Ben Silbermann Quotes

In the '80s, society created a caricature of what a hacker or a programmer looked like: a guy wearing a hoodie, drinking energy drinks, sitting in a basement somewhere coding. Today, programmers look like the men we see in the show 'Silicon Valley' on HBO. If you look at the message girls are getting, it's saying, 'This is not for you.'

What created Silicon Valley was a culture of openness, and there is no future to Silicon Valley without it.

The mystified idea I had of Israel - the demonization of Israel - it just wasn't true.

Any ideas of 'other' are complicated, and otherness is relative to personal ideas of 'normal.'

If you think about it, there aren't that many women who are in their 40s, who are Jewish and funny and stage-worthy.

'Hollywood maids' are so idiotic. They grin at everything. I told Norman Lear I didn't want to play a maid because of that 'hee-hee/grin-grin' attitude, and he said, 'Who said I wanted that?' He told me he wanted two strong women that are the black and white of the same coin. I said, 'Oh, well - in that case, I'll be right there!'

To succeed in the tech industry, you start businesses, make money, and make smart investments. But to succeed in the tech community, you do and build awesome things, are generous with your time and efforts, and make a point of making space for strangers - without any expectation of payback.

There's a history where, when women get to a certain age in this industry, the roles become strictly the mother, the wife, or the older single woman. There should be more of a variety because there are so many different paths that humans take, and they should be given a platform to be seen.

I don't want to shut the door and only be thought of as the dark girl.

I'm into looking at things from the other point of view. And if you look at who votes in the Oscars, mostly older Jewish guys, they're going to vote for stuff they relate to. Do they relate to NWA? I doubt it.

Theoretically, I have no business starting an organization called Girls Who Code, because I don't code.

I was doing a lot of networking in the Valley, and I found that it was not a very diverse environment, and most of the conferences and meetup events I went to, there weren't many women or people of color in those rooms.

People have this kind of different image of what Israel is and what it's about. And yes, there are military people all over, but there's so much more.

Obviously, there's so many different types of gay people, but some people don't know that. Some people think we all look and act a certain type of way.

I played with a band, and the lead singer would always introduce me as 'the 13-year-old lead guitarist.' I didn't want to be a novelty, like 'Oh, she has three arms! Check her out.' But I've learned to accept it as more of a compliment.

I'm looking to see more women of color not only in companies in technology, but also creating companies.

Everyone in the semiconductor industry, everyone in the technology industry, would benefit from more diversity in the business.

Google is a place filled with open-minded, innovative people from all over the world. It's a fun place to work, and it's a place where different kinds of skills come together. As we grew from a startup, I remember our founders saying that people don't want us to change our culture, but we need to keep making it better. It's an attitude: "We are the ones we've been waiting for." Silicon Valley in general, tech in general, means using technology to solve big problems in the world.

The culture of tech companies cannot change if women aren't in the room.

On one hand, I think it's very important to talk about race and talk about gender, because if it's not talked about, then we won't progress. What I have a problem with is when it becomes another form of tokenization, of shrinking me into a symbol instead of a multilayered, female Asian artist.

When people watch 'Power' and they find out the showrunner is black, it's not surprising. What is surprising is that I am a woman and my background is not particularly urban.

Young boys and girls should be given the chance to play football.

I have blonde hair and blue eyes, and whenever I tell people I'm Greek, they don't believe me.

There are a million misconceptions about me but the greatest is probably that people think I'm the king of disco. I love disco but it is only one part of me.

Recognizing that female participation in technology is lower than it should be, we are committed to bolstering female tech talent, eliminating obstacles and challenges they face, and fostering diversity.