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XGuest Column: Housing Isn't the Reason Women are Paid Less in Tech

It was tough to read Ben Bergman's article When it Comes to Pay, Study Says L.A. is Worst Big City for Women in Tech in dot.LA a couple weeks ago. The study found that the gender pay gap in Los Angeles' tech and venture capital industries is primarily due to the area's high housing costs.
It was tough because, while it is true that high housing costs are a contributing factor, they are by far not the only factor responsible for women in tech making less than 82 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. The reality is much more complex and oftentimes, harder to acknowledge.
As a woman in tech, I've experienced first-hand the frustrations around compensation conversations. I've either undervalued my own worth or not felt properly equipped to negotiate effectively. Talking about money and personal finances has always felt so taboo. Instead, we should be encouraged to have more candid discussions and equipped with the proper resources to navigate these topics.
I know that lack of transparency about salaries, a better understanding of one's company culture and employees, and mentorship driven community programs are three of the key ways that can help to close that wage gap for women. After all, according to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, women negotiate and ask for raises just as often as men — they are just less likely to receive them.
So what can the tech and venture community do about greater transparency? How can cities play a role in building stronger tech ecosystems? And, why should they care?
One of the answers lies in partnering with PledgeLA — a coalition initiative of more than 200 venture capital and tech companies in Los Angeles. The goal of PledgeLA is to support and actively help VC and tech leaders grow their workforces in ways that better reflect the talent and diversity of Los Angeles.
One of PledgeLA's members, Jordan Sale of 81cents, has the unique perspective of being a female founder of a tech company that has in turn built a platform to dramatically increase the transparency of market rate pay. According to Ms. Sale, her company has seen first-hand how data can transform the negotiation process. Often, it's a combination of data and validation from those in similar roles that helps candidates — especially those from underrepresented backgrounds — build the confidence to negotiate in the first place.
PledgeLA helps tech and venture firms with transparency through a confidential annual evaluation tool which helps member organizations better understand their own employees, especially around compensation.
For example, the PledgeLA survey gives informative feedback around employees' perceived fairness of performance evaluations; their experiences and outcomes with salary and raise negotiations; and their thoughts about whether their current pay suits their workload. The survey also allows members to see how staff satisfaction regarding compensation compares to similar peer organizations. Access to this data, which is provided anonymously by team employees, can give HR departments and company leaders insights they need to take specific actions.
I know that having robust, internal dialogue about compensation can be difficult. But it's to the advantage of tech and venture firms who want to attract and retain talented women. After all, research shows that diverse teams outperform and make better business decisions than non-diverse teams.
Cities can also play a role in closing the gap for women in tech by investing in mentorship-driven resources that directly support women. Programs like WiSTEM LA, an initiative empowering women pursuing careers in STEM, and Grid110, an organization providing free entrepreneurship programs to primarily women and people of color. By investing in programs like these that seek to uplift underrepresented communities in tech, we can level the playing field through increased representation and increased access to professional support — whether it be guidance on navigating career pathways or access to capital.
With programs like these and innovative evaluation tools like PledgeLA's survey, the path to making clear progress towards more equitable pay is no longer a mystery.
Let's not take the easy way out and just blame Los Angeles' high housing costs for the wage gap in tech. I urge my fellow tech and venture capital leaders to take action and turn your FOFO (fear of finding out) into FOMO (fear of missing out). Becoming more transparent and learning more about your employees' perspectives will reap benefits for you and your company.
Miki Reynolds is Executive Director of Grid110, an economic and community development non-profit dedicated to creating clearer pathways to success for early-stage entrepreneurs in Los Angeles.
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This Week in ‘Raises’: Improvado Hauls $22M, Clearlake Launches $14B Fund
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
This week in “Raises”: A pair of Web3 platforms for gamers landed funding, as did a Manhattan Beach medical startup looking to bolster primary care via nurse practitioners. Meanwhile, a Santa Monica-based investment firm launched its seventh fund with more than $14 billion in dry powder.
Venture Capital
Improvado, a marketing data aggregation platform, raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by Updata Partners.
Web3 gaming platform FreshCut raised $15 million in funding led by Galaxy Interactive, Animoca Brands and Republic Crypto.
Medical startup Greater Good Health raised $10 million in a funding round led by LRVHealth.
Joystick, a Web3 platform for gamers and creators, raised $8 million in seed funding.
Open source data protection company CipherMode Labs raised $6.7 million in seed funding led by Innovation Endeavors .
Mobile phone charging network ChargeFUZE raised $5 million in seed funding led by Beverly Pacific, TR Ventures, VA2, Jason Goldberg and Al Weiss.
Polygon, a startup aiming to better diagnose children with learning disabilities, raised $4.2 million in seed and pre-seed funding led by Spark Capital and Pear VC.
Pique, a virtual women's sexual health clinic, raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Maveron.
Psudo, a sneaker startup that utilizes recycled water bottles and 3D sublimation printing to create its shoes, raised $3 million in a seed funding round led by SternAegis Ventures.
Funds
Santa Monica-based investment firm Clearlake Capital Group raised $14.1 billion for its seventh flagship fund.
Raises is dot.LA’s weekly feature highlighting venture capital funding news across Southern California’s tech and startup ecosystem. Please send fundraising news to Kristin Snyder (kristinsnyder@dot.la).Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
LA Tech ‘Moves’: New Head of Originals at Snap, New President at FaZe Clan
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
“Moves”, our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.
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FaZe Clan brought on Zach Katz as the gaming and media company’s new president and chief operating officer. Katz was previously the chief executive officer of the music tech investment fund Raised in Space Enterprises.
TikTok brand factory LINK Agency promoted Dustin Poteet to chief creative officer. Poteet was previously creative director at the firm.
Livestream shopping platform Talkshoplive hired Tradesy co-founder John Hall as its chief technology officer. Universal Music Group Nashville's former vice president of digital marketing, Tony Grotticelli, also joins the company as vice president of marketing.
Anjuli Millan will take over as head of original content at Snap after three years of overseeing production for the division.
Tech and media company Blavity hired Nikki Crump as general manager of agency. Crump joins the company from Burrell Communications Group.
O'Neil Digital Solutions, which provides customer communications and experience management for the health care industry, hired Eric Ramsey as national account sales executive. Ramsey joins from T/O Printing.
Investment firm Cresset Partners named Tammy Funasaki as managing director of business development. Funasaki previously served as head of investor relations for Breakwater Management.
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Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
Snapchat’s New Controls Could Let Parents See Their Kids’ Friend Lists
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
Snapchat is preparing to roll out enhanced parental controls that would allow parents to see who their teenagers are chatting with on the social media app, according to screenshots of the upcoming feature.
Snap’s parental controls.
Courtesy of Watchful.
Snapchat is planning to introduce Family Center, which would allow parents to see who their children are friends with on the app and who they’ve messaged within the last seven days, according to screenshots provided by Watchful, a product intelligence company. Parents would also be able help their kids report abuse or harassment.
The parental controls are still subject to change before finally launching publicly, as the Family Center screenshots—which were first reported by TechCrunch—reflect features that are still under development.
Santa Monica-based Snap and other social media giants have faced mounting criticism for not doing more to protect their younger users—some of whom have been bullied, sold deadly drugs and sexually exploited on their platforms. State attorneys general have urged Snap and Culver City-based TikTok to strengthen their parental controls, with both companies’ apps especially popular among teens.
A Snap spokesperson declined to comment on Friday. Previously, Snap representatives have told dot.LA that the company is developing tools that will provide parents with more insight into how their children are engaging on Snapchat and allow them to report troubling content.
Yet Snap’s approach to parental controls could still give teens some privacy, as parents wouldn’t be able to read the actual content of their kids’ conversations, according to TechCrunch. (The Family Center screenshots seen by dot.LA do not detail whether parents can see those conversations).
In addition, teenage users would first have to accept an invitation from their parents to join the in-app Family Center before those parents can begin monitoring their social media activity, TechCrunch reported.
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.