Tracy Chou is a software engineer at Pinterest. She was an engineer at Quora, and interned at Facebook and Google. Given her accomplishments at such a young age, and as a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley, she also has the ability to set a tone for how she leads that impacts her future success and that of other women.
How a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress is a question posed by an actual female exec on Quora, the Q&A website, that I have deliberately avoided answering until just now? Why?
Before I launch into answering this question, I must preface the whole conversation by saying that there is something inherently troubling about posing the question to a user base such as Quora, that is likely to know precious little about how a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress – successfully. Attempting to crowd source an answer is actually a cool idea. But if most of the people in the crowd could use some guidance of their own, you can’t be too sure that those answering the question are the few who actually get it right. I wonder if my clients lurk around on Quora. I’ll have to ask them.
Anyway…
You might think that how a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress is a snap. But there is always a context to questions like these that is virtually unique to the asker of the question. For instance, the unidentified woman who posed this question had additional questions and information to add, indicating that the position involves giving lots of speeches to developers and the press. She also wants to know what would convey technical authority and professionalism without being distracting. Even more, she wants to know how age affects the answer.
Asking how a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress supposes that the rules and the nuances are the same for all women. Yet, my experience in working with high profile technical female clients in Silicon Valley is that each of them is unique.
As an engineer at Twitter, Sara Haider is another high profile technical woman in Silicon Valley. Her role at the company and its unique culture are sure to impact how she dresses. And it’s sure to be different for every woman. The key issue for women like Haider is how can they all stand in their personal power to lead teams that accomplish big things. I have some definite ideas about how they can all do that!
One respondent to her question clearly has a penchant for the obvious by saying that, “Silicon Valley’s dress code is far more relaxed [read: sometimes sloppy] and casual than most other places/work environments in the US/world.” To me, the statement suggest that a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress in a way that makes her fit in, rather than to look like a leader. This is patently wrong!
High profile technical female leaders in Silicon Valley come in every shade of skin tone, in every size and body shape, and work in a variety of technology roles at an equally diverse roster of companies. Each of these elements is crucial to dressing right.
Beyond these factors are the deeper considerations. For example, what values do the company and its products stand for? As a spokesperson for those values, what mode would visually correlate the wearer to those values? Even more deeply, what are the core strengths of that person, and how would she use her personal style to convey her strengths in a way that supports her goals while also being in alignment with the company values?
Jackets always convey authority and professionalism. This is valid even for high profile technical females in Silicon Valley. Another commenter recommends a “non-descript pants suit worn with a basic, plain shirt, and jacket left unbuttoned.” Can you think of anything less stimulating? Since when are leaders supposed to look “non-descript” and “plain?” Yuck-o!
Jackets or pants suits can and should punctuate the wearer’s true strengths. That’s why there are jackets with peak lapels, notch lapels, no lapels, peplum detailing, coat length, pocket styles, textures, colors, and other fine points like button details. The reality is that any of these styles could be an example of what a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress in to convey authority or professionalism. But, the nuances of each style are how the wearer aligns her own strengths and her style. Just like no one jacket fits all women, no one answer would either.
Another comment the second woman suggested was that “Chuck Taylors seems to go well with blazers.” I’m sure this may be true for some women in Silicon Valley. It works for Ellen DeGeneres, too. Even though I’m a fan of Ellen’s, that doesn’t mean that the look translates appropriately for everyone. It’s like the sneaker has become the career apparel choice of at least one Silicon Valley woman, speaking on behalf of all others. Yeesh!
Still another woman argued, “Business casual should be worn. It would be too formal to wear a full suit, unless you are traveling to a country like Japan where suits are commonly worn in business.” She recommends that a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress in “a pencil skirt, a drapey blouse, and pumps.” Yet another blandioso suggestion, as it takes none of my crucial considerations into account.
Samantha John co-founded Hopscotch. It’s startup that has an app that allows kids to program their own games and animations. Known as a “badass programmer,” she is another upcoming high profile technical female in Silicon Valley who, I imagine, would take advantage of any edge to raise her profile if she knew it would help to make her business even more successful.
The bottom line is that a high profile technical female in Silicon Valley should dress in a way that exemplifies what leadership is for her role at her company. We have to stop thinking of Silicon Valley like it is some kind of bubble that adheres to rules that exist no where else.
If you are at a high level at an enterprise kind of company, you darn well better get used to wearing suits. If you’re at a technology firm that handles money, you had better get used to the idea that dressing in low-key but tasteful clothes is a key way of communicating trust, let alone authority, and technical chops. If you are at a start-up, you had better get used to dressing in a way that works with being nimble, because chances are that you will jump into and out of multiple roles, almost as though you are tossing off one “hat” and putting on another.
The idea that a woman leader, who happens to have technical chops, can’t stand out when she addresses her internal team is total bunk. If you are an authority, then just be one. And stop asking questions like this to random people, getting random answers. Even if asked anonymously, it’s a true sign of weakness that no leader should exemplify. Build an external team of support to help you build and manage your career by working with a leadership coach, and a personal image consultant.
Joseph Rosenfeld helps successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs transform their self-confidence by improving their personal style. Get Joseph’s free report that helps you know “7 Ways to Transform Your Personal Style”.
