SOMEONE INTERRUPT THIS IDIOT! YouTube CEO Claims When Men Interrupt Women It's a "Sexist Micro-Aggression"

One of the most powerful tech executives in the country hates when she gets interrupted.


YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said it's one of the more common microaggressions, or subtle and indirect forms of discrimination, that women and minorities face in the workplace, including her.


"Even in a culture where people are well meaning, there are sometimes 'microaggressions.' People who will just cut you off. You'll be talking and someone will interrupt you," Wojcicki told Poppy Harlow at the CNNMoney American Opportunity breakfast in New York. "That's become a big pet peeve of mine."


Wojcicki said that while Silicon Valley is a diverse place, with many different opinions, there are bound to be issues in an environment where there's such a dominant majority group. In this case, white men. Only 26% of all tech jobs in the U.S. are held by women, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology. "It's going to be harder for that minority," said Wojcicki, adding that she believes sexism is a "solvable problem."



In an op-ed that ran in Vanity Fair in March, Wojcicki wrote that she's "frustrated that an industry so quick to embrace and change the future can't break free of its regrettable past."


Accusations of sexism at tech companies have made headlines in recent years. Wojcicki's piece came after Susan Fowler, a former engineer at Uber, alleged systemic sexism at the company which included being propositioned for sex. The allegations caused Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to hire former attorney general Eric Holder to lead an investigation into its workforce.


"We seek to make Uber a just workplace and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber -- and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired," said Kalanick at the time. But some of the company's investors have questioned why Kalanick didn't work to fix the company's culture earlier.


To combat sexism and promote more diversity in the workplace, Wojcicki outlined three different factors that she said may "sound straightforward" but may not be happening at Silicon Valley companies.


First, she said CEOs and executives need to make it clear that diversity matters.


"It really needs to come from the top," said Wojcicki. "You need your entire management team to realize this is important, we are going to be a better, stronger team if we have diversity."