Was Carly Fiorina a Victim of Gender Bias?

The The NewYork Times today published a story about how the ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Carly Fiorina, planned to buy a computer services company eight years ago. Now, HP’s acquisition of EDS $14 billion vindicates Fiorina.

I interviewed Carly Fiorina in 2000. The article was published in Smart Inc, the IT magazine from the India Today Group. But here is an answer that wasn’t published, as it didn’t have anything to do with technology. While going through the transcript today, I thought it would be worth sharing with the readers.

I asked Fiorina, “Why are there so few ladies in top management of big companies? Do you face a gender bias?”

Surprisingly, Fiorina was straightforward in her answer.

She said, “Atanu, it’s a man’s world. Beyond the middle management, very few women are allowed to rise. You can feel it your peers’ reactions, moves and comments. Women will continue to remain fewer in top posts, unless the attitude changes. And that’s quite unlikely.”

In January 2005, the HP Board of Directors questioned Fiorina's performance, and proposed a plan to shift her authority to HP division heads, which Fiorina resisted. She was dismissed next month.

Did gender bias have anything to do with that decision? We’ll never know.