform, blogs, surveys, direct marketing, and auxiliary products such as college and career guides for young women. With personal support from other powerful women in technology, including access to extensive email lists, 404 Female Not Found can reach a very large number of tech thought leaders, both men and women alike.

In 2020, there was estimated to be over 55 million employees in the tech industry around the world, and although a quarter of them are women, nearly 10 million of those women feel like they must work harder and better than their male counterparts. This group, plus all the young women interested in STEM fields (over one million female students entering college per year), is the target market for 404 Female Not Found.

The idea for 404 Female Not Found was borne out of the author’s experience working for tech companies across Southern Ontario, Seattle, and Silicon Valley - all major hubs for technological innovation. Although the areas are as geographically and culturally diverse as anywhere, the difficulty for women to advance in tech is the same. The author will use her own stories, as well as stories from younger and older generations, to show the similarities in experience across the generations.