Fiorina fights back

Oct 10 2006 by Brian Amble Print This Article

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has delivered a bitter broadside against the scandal-hit computer giant, claiming her position was undermined by an old boys' network within the company that was unable to relate properly to women.

Publicising the launch of her memoir, Tough Choices, Ms Fiorina has told the television network CBS that HP's male-dominated culture was partly to blame.

"I think somehow men understand men's need for respect differently than they understand it for women. I'm disappointed to have to say that, but I think it's undeniably true."

"….I was alternatively described as 'flashy' or 'glamorous' or 'diamond-studded', which frequently was translated to mean a superficial 'marketing' type," she writes. "In the chat rooms around Silicon Valley, from the time I arrived until long after I left HP, I was routinely referred to as either a bimbo or a bitch."

The Guardian | New technology, old sexism, says ousted HP executive