Elizabeth Whitelock is used to "being the only female in the room", and this week is no different.
The chief executive of defence intelligence software start-up Veriluma, Whitelock is the only female speaker out of 18 ASX-listed tech companies presenting at the TechKnow roadshow, aimed at small and micro cap investors.
It is estimated that the technology workforce in Australia is made up of somewhere between 28 per cent and 31 per cent women, but Whitelock's sole representation puts TechKnow's female speaker percentage at a measly 5.6 per cent.
It's easy to judge TechKnow for not having more women represented, but it pays to stop and think about how many female leaders of listed tech companies in Australia you can name.
I came up with a dismally small number: Whitelock, 1-Page chief executive Joanna Weidenmiller, AHALife leader Shauna Mei, OneVue chief executive Connie Mckeage and until May this year, former SMS Management and Technology chief Jacqueline Korhonen.
Claire Mula is also the executive director of shopping mall app Sprooki.
The Peter conundrum
I asked a few of my colleagues and communications associates if they could think of any, and they all came up with even fewer.
This too seems shocking, but when you think that in 2015 there were more men named Peter heading ASX200 companies than the total of women, then it's not so surprising, nor unique to the tech sector.
(In case you're curious, there were also more men named Michael and David than women.)
"I'd like to see this change. And I'd like to help," Whitelock says, but there is a long way to go.
"I'm encouraging my 14-year-old daughter to study the IT subject in Year 9. She says 'but mum, I'll be the only girl' … oh dear, how young it starts."
Whitelock says she has been lucky to have a supportive network around her of men and women, from both inside the sector and out.
But she says it could be isolating for some, with very few other women to seek advice from.
In recent years there has been a flood of early-stage tech companies hitting the ASX boards and, like Veriluma, many young companies are still led by their founders when they list.
So why aren't more female entrepreneurs in Australia taking their companies public?
Negative factors
Perhaps women appreciate the risk factors associated with listing an early-stage company, especially when the business model is still fluid, more so than their male counterparts.
But more likely, it comes down to the same factors that have resulted in there being fewer female business owners for decades.
Issues such as appetite for risk, the ability to take on risk, access to funding, not seeking the right amount of capital (often women ask for amounts that are too small to meet the business' needs), balancing business and family commitments, overcoming societal constructs and self-confidence, still hold things back.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released an Entrepreneurship at a Glance study in 2013 which found women worldwide were less likely to become entrepreneurs.
In Australia, 54 per cent of men expressed a preference for being their own boss, but only 45 per cent of women.
The report determined that the major factor that influenced whether or not someone would want to work for themselves was risk, such as whether or not there are social security safety nets; access to finance; and access to childcare.
In the OECD, Australia ranked as having one of the lowest percentages of self-employed women (either with or without staff) among English-speaking countries.
Different skill-set
Unlike public tech companies and start-ups in Australia, there is a proliferation of female leaders in high-profile roles at tech companies such as Spotify, Twitter, Microsoft, Intel, Pandora and Dell. Until earlier this year, Maile Carnegie was also the head of Google.
But these women require a different skill-set to start-up founders.
They aren't required to raise large amounts of capital to expand the business and they don't need to deal with investors.
To be appointed to the role they require ability, self-confidence, and the confidence of their bosses at head office.
But they don't have to take the leap of faith required of start-up founders, nor do they have to win the faith of investors to be a success.
Fortunately, the prevalence of these female high-achievers in tech, combined with a greater focus in education on STEM skills, is starting to see more women consider careers in IT, as both the numbers of female entrepreneurs and the proportion of women in the industry slowly start to improve.
The NSW Department of Industry reported in February that since 2011, the percentage of start-ups founded by women in Australia have increased from one in six to one in four.
Meanwhile, in the past 20 years there has been a 46 per cent increase in businesses operated by women, compared to a 20 per cent jump for men.
In another five years, perhaps TechKnow will be able to find five female CEOs of listed tech stocks to speak as part of its roadshow.
Until then, let's remember that studies have shown start-ups with female founders have proven to be more successful, and have a think about what we can do to support our sisters, mothers, wives, friends and colleagues to take that leap.
