Every Stanford member, student and faculty alike, is familiar with the term "Stanford bubble" which serves to describe the detached, liminal space Stanford seems to exist in with respect to the outside world. What goes on in the hallways and classrooms of Stanford is conducted with an air of disconnect, it sometimes seems, from the realities (and issues) that pervade the lives of individuals outside campus. Stanford's elite global status combined with the nature of campus as a self-sufficient small town in its own right which emboldens Stanford's detachment from the goings on of the world just beyond its gates. It can be taken, then, that most of Stanford's interaction with the world occurs via alumnae who involve themselves in companies, jobs, governances and projects that serve the world in some way. A long-time friend and colleague of Stanford success is Silicon Valley. The success that has followed technological industries originating in Silicon Valley has anointed the Palo Alto region as the mecca for all tech-based engineers. Technology's rather recent outbreak provides many job and career opportunities for new-age, ambitious entrepreneurs. The area, as a result, has become a melting pot of Stanford ideas where many young Stanford undergraduates (and high school Stanford hopefuls) hope to be added to the "tech mix." As such, Stanford and Silicon Valley have forged a tandem-like relationship in which when one does well, the other benefits as well. Stanford is rewarded when one of its graduates finds success in Silicon Valley because success in Silicon Valley is usually groundbreaking and very impactful (due to the competitive nature of the modern tech world). Likewise, Silicon Valley does well to maintain its relationship with Stanford by providing many Stanford graduates with jobs in the area. This is an example of a Malinowskian interpretation of myth (Silicon Valley loves employing Stanford graduates) sanctioning a ritual (many students of Stanford pursue computer science in aspiration for a job in Silicon Valley).

Status of the Relationship

Upon examining Stanford's approach to maintain this relationship with Silicon Valley, we find that Stanford has embraced the lack of female representation present in the tech industry and has created an environment that is conducive to success for women pursuing computer science (see Theory page for further explanation).

Does Silicon Valley actively provide space for women in its lifestyle? We see, unfortunately, that the answer is no. The tech world of Silicon Valley has become a "Brotopia" (the title of her book) as described by Emily Chang, the executive producer of Bloomberg Technology: "Women in tech are held back not only by overt sexism and sexual harassment but also by less obvious and still dangerous patterns of behavior that are difficult to pinpoint and call out. Several tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Twitter, now face gender discrimination lawsuits, some with class action status, representing other female employees." In her book, Chang details the meetings of big-name tech moguls often hosted in the personal residences of elite male members of certain tech companies which (allegedly) include prostitution and consumption of illegal substances.

Outside of private spaces, women are still very much sidelined when it comes to representing tech companies. As Melinda Zetlin, a business technology speaker and writer, writes in her article, "Stanford Research Explains Lack of Women in Tech: Men Make Them Unwelcome Before They Even Apply" tech conferences are "like frat houses...men talk. Women don't." Zetlin notes that at forums debuting innovations in Silicon Valley, "men host discussions and women pass out flyers."

The lack of female presence in tech world serves to idolize the women who "make it" in the tech world as once-in-a-generation successes. We, the onlookers, internalize these experiences as rare and come understand the women who accumulate prowess in Silicon Valley as extraordinary. This type of thinking is cyclic: there no women in tech because it is rare to be a woman in tech. As a result, the rest of the world has grown to accept a limited range of opportunities for women to reach the top of a tech-based profession as opposed to the multitude of avenues (across age, number of failures, origins) awarded men.

Even if Stanford actively grooms a female computer science students in the competitive, cutthroat style of the tech world, she will have no place to apply her skills. The world she has dreamt of contributing to and learning from has no interest in accommodating her.

The Stanford myth is only valid if Stanford actually affects change. If Stanford is producing women the tech world is not ready for, then Silicon Valley is actively betraying its relationship with Stanford. As mentioned in the Validity of the Myth section, the myth would not exist without booming nature of Silicon Valley. Presence of stanford within in SV (physical and personal) combined with booming nature of silicon valley perpetuates the myth that Stanford affects change in tech world. If any of this is false, the tandem falls apart and the myths are debunked. This links directly to the cyclic nature of myth and ritual outlined by malinowski - myths propel rituals and myths are likewise dependent on rituals for existence.

Application to World at large

In a true nirvana, the answer would be yes - Stanford and Silicon Valley want what is best for the world as a whole and are motivated to bring about that wellness through the medium of technological advancement, by all and for all. However, we know this is not the case. Nirvana does not exist for women in Silicon Valley. Therefore, the tandem relationship Stanford shares with Silicon Valley, when it comes to women, is sorely out of balance.