How do you make your workplace more equitable for women? Have women in leadership.
According to Built In’s 2021 State of DEI in Tech Report, more than a third of tech companies surveyed reported that their leadership team was over 80 percent men. Without a strong voice advocating for women, executives are less likely to accommodate their unique needs or address discrimination, which only widens the gender gap in tech — over half of companies surveyed reported that women make up less than 40 percent of their workforce.
A lack of representation in leadership may also give women the impression that there are limited growth opportunities for them at a company. After all, it’s harder to imagine oneself in a position if no one like you has ever been there.
The good news is that things are changing. News outlet Protocol reports that from 2019 to 2022, the presence of women in tech leadership roles increased by 20 percent, with the study predicting that one in four of those positions will be held by women by the end of the year. There are plenty of tech companies, large and small, that are working to provide a space full of opportunity for women to grow, advance and feel comfortable speaking their minds. Having women leaders — who understand the specific issues women face at work and beyond — is a big part of achieving that goal.
Built In Austin sat down with eleven of those leaders, with positions ranging from manager to co-founder. They spoke about how their companies supported them in their ambitions, and how they pay it forward with the women on their teams.
Workforce management solutions company Workrise addresses equity from all angles, from attention to pay equity, mentorship, education opportunities and a well-rounded benefits package.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
My ultimate career goal is to become a CMO. I crave the opportunity to effectively build and cultivate a brand that becomes a household name.
When I first came to Workrise, I was a product marketing expert — my passion lies in telling stories and clearly articulating the value of a product in a way that will resonate with the intended audience. Upon arriving at Workrise, I was quickly given the opportunity to apply my strength as a storyteller to the brand side of the house and contribute to the repositioning of the company as we embarked on a full rebrand accounting for expanded services and acquisitions. Workrise has consistently given me the opportunity to expand my scope and take on new challenges, including building a team of marketers responsible for new customer acquisition, account growth and product adoption. Workrise has also supported my professional growth through mentorship and executive coaching services. As I was able to demonstrate success, Workrise in turn reinvested in me and opened the door to new opportunities. I now serve the company as the head of marketing, overseeing all marketing activity including brand and performance.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Workrise looks at benefits from a total rewards perspective. As such, our overall benefits package is extremely well-rounded and accounts for both self-improvement and mental health. We offer all employees a stipend for continued learning and development opportunities as well as access to a comprehensive library of Udemy courses. Rest and the ability to recharge is also critically important to our culture. In addition to a flexible PTO policy, Risers with three years of continued service with the company are rewarded with a vacation stipend to apply towards the costs of travel. As a new mom, the opportunity to solely focus on my baby and family through a generous parental leave has been truly incredible. I also value the flexible work policy that gives me a variety of options to help balance my time and allow me to work in the environment that works best for me.
As I was able to demonstrate success, Workrise in turn reinvested in me and opened the door to new opportunities.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
One big way that Workrise supports an inclusive culture for women is through the prioritization of pay equity. We are currently going through a thorough compensation analysis with a specific focus on auditing equity and parity across all groups, as well as conducting market research. It’s a continual review process, but especially important in a year like this with lots of movement and change.
As another part of the long-term investment in inclusion, Workrise supports the creation of and participation in several employee resource groups. The groups are volunteer-led, and Workrise funded with the goal of organizing Risers who are committed to creating space for inclusive activities and conversation. One of the largest groups is Women of Workrise (WoW) which encourages female identifying employees to join, network and support each other through mentorship, as well as for allies to take part and learn.
Darby’s time at customer engagement software provider Khoros has facilitated her agency and growth in a big way — her current job description is one of her own design. As a new mom, Khoros’s work flexibility has allowed her to pursue her ambitions while still prioritizing her family.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
If you had asked me a few years ago, I may have answered that one day I’d like to be a CMO. Now, I think my answer is a little more nuanced. In my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work on the brand side at Discovery, then the agency-side, and now with Khoros Strategic Services, which has been a nice mix of the two. Through each of these, I’ve found that understanding audience and market insights, solving problems and building strategy are what drive me. At Khoros, I’ve been able to tap into these passion points and grow in new areas as I’ve expanded my role from strategist to senior strategist — and now, the director of strategic development. Through each, Khoros has supported me in growing my strategic and leadership skills, as well as learning the “business of the business” across finance, marketing, sales, human resources and more.
My current role has a job description that I wrote myself and pitched to leadership, and that level of trust and openness to try new things is not something you find at every company. With that in mind, my overall career goals are a bit less tied to a title and more focused on continuing to challenge myself and pushing innovation.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Khoros offers a variety of professional development resources for all employees across LinkedIn Learning, leadership and management training, and more. Women make up 77 percent of our strategic services senior leadership team, and support comes through in big and small ways — from creating a culture of empowering people to speak up and own workstreams to highlighting project work and creating space to advocate for the advancement of peers and direct reports.
As a woman in the workplace — and a new mom — Khoros’s focus on flexibility and remote work is a seemingly small but impactful way that the company has created a more equitable culture for women and working parents. It’s one thing for an organization to say it has a flexible culture, but it’s been incredible to really see that in action through the support of team members and management. Additionally, Khoros leadership has collaborated with ERGs and employees to hear feedback on benefits policies, and acted to expand coverage for reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ employees.
Women make up 77 percent of our strategic services senior leadership team, and support comes through in big and small ways.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
As we all know, the past two-plus years have been tough and have seen a lot of change, both in the world at large and in the workplace. It just so happened that in January 2020, Khoros was in the process of launching Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), including what is now known as the Khoros Network of Women (KNOW). I had the opportunity to launch KNOW as president with an incredible leadership team, and together we created committees that focused on networking, professional development and community impact. Our vision is to showcase that gender inclusivity is central to the success of the company as a whole, and to make Khoros a top workplace for women in all areas — including, but not limited to advancement, representation and connection.
Through this ERG, I’ve been able to meet and learn from women across the company and across all levels. Our membership meetings and networking events have served as ways to connect virtually, discuss wins and challenges, and get to know each other beyond our day jobs.
At mobile education platform Aceable, Huling has achieved her childhood dream of reaching a C-Suite position. The company’s people and culture team supports its leadership and helps fulfill Aceable’s commitment to diversity. Attention to respect and equity, enshrined in company values, ensures that Huling never feels marginalized.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
From a very young age, I knew that I wanted to climb the ladder as a female leader who would eventually land a C-Suite role. I took a business class in high school which allowed me to work after school for a local small business filled with amazing female leaders who are still running that very successful enterprise. It was in that setting that I fell in love with the idea of building a lasting career. Little did I know the journey that would ensue.
Post graduation. I was an accountant — and from there I went to work for a tech company as a CX engineer fixing databases. I was then recruited into product where I fell in love with the profession. After 20 years as a product leader, I can honestly say that every high and low has led me to the next best step. I’ve learned that you have to have faith in the journey, count every blessing and always stay balanced. Over the years, I’ve worked for several tech companies — but most recently I fulfilled my long-time dream when I came to Aceable as their chief product officer. It’s amazing where you can go and the impact that you can have when you fall in love with your profession.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Aceable has an amazing people and culture (P&C) team who supports us as leaders. The executive team coupled with the P&C team have created an organization that freely shares feedback, helps others to grow and gives people the grace that they need to thrive in order to drive home the desire for everyone to remain balanced. As an executive, I find it very helpful to have a coach and a mentor, which Aceable was generous enough to offer within my first few months. I’m a member of an external networking group, which I find extremely valuable — and Aceable has not only been supportive of my participation in that group but will sponsor me there in future years. I’ve felt supported since before my first day.
When you sit in one of our executive meetings you will very quickly see and feel a difference in how things are run. In my time here I have never once felt outnumbered, overpowered, marginalized or judged. Aceable is by far the most diverse company that I have ever worked for and we have extremely talented people at every level.
In my time here I have never once felt outnumbered, overpowered, marginalized or judged.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
Aceable has built an inclusive and equitable culture by leading with strong and non-negotiable values. Everyone is respectful — people are expected to show up and do their best, alternative opinions are welcome and our passion for a delightful customer experience has permeated every level of the organization. The CEO and other leaders set the tone while also allowing each individual to show up in their own unique way and with their own unique strengths. Aceable has diversity at every level and within every team — you won’t just find women in one specific department, you will find them throughout Aceable’s organizational chart. We also have a lot of diversity in thought with people from all walks of life, ages, races and backgrounds. It’s refreshing to have so many unique and differing views, and it’s within that type of diversity that the best ideas are born. We have bi-weekly all-hands and you can see the joy across the entire group as we celebrate wins, success, each other and our customers.
Recruiting software company Flo Recruit, being founded by a woman, has always prioritized support for women in the workplace. Specifically, Flo has a culture that encourages its employees to take ownership of their accomplishments — something women often struggle with without support.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
Atreya and I started Flo in college. When we went through the corporate recruiting process ourselves, meaning going to career fairs and networking events, we felt there had to be a better way for employers to collect resumes, remember people who showed up and follow up with those people about any opportunities. So Flo Recruit started as a solution to help companies manage their in-person recruiting events and we found success. We found out that law firms do a lot of in-person recruiting events for a lot of their entry-level attorneys.
I love that we get to build something from nothing. We are getting to develop the team culture. We’re also getting to help build our marketing department which was nonexistent four months ago. I think it’s fulfilling for people that are a part of building these departments out — the reward is seeing our customers interact with, appreciate and critique our platform.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
I hate making overgeneralizations, but I think that sometimes women tend to be more reserved when speaking about their accomplishments. Within the company, we have built a culture where we give credit where credit is due. I think that’s impactful for women leaders who might not be the first to take ownership of their accomplishments. It helps in the moments when we need to give each other critical feedback if you know that you’re going to be recognized when you’re doing well.
External to the company, you always want to make your customer the hero. With many of our customers being women inside male-dominated organizations, it’s good for them also to understand that bringing in Flo Recruit is a big change within their organization and they should be given credit for it. Rolling out this software is going to make their organization hire better talent faster so they should take credit for that internally. We try to make our customers feel like the hero there because they are brave enough to make this major internal switch.
I think our culture is impactful for women leaders who might not be the first to take ownership of their accomplishments.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
I find being a founder and CEO creating an inclusive and equitable culture both fun and very challenging. It’s fun because you get to build something from nothing — you get to wake up every day and be excited about what you’re building. I think the challenging part of being a boss is that people often think that you call all the shots, and while I do call the shots, it doesn’t always feel like that. There are a lot of people whom I feel like I report — our customers and employees. At the end of the day, I am responsible for what I create, even if it is not fully in my control. The most rewarding part is getting to be a coach and seeing people rise to the occasion. I’m not perfect, and I definitely don’t have all the experience in the world, so it’s rewarding to see the people around you making each other better. It makes me realize: “Oh, this all started with an idea, however, many years ago, and it’s working!”
Automotive retailer fleet logistics company Dealerware has an impressive gender balance in leadership, with a near-balance of men and women both on the executive team and among managers. Those women leaders are able to advocate for a safe and supportive culture, uplifting the whole team.
What are your overall career goals? How have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
My goal has always been to build high-performing teams that create a positive culture, drive value and deliver exceptional customer experiences. I had the opportunity to join Dealerware when the product was emerging and the customer base was just beginning to grow. We had an immense opportunity but needed to scale onboarding and delight our early adopters.
Dealerware provided me with the support to do just that. We started with a team of three and built out specializations, expertise and discipline, backed by strong operations and a positive culture. That allowed us to grow to where we are today — a team of over 20 people across four customer success disciplines and over 1500 happy customers, with industry-leading customer satisfaction and retention. Each team member brings a unique value to Dealerware, and it’s been a privilege to support their professional development, which makes the business stronger. The next iteration for the business — and for me — is expanding partner integrations and professional services in a more meaningful way.
What professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Our approach to performance management and growth is a big part of what we offer women. We ensure regular touchpoints with team members using tools like Lattice to build a strong framework for 1:1 meetings, feedback, reviews and tracking progress towards objectives and key results (OKRs). This allows team members to collaborate with their manager on documented professional development plans that provide a clear understanding of goals and any gaps they’re addressing.
We’re intentional about including women in industry conferences and events and making sure they have access to any technical training needed to grow. We offer tuition reimbursement and continuing education opportunities if a course or certification can further support someone. We subscribe to UDemy, which has been extremely powerful in giving people access to any type of education they want to pursue.
We are remote-first with a strong sense of flexibility to meet our team members’ evolving needs. We want people to have the flexibility to manage their own time thoughtfully. We have a strong parental leave policy with 12 paid weeks off plus a 4-week, reduced work re-entry period as parents are adjusting to work combined with new family responsibilities.
It all starts with creating a safe and supportive culture — and we have enough women in positions of power to help advocate for that.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women?
We lead by example and are inclusive of women in leadership as well as middle-management positions. Our executive team is almost split — four women and five men — and 45 percent of our managers are female. It all starts with creating a safe and supportive culture — and we have enough women in positions of power to help advocate for that — along with a core value focused on DEI. I think all of this helps make our culture more conducive to team members actually being able to take advantage of the many tangible resources we offer.
We also follow through on promises. We brought in a guest speaker last March as part of our women’s history month efforts, and they suggested a training to help support our female team members’ professional development by improving our LinkedIn profiles and presence. Our team was very excited by this idea. This month we’re delivering on it, with a workshop dedicated to optimizing our profiles, networking skills and content strategy to help everyone have a stronger professional presence on LinkedIn.
According to Burgener, blockchain mining company Core Scientific’s women leaders are an inspiration to other employees, especially those that are younger. She affirms that the company focuses on talent, not gender, and will help each employee grow accordingly.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
When I joined in 2018, I was responsible for taxation on income, indirect transaction and revenue. At that time, the departmental goal was to achieve trade compliance, which I didn’t have a lot of knowledge and experience on. However, I always enjoyed challenges — that paved the way for me to acquire knowledge on the law interpretation associated with taxation. Core has helped me move out from a traditional tax role and has cultivated my untapped skills. Today, I am an advocate of compliance and legislation, especially on how technology fits in my role in the evolving world of taxation.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Tech is a male-dominated industry, I must admit — but at Core Scientific, we have a lot of women in the leadership team in various departments, some of whom are in “power roles.” I have witnessed a lot of my female colleagues progress in their careers within Core Scientific over the years. They are achievers — they have become an inspiration, especially to the younger generation. The company has been supportive of talent versus gender, and that allows every individual to excel in their own field of expertise. I am a living testament to that.
Our women leaders are achievers — they have become an inspiration, especially to the younger generation.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
Core Scientific is extremely supportive of talent irrespective of race, color, religion or gender identity. You are honed according to your skills and given the opportunity to do what you are best at. Gender is not an identifier of one’s talent — otherwise I would not be where I am today. The company provides technical and practical training apart from coaching and mentoring from leaders or even peers. I admire how we collaborate and extract those creative juices to achieve our objectives.
Design platform Canva provides plenty of resources to help their women employees connect across the globe — from slack channels to meet-ups to groups like the women’s sales group. The latter recently provided a seminar on combating imposter syndrome, an issue many working women face.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
I’ve been in sales and success for over seven years. I knew how to do the job and had gotten to a place where I didn’t feel challenged anymore — I needed to take on more challenges and grow. Canva has given me the opportunity to master the customer success profession and take on coaching others as a team lead.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
We have a number of communities where women at Canva around the world can connect. These are dedicated spaces for us to support each other, share, learn and ensure we’re heard when it comes to key decisions. As a member of our Austin hub, I help lead the women in sales network by hosting quarterly events and sparking community within the US sales and success team.
All the women on the team shared their examples of imposter syndrome and how to overcome it. I still use these techniques in my day-to-day.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
Canva provides a number of resources to help build an inclusive and equitable culture for women — whether it’s through slack channels, women’s meet-ups, or even just individual conversations with your female colleagues. Recently, our women in sales group had a meeting where we brought in an external career coach to talk us through how to overcome imposter syndrome. All the women on the team shared their examples of imposter syndrome and how to overcome it. I still use these techniques in my day-to-day life.
Home purchasing company Orchard has made ParityLIST for its work on gender equity, most notably its yearly International Women’s Day panel of women leaders. That panel, educational workshops and mentorship opportunities give women employees plenty of chances to learn from each other.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
My career goals are to continue progressing in operations, ideally working with companies in the startup space. I love evaluating systems and processes to see where we can be more efficient and set up for scale. Being at Orchard has allowed me to do just this over the past few years.
When I started with Orchard, I came on to launch our expansion into the Atlanta market. It was very fulfilling to take our existing programs and customize them to the nuances for the Georgia market. From there, I moved on to streamline operations for all of our field teams across the country. Once we were in a good place with the field team, I took over a few of our desktop operations teams that were scattered across multiple departments. Bringing these teams together has allowed me to eliminate redundancies, streamline communication and set us up for scale. I enjoy that operations are a blend of program management and people management, and that everything I do helps Orchard to continue to deliver a delightful customer experience.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Orchard is very focused on elevating women in the workplace, and was recently named to the ParityLIST for our work in creating an equitable work environment in which women can succeed. Each year on International Women’s Day, we host a panel with women in leadership which includes both prompted questions and open Q&A. It’s great to hear from other female leaders and always always gets rave reviews from attendees. We also recently set up a mentorship program where employees can sign up to learn from senior members at Orchard. I love participating in this program and being a resource to women looking for advice to further their careers. But by far one of my favorite resources is the five part management training we provide to all new managers at Orchard. These workshops, focused on things such as delivering better feedback and reducing bias during the hiring process, equip women with a shared vocabulary and a supportive peer group to turn to with questions.
Being able to grow and develop women at Orchard is one of my biggest highlights of being here.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
One of Orchard’s most important values is to treat people with respect, and that is a value that we truly live every day. Women are respected and encouraged to thrive at Orchard. The fact that we make it a point to track and report on the percentage of women applicants, employees and leaders across the business highlights that we take this seriously and hold ourselves accountable. What’s even better is that we outpace industry benchmarks in these areas. Being able to grow and develop women, and watch them progress in their careers at Orchard, is one of my biggest highlights of being here.
Supply chain logistics company Shipwell has several visible women in leadership, something Slaughter found incredibly important as she’s grown in her own career. Seeing women advance at Shipwell showed that she had plenty of growth opportunities at the company.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
I’m a creative team manager with the goal of one day becoming a creative director. I started at Shipwell as a graphic designer and shaped the brand’s visual ID over the course of a couple of years. Shipwell soon after gave me the resourcing and support I needed to try a hand at more leadership-focused responsibilities such as leading the creative team in the production and development of our larger tentpole marketing campaigns. Through my time at Shipwell I’ve had the opportunity to provide impact in ways I may not have with a larger company, which has directly affected my career growth and professional development.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Shipwell has a continued education program that is pretty unique for a startup to offer. Through this resource, I took a creative leadership course and Shipwell reimbursed me for the full cost of the program. I think this is a great way for women to have an equal opportunity to further their knowledge in a specific field or area of interest. Shipwell also has great healthcare resources that I have benefited from.
Seeing women in leadership positions is extremely important, as it fosters a sense of inclusion and knowing that it’s possible for them to get there too.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
In my time at Shipwell I’ve seen several women rise up into senior-level positions and beyond. Seeing women in leadership positions is extremely important, as it fosters a sense of inclusion and knowing that it’s possible for them to get there too. Shipwell also offers diversity training to further support and spread the importance of equality and inclusion in the workplace and across the organization.
Even though Allison just joined B2B customer insights company TrustRadius a month ago, she has already been able to achieve one of her major career goals and get promoted into management. Her female manager was able to guide her toward the right steps and skills to achieve that goal, and TrustRadius’s professional development support gave her the opportunity to cultivate those skills.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
When I joined TrustRadius a month ago, my manager asked about my career goals — and I told her I’d like to go into management at some point. She challenged me to ask questions, gave me projects aimed at developing my leadership skills and promoted me into a management role. Even though I’ve still got a long way to go, my time at TrustRadius has been instrumental in achieving my goals!
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
Every employee at TrustRadius is given a professional development budget, and we are heavily encouraged to use it to develop new skills that help us not only with our current roles, but also in preparation for where we want our careers to go. Beyond that, TrustRadius offers a ton of flexibility in work hours and fully remote roles, which I know makes it easier for the moms of TrustRadius to maintain a healthy work/life balance.
There is an incredible community of women at TrustRadius, including women in leadership positions across departments.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
There is an incredible community of women at TrustRadius, including women in leadership positions across departments. In addition to that, there’s a strong mentorship culture throughout the organization, and absolutely anyone will take the time to sit down and answer questions about your role or your career growth. Working in an environment where everyone is continually encouraged to grow has been a game changer for me.
As a company in music distribution, BeatStars contends with a fair bit of gender imbalance — most music producers are men. As such, the company makes a concerted effort to address that imbalance, both within itself and the industry as a whole.
What are your overall career goals, and to what degree have you been able to fulfill them at your current company?
As a creative, I have always been passionate about collaboration and helping other creatives succeed, especially in entrepreneurship. Overall, my biggest goal in my career is to do this on a large scale, make positive changes within creative industries, and make earning money from your passion a real possibility for as many independent artists as possible. At BeatStars, I am able to do this on a daily basis by leading initiatives for our community that provide them with the tools, education, opportunities and collaborators to grow their creative businesses.
What benefits or professional development resources does your company offer that help support and elevate women in the workplace?
At BeatStars, I have always been offered the opportunity to improve my professional development through courses and certifications. Each month, I take a two-week MBA-level sprint to improve various skills related to marketing and leadership. However, the most impactful professional development I’ve experienced at BeatStars was getting to work with a corporate coach once I entered a leadership position. Through the coaching, I was able to learn how to highlight my strengths and work on the qualities I felt needed improvement.
I believe that our work to change the inequality within the music industry brings the women on our team the most pride.”
How has your company built an inclusive and equitable culture for women? Share an example of what that looks like in action.
Diversity is within the fabric of our company here at BeatStars, with inclusivity being one of our core values. We have a unique opportunity working at BeatStars because the industry we are working within is incredibly male-dominated, but this is not the case with our company and our gender-diverse team. I have always felt heard and that my opinions are valued. Our CEO has always made me feel included and empowers me daily.
I believe that our work to change the inequality within the music industry brings the women on our team the most pride. We are actively working to bring awareness to the gender gap, highlight the women in our community, provide access to earning money for your production through our product, create groups for women in music and work with non-profit organizations advocating for women in music.
