I’ll never forget a party I went to a few years ago, thrown in recession-addled Detroit by bankruptcy restructuring firm Conway MacKenzie. Dom Perignon flowed freely, they were doling out Cuban cigars by the case – the evening cost a cool $1.5 million.
It was a highly coed affair. The balance of male and female guests was even. And yet a slew of models (escorts, as many of the tipsier, Y-chromosome-endowed guests joked) had been hired to traipse around the place.
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It was clear they were there more to increase the glitter value of the event than to even out the gender dynamics. Mike Tyson was a paid guest of honor, too. It was odd.
Something similar happened at this week’s J.P. Morgan Conference, as reported by an excellent and well-shared piece from Bloomberg – “At Biotech Party, Gender Diversity Means Cocktail Dresses.” The article, which focuses on a J.P. Morgan reception’s reliance on hiring female models to balance out the event’s gender gap (and keep the businessmen company), points out some sobering facts:
Women occupy only 20 of 112 senior management roles at the 10 highest-valued companies in the industry. At small, young companies, it’s not much better — of the 10 biotech startups that raised the most money in 2014, 19 percent of top executives are women, and their boards are 8 percent female, according to an August editorial in the journal Nature.
Also – and this is actually notable – in the Westin St. Francis, “there was no line for the women’s bathroom.”
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However, I think this is important: Hiring cocktail models shouldn’t be emblematic of the role of women in the biotech industry. Because their presence is growing, and we simply mustn’t ignore that. Things aren’t great. But they’re getting better. And I think it’s high time we take a more nuanced view of gender politics at J.P. Morgan.
Take the words of Venture Valkyrie Lisa Suennen, who joined us for MedCity News’ weekly broadcast, MedHeads. She said she saw a “dramatic increase of women” attending the conference.
“I went to several events that were more female-focused, but one in particular – there were 85 female venture capitalists,” Suennen said. “I don’t think anyone knew there were 85 female venture capitalists in the universe – much less all at one place at one time.”
As she looked out at the room where she spoke at J.P. Morgan, she saw some high heels. It was gratifying to see that, she said. And while the story of gender inequality at J.P. Morgan isn’t over yet, and we have a lot more of work ahead, well:
“It was better, much better than in some years past – in all years past,” she said. “Despite the occasional party that had models walking around. Nevertheless, the overall trend was for the better.”
Myself, I saw savvy businesswomen. I saw gorgeous dresses and yes, some daring heels.
This may be an odd thing to point out – the attire – but I think it’s relevant. Women are growing their presence in this male-dominated business, and moving away from a once-mandatory uniform of pinstripe suits. They’re making their mark in the stodgy business environs of J.P. Morgan.
Much like with the Conway MacKenzie affair, the JPM cocktail party inviting these models clearly smacks more of patriarchal old world business dealings (and one-upmanship) than an attempt to even out the gender dynamics. It’s creepy. It’s a pissing contest. It shows that the boy’s club in the business world is alive and well – and honestly validates the presence of women-only events like what Suennen attended. That Bloomberg piece is important, because it brings awareness to the gender disparity issue. But it barely touched on the progress that’s being made.
It’s not all bad. Certain parties, like the one highlighted, show gender segregation at its most explicit. Perhaps the parties for some of the higher level execs are gender divisive – women partying with Suennen, men partying with models. But on the ground, things are looking up. The events I went to were far more coed. While I certainly noticed a lack of a line in the women’s room at the Westin, the after-parties I attended were diverse. As much in terms of ethnicity as in gender. Innovation can come in increments.
It’s easy to throw the discrimination card around these days – but we really should be cognizant that things are slowly getting better, and I’m optimistic it’ll continue. A few years back, a friend of mine was mistaken for a secretary in the halls of J.P. Morgan – simply because she was a woman. I wore a leather jacket and heels, and was treated with respect.
And I, for one, didn’t mind that short line in the lady’s. Got some excellent networking done – because in retaliation to the boy’s club, we’re certainly getting one for girls.